4 Crucial Customer Service Trends That Will Impact Businesses In 2022

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As the COVID-19 pandemic still rages on, businesses are evolving to ensure they continually meet their customers expectation while remaining profitable and keeping employees safe. The pandemic highlighted the importance of customer service teams and digital channels across various industries. As we wrap up the year 2021, it is crucial to understand factors that will impact organizations and service teams in 2022.

The Stella Connect team (a Medallia company) commissioned a research study of more than 2,100 consumers in the US and UK titled: Customer Service Trends for 2022: Preparing for the Future of Customer Service. Below are key findings from the study.

#1. Consumer Patience Will Continue to Decrease

  • 60% of consumers across the US and UK say that they will stop buying from a brand after a poor customer service experience
  • 53% of consumers say they have switched brands due to a poor customer experience in the last year
    • This is a dramatic jump from the previous year, when we found that only a third of consumers (33%) said they’d switched to a competitor after a negative customer service experience with a business.
  • In the US, Millennials were the most likely generation (60%) to say that they had switched brands due to a customer service experience that they felt fell short, while in the UK, Gen Z was significantly more likely to say this than other generations (72%).
  • 67% of US and UK shoppers say that they would stop doing business with a brand after only 2 or 3 poor customer service interactions.
  • 70% state that they would only reach out to customer service 2 to 3 more times if their initial issue wasn’t resolved, before leaving a negative review or switching brands altogether.
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#2. The Need for Speed Will Continue to Increase

  • Both US and UK consumers ranked “response time” as what matters most to them when contacting customer service.
  • More than a third (35%) of US consumers and just under 3-in-10 UK consumers say they’d only wait up to 5 minutes for a response from customer service.
  • Customers across the US and UK expect a “reasonable” amount of personalization from the customer service teams they interact with, with 47% of Americans and 57% of Britons saying they expect them to know their name and their previous purchases.
  • 41% of consumers across the US and UK say that the phone is the most likely channel for them to seek out when they have a customer service issue, followed by email (28%) and chat (20%).

#3. Customers Will Be More Vocal About Their Experiences

  • 40% of US and UK consumers say that after a poor customer service experience, they will share that experience online, a marked increase from last year, when 35% said the same.  

  • Just under half (49%) of American and British consumers say that after a poor customer service experience, they will tell their friends and family to stop buying from the brand.
    • Last year, just 38% of shoppers said they would tell their friends and family to halt doing business with a company if they had a negative experience.

#4. Service Recovery Will Lead to Powerful Opportunities

  • 97% of consumers across the US and UK say that if a brand turned a poor experience into a positive one by solving their problems immediately, they would do business with that brand again.
  • More than a quarter of consumers (26%) across both nations agree that they’re more likely to leave an online review about a poor experience turned into a positive one, than an excellent experience or a poor experience.
  • 88% of consumers are more likely to leave feedback (positive or negative) regarding a customer service interaction if they knew it would help the agent improve their ability to service the needs of customers.
  • 84% of US and UK consumers say that when customer service solves a problem for them, they feel more emotionally connected to the brand.
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In a stressful and frightening COVID-19 era, customer expectation is on the increase. Customers want prompt service and will not hesitate to call out brands that fail to meet their needs. This means having a knowledgeable and effective customer service team will play a significant role in the success of business during and post pandemic.

Click here to download the Customer Service Trends for 2022: Preparing for the Future of Customer Service report

Kelechi Okeke
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