36 Customer Service Statistics To Move Your Business Forward

Here’s a customer service statistic that will stop you in your tracks: 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. The same study reveals that 88% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to purchase again. 

With so many customers staking their purchasing decisions on high-quality experiences, it makes you wonder — are you doing enough to meet customer expectations? Are you using the right technologies to deliver what customers want? And is your customer service the best possible representation of your brand? 

Whether you’re fine-tuning your customer service strategy, looking for insights about call center burnout, or curious about the latest technological advancements, these 36 customer service statistics offer valuable benchmarks so you can put your best foot forward.

Table of contents

• Are customer expectations changing?
• How will service leaders meet customers’ demands?
• Are agents and mobile workers under pressure to keep up?
• How are high-performing companies responding to these customer service trends?
• Discover more customer service statistics

Are customer expectations changing?

Oh, yes they are. Customers demand more than ever: they want better service across more channels, and they want it now. The good news is service organizations are getting better at meeting those expectations. Our research shows that 69% of agents say balancing customer service speed and quality is difficult — down from 76% in 2022. 

Here are a few more key insights from the latest “State of Service” report: 

• 86% of agents and 74% of mobile workers say customer expectations are higher than they used to be
• 82% of agents and 76% of mobile workers say customers ask for more than they used to
• 81% of agents and 73% of mobile workers say customers expect a personal touch more than they used to
• 78% of agents and 72% of mobile workers say customers seem more rushed than they used to (back to top)

How will service leaders meet customers’ demands?

The short answer: by increasing budgets and headcount. Maybe that’s why decision makers expect service budgets to increase by an average of 23% over the next year.

Check out these numbers:

• 70% of service team leads, 62% of mobile workers, and 55% of agents say they can’t reach their goals without more budget
• 80% of decision makers expect to see an increase in budget, 76% expect an increase in headcount, and 76% foresee higher case volume

If higher budgets aren’t enough to keep pace with rising case volume, then technologies like customer service AI and automation could help bridge the gap. (back to top) 

Are agents and mobile workers under pressure to keep up?

The data is clear: today’s customer service professionals are spread thin. In fact, 77% of agents and 74% of mobile workers report increased and more complex workloads compared to just one year ago. 

How does that affect morale? Our research suggests a few answers:  

• 79% of agents and 73% of mobile workers say they support more products and services than they did a year ago
• 65% of agents and 66% of mobile workers say their cases are more complex than ever
• 56% of agents and 57% of mobile workers say they’ve experienced burnout at work
• 69% of service decision makers say agent attrition is a major or moderate challenge (back to top)

How are high-performing companies responding to these customer service trends?

You might be thinking: OK, research is fine. But what do I actually do about it? Here are five practical ways that high-performing service leaders are tackling today’s most pressing challenges:

1. They’re enabling self-service

Our research shows that 61% of customers would prefer to use self-service to resolve simple issues. 

When self-service is done right, it’s a win-win: your customers can resolve problems faster, and your agents can focus their time and attention on more complex issues. Just as important, data from the latest “State of Service” report shows that self-service is a major differentiator between high-performing and underperforming companies: 80% of high-performing service organizations provide a self-service solution, compared to just 56% of low performers.

2. They’re unifying their data

We found that 26% of agents say they often lack context about a customer’s situation, while 80% believe that better access to other departments’ data would improve their work. 

Perhaps that’s why the highest-performing service organizations are unifying their data to achieve more cohesive and compelling customer experiences. For example, many teams are connecting customer relationship management (CRM) systems and sharing accountability for metrics like customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), customer effort scores, and Net Promoter Scores (NPS).

3. They’re investing in field service technology

Our research shows that 90% of decision makers at organizations with mobile workers are embracing the future of field service by investing in specialized technology to improve field service metrics and enhance mobile worker productivity. (You can find more of our research about the latest field service trends right here.)

4. They’re automating processes

Inefficient processes and manual taskwork monopolize agents’ time and jeopardize the customer experience. That might explain why so many service organizations are turning to customer automation software to enable greater efficiency at scale, with 83% of decision makers planning to increase investments in automation over the next year. 

5. They’re making the most out of generative AI

If you’re like most service professionals, you might be curious how generative AI will impact your work. The preliminary results are in — and the results are already impressive: over 90% of organizations with AI report time and cost savings, and 87% of service decision makers say this technology helps them better serve customers. (back to top)

Discover more customer service statistics

When you consider these 36 customer service statistics, the conclusion is clear: by understanding customer needs, embracing innovation, and committing to continuous improvement, high-performing service organizations are finding new ways to navigate a highly competitive landscape.

Looking for even more insights into the latest customer service statistics? Take a deeper dive into our new findings by downloading the “State of Service” report — and find out what your peers are doing to prepare for the future of customer service. (back to top)

Chris Jensen and Devon McGinnis contributed to this blog article.