Resolution Over Choice: Rethinking Customer Contact Channel Strategies

The Truth About Channel Choice

For years, we've operated under the assumption that a large part of customer satisfaction stems from offering a wide array of contact channels. The prevailing wisdom has been that customers want options—phone, email, chat, social media, and self-service—and that providing these options is key to delivering excellent customer service. However, our latest research reveals a more nuanced reality: whilst providing multiple channels matters, ensuring resolution through the most appropriate channel is paramount. This insight challenges us to fundamentally rethink how we approach channel strategy in customer service.

The Resolution-Satisfaction Connection

Recent COPC research examining customer satisfaction rates tells a story that should make every customer service leader pause and reflect. When issues are resolved in the first contact, 91% of respondents say they are satisfied or very satisfied. This drops to 85% when resolved on the second contact, falls further to 72% when there are three or more contacts, and plummets to just 25% when the issues remain unresolved.

These figures challenge our fundamental assumptions about channel strategy. They suggest that while offering channel choice is important, the ability to resolve customer issues quickly and effectively through the most appropriate channel is far more crucial. This realisation should drive organisations to reconsider their investment priorities in customer service technology and training.

Age Preferences vs Situational Needs

Whilst demographic preferences exist—our data shows distinct patterns across age groups—the nature of the enquiry often proves more influential in channel selection. Understanding these patterns helps organisations better prepare for different customer segments while recognising that situational factors often override demographic preferences.

The over-60s demonstrate the strongest preference for “traditional” channels:

• 41.5% prefer telephone interactions
• 12.5% favour face-to-face contact
• Only 4% choose web chat
• A mere 2% opt for messenger apps

In contrast, the 18-29 age group shows markedly different preferences:

• 39.7% prefer self-service technology
• Only 15.3% choose telephone
• 4% use messenger apps
• Just 7.2% opt for face-to-face

However, these age-based preferences often yield to situational needs. When facing suspected credit card fraud, 45% of customers across all age groups prefer telephone support. For routine balance checks, 47% choose mobile apps regardless of age. This pattern demonstrates that customers instinctively understand which channels are most likely to resolve their specific issues effectively.

The Urgency Factor

Perhaps most revealing is how time sensitivity affects channel choice. The data shows a fascinating shift in customer behaviour as urgency increases. When tracking parcel deliveries three days ahead, only 22% feel they need to contact someone in person about it (via phone, webchat, etc.). However, when that same parcel becomes overdue, this surges to 51%.

This dramatic shift in channel preference based on urgency highlights the need for flexible, situation-aware channel strategies. It also emphasises the importance of maintaining robust voice channel capabilities even as organisations invest in digital transformation.

Building a Resolution-First Strategy

This research suggests we need to shift our focus from channel availability to resolution probability. The goal isn't to be present in every channel but to excel in the channels most likely to resolve specific types of customer issues, or if we are going to be "everywhere" make sure we can triage the enquiry to the best channel possible for resolution. Organisations should:

Prioritise Resolution Pathways: Map which channels consistently achieve first-contact resolution for different enquiry types. For instance, our data shows that technical support issues see varying preferences: Internet connectivity: 42% of people have a preference for solving their issue over the phone but for mobile phone issues only 20% want to use the phone.

Enable Smart Channel Switching: When channel transitions become necessary, ensure they're proactive rather than reactive, with seamless context preservation across channels. This requires sophisticated integration between systems and careful attention to the customer journey.

Measure What Matters: Focus on metrics that reflect resolution success, but gather enough data to be able to determine which channel provides the best resolution for which enquiry type.

So what does this mean for me….?

The future of customer service isn't about being everywhere—it's about being in the right place with the right capabilities to resolve customer issues efficiently. This means maintaining strong voice capabilities for high-stakes enquiries whilst optimising digital channels for routine transactions. Successful organisations will be those that can intelligently route or triage customers to the channels most likely to resolve their specific issues, regardless of demographic preferences or traditional channel strategies.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the failed attempts to shoehorn AI chatbots and voicebots into resolving complex, urgent or important matters for customers. Actually, we will get started on that, but in a later post.

Sources:

• COPC Inc. Premium Benchmarking Portal, (https://www.copc.com/premium-benchmarking-dashboards/)
• COPC Inc. US Consumer Channel Preference Research Study 2024