The Effortless Experience

Not only are customer preferences shifting away from live service, but the way in which customers want to engage with companies through new self-serve channels is exactly the opposite of what most service leaders assume.

the channel selection should not be the issue; the customer’s issue is the issue.

the vast majority of customers will entertain nearly any self-service option or channel as long as they are confident it will create a faster and easier resolution experience.

information is presented on the web, simplicity matters a lot.

defining loyalty in terms of three specific behaviors: repurchase (customers continue to buy from your company), share of wallet (customers buy more from you over time), and advocacy (customers say good things about your company to family, friends, coworkers, even to strangers).

which channel is the worst for your most common issues, and ensure that customers don’t inadvertently choose that option.

Customers who attempt to self-serve but are forced to pick up the phone are 10 percent more disloyal than customers who were able to resolve their issue in their channel of first choice (see figure 2.2).

rep proactively suggest ways to solve issues that will likely happen after you hang up the phone, helping you to avoid having to call again unnecessarily. We’ve dubbed this concept next issue avoidance,

96 percent of customers who had high-effort experiences reported being disloyal, compared to only 9 percent of customers with low-effort experiences who reported being disloyal. Ninety-six to nine!