Unlock The Secrets To Exceptional Customer Service: 5 Key Findings From The 2023 State Of CX Report

Are you looking for a competitive advantage to keep your customers coming back? I have the answer. The 2023 Achieving Customer Amazement (ACA) study, sponsored by Five9, uncovers the current state of customer service and customer experience (CX). This customer service and CX research is vital to anyone in any industry (B2B or B2C) who has customers—and that’s everyone!

Each year we survey more than 1,000 consumers about what they like, dislike, want and more to find out what it takes to get customers to come back. Regardless of the type of business or industry you are in, your customers will compare the experiences they have with you to the best customer experience they have had with any type of business—not just your direct competitors. In other words, customers are smarter and expect more because of the “rock star” companies that are setting a higher benchmark.

To kick off the new report, I have compiled a list of five of the most important findings:

1. Bulletproof Yourself From Your Competition: Okay, maybe you can’t completely bulletproof yourself from competitors, but creating a good service experience can give you an amazing competitive advantage. Seventy-six percent of the more than 1,000 American consumers we surveyed are willing to go out of their way to do business with a company that provides better customer service. Furthermore, a great service experience makes prices less relevant. We asked, “Is customer service more important than price?” Almost half (48%) said, “Yes!”

2. The Top Three Most Important Things When It Comes to Customer Service: This may seem like common sense, but unfortunately, it’s not as common as it should be. What customers want is simple. The top three “customer wants” are: 1. Employees who are helpful; 2. Being able to reach the right person in customer support; and 3. Knowledgeable employees.

3. The Top Three Reasons a Customer Will Leave You: Once again, you will probably say, “That’s common sense.” If so, why do so many companies fail on these three? They are: 1. Rudeness; 2. Inconsistent information; and 3. The inability to connect with someone from customer support. What’s interesting about “rudeness” being the top reason a customer leaves is that back in the 1980s—40 years ago—the White House commissioned a study with the Technical Assistance Research Program (TARP) which found that the top reason a customer would leave to do business elsewhere was rudeness or apathy. Basically, an employee being impolite or indifferent toward the customer. And here we are, decades later, and nothing has changed.

4. If You Want Your Customers to Trust You More, Deliver a Great Customer Service Experience: There is an old saying that people like to do business with people (and brands and companies) they know, like and trust. It’s easy to get people to know and like you, but it’s much more difficult to earn their trust. When you do, customers come back. You can’t have loyalty without trust. Here’s the finding: 82% of customers say great service increases their trust in a company.

5. Customers Love a Convenient, Low/No Friction Experience: You can’t ignore the impact of a convenient experience. Eighty-eight percent said convenience was important when deciding where they wanted to do business. Fifty-three percent would pay more if they knew they would receive a more convenient experience, and 69% say a convenient experience alone will make them want to come back. All things being equal, it’s the company that is easier to do business with that will win over its customers.

Of course, there are many more stats, facts and findings in this report, but these should give you an idea of just how important customer service can be to your organization. The findings will help you make better customer-focused decisions and make a case for investment in new technologies and customer service training to unlock the competitive advantage you’ve been looking for.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and customer experience expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Learn more about Shep's virtual training programs and follow #ShepHyken for more insights on customer service and experience.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com.

Check out Shep's latest research in his Achieving Customer Amazement Study, Sponsored by Five9.