This is a 2009 study of 2,295 U.S. adults ages 18 years or older by Harris Interactive on behalf of RightNow Technologies. Although the stats aren’t recent, I think the findings are still useful today.

The Customer Experience Impact: North America 2009 Report shows that consumer expectations are high, social networking is amplifying consumer voices and never before has delivering great customer experiences been more critical. Empowered by the social web, consumers are forcing change. Companies can no longer manage the customer relationship; however they can control the customer experience.

Finding highlights include:

• 86% of consumers quit doing business with a company due to a bad customer experience, up 27% from 2005;
• 60% of consumers will always or often pay more for a better experience, up from 58% in 2008;
• 82% of consumers that had a bad experience told others about it, up 22% from 2006;
• Many consumers that had a bad customer experience and told others about it shared their experience online by posting a negative customer review on the company’s website (23%), Facebook (7%), or a blog (6%);
• 28% of consumers online said that by improving website usability and search functionality companies can better engage with them to encourage them to spend more;
• 73% of consumers prefer to speak directly to a live customer service agent;
• 66% want to send an email when they interact with a company;
• When consumers are researching a company’s product or service online or having a problem with a product/service, they usually call (62%) or email (49%) the company directly;
• 18% of consumers want to be able to chat online with a live agent when they are having a problem;
• Agent influenced sales have increased 83% in 2009, increasing from 24% to 44%;
• 51% of consumers who have contacted a company looking for customer service and ended up making another purchase based on the agent’s recommendation, made the other purchase because the offer was relevant and complimentary to what they had already purchased;
• 58% said if they had complained about a bad experience with a company on a social networking site, such as Twitter, they would like the company to reach out directly and respond to their comment;
• When online consumers follow a particular brand on Twitter:
  • 62% are looking for special offers; and
  • 38% are looking for tips or advice.

It is clear that consumer expectations are high and they demand excellent customer experiences. This presents a challenge for businesses, but it also presents an opportunity.

How is your company meeting consumer expectations in the 21st century?

Download the 4th Annual Customer Experience Impact Report at RightNow »

Triggered emails are emails that are triggered by an event, such as a sign-up, a purchase, shopping cart abandonment, request for a review, or simply to send a ‘Happy Birthday’ note to a customer.

Although triggered emails was a buzz topic for years, not all marketers use them.

• Silverpop found that nearly 70% of the 42 retailers surveyed either distribute cart abandonment e-mails or plan to;
• 50% send service satisfaction e-mails after purchase; and
• S&S Worldwide discovered that abandoned shopping cart surveys alone represent 33% of its overall e-mail revenue.

Do you use triggered emails to follow up with your prospects and customers?

Full story at Direct Marketing News »

With increasing paper costs and decreasing budgets, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), Orange, CA, had to find a way to reduce printed schedule information whilst still providing scheduling information to its bus customers.

Internal research indicated that customer calls to the Customer Information Center (CIC) had increased to approximately 18,000 per week, and with a cost of $2 per call, this was costing nearly $144,000 per month.

OCTA’s recent bus customer survey indicated that 75 percent of its bus customers have mobile phones, and 64 percent of them have text message capabilities, indicating that a mobile marketing solution could provide a more cost-effective solution.

OCTA contracted with ExactTarget and launched Text4Next which provided bus schedules by SMS. Once a customer send a text with their specific bus stop number and bus route number, the system processes that information, in conjunction with OCTA’s bus system scheduling platform, and sends the customer back the next three arrival times their bus will arrive at that stop. The Text4Next service cost $0.10 per call to the OCTA.

Results…

A year after launch,the CIC is averaging 14,500 calls per week, or 25 percent less, and the text messages are averaging 50,000 per week. Estimates show that the Text4Next program has saved OCTA more than $350,000 since its launch.

Can you use SMS to better connect with your customers, and save money at the same time?

Full story at Mobile Marketer »