Zendesk WP Customer Service and Business Results

2013 Dimensional Research.
All Rights Reserved.

www.dimensionalresearch.com
Executive Summary
Every business manager knows that when a customer has a problem, the experience oI resolving the issue has a
proIound impact on Iuture purchases. This eIIect has been amplifed as social media and web review sites enable
customer service experiences to be widely shared with Iriends, colleagues, and the general public. But just how
impactIul are these experiences on buying behavior? How long does the eIIect last? And what is the impact Ior
mid-sized companies?
The Iollowing report is based on a survey oI 1046 individuals who have had experiences with the customer service
oI a mid-sized company. The survey`s main intent was to quantiIy the long term impact oI customer service on
business results. The survey was conducted by Dimensional Research, an independent market research company
specializing in technology.
This survey clearly demonstrates that customer service has a dramatic impact on the buying behaviors among
customers oI mid-sized companies. Good customer service results in increased personal and business purchases
while bad customer service drives customers to fnd alternatives. Interestingly, customer service experiences are
judged more on the timeliness oI the interaction than on the fnal outcome.
Customer service has a long-term impact on buying decisions, with customers continuing to be eIIected years aIter the
initial interaction. Customers share service interactions more widely than ever beIore. Social media and review sites
are providing increased awareness oI customer service experiences, and these stories infuence the purchases oI others.
Key Findings
Customer service - both good and bad - impacts revenue
- Participants ranked customer service as the #1 Iactor impacting vendor trust
- 62 oI B2B and 42 oI B2C customers purchased more aIter a good customer service experience
- 66 oI B2B and 52 oI B2C customers stopped buying aIter a bad customer service interaction
- 88 have been infuenced by an online customer service review when making a buying decision
Fast customer service matters
- 69 attributed their good customer service experience to quick resolution oI their problem
- 72 blamed their bad customer service interaction on having to explain their problem to multiple people
Customer service experiences have a long lasting impact
- 24 continue to seek out vendors two or more years aIter a good experience
- 39 continue to avoid vendors two or more years aIter a bad experience
- Women (45), B2B (51), Gen X (54) and high income households (79) are most likely to avoid
vendors two or more years aIter a bad customer service experience
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS RESULTS:
A SURVEY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM MID-SIZE COMPANIES
Dimensional Research | April 2013
Sponsored by
Page 2
Customer service stories are spread widely - especially bad ones
- 95 share bad experiences and 87 share good experiences with others
- 54 shared bad experiences with more than fve people and 33 shared good experiences with more than
fve people
- 58 are more likely to tell others about their customer services experiences today than they were fve
years ago
- B2B, Gen X, and high income households most likely to share their customer service stories
Social media drives increased sharing of customer service experiences
- 45 share bad customer service experiences and 30 share good customer service experiences via
social media
- More have read positive reviews (69) oI customer service online than negative reviews (63)
Detailed Findings
Customer service impacts trust
Participants were asked to rank a series oI Iactors in the order in which they impact the level oI trust they have in
their vendors. Excellence in customer service ranked as the #1 Iactor that most impacted participants.
1882
2220
3068
3224
0 300 1000 1300 2000 2300 3000 3300
4. ls nanclally sLable
3. Pas a relaLable brand
2. Cers Lhe besL prlce
1. Cers excellenL cusLomer servlce
kank the fo||ow|ng factors based on how much they |mpact
your |eve| of trust |n the compan|es you buy from.
!"#$%&' )**+
!"#$%
Page 3
The best customer service is fast
Participants were asked iI they had experienced any good customer service interactions with mid-sized companies,
and then asked the same question about bad customer service interactions. The vast majority oI participants recalled
good experiences (95). More than halI (54) reported having bad customer service experiences with mid-level
companies.
Survey participants who had indicated they had a good customer service experience were asked what specifcally
made that experience good. The most important Iactor cited by participants was a quick resolution oI the problem
(69) Iollowed by being helped by a pleasant person (65). Interestingly, the actual outcome oI the problem was
least important with less than halI (47) indicating that their customer service interaction was good because oI the
outcome.
!"#$%&' )**+
!"#$%%& ,-. /00. 12340567 3678916+
93
34
0
20
40
60
80
100
Cood cusLomer servlce 8ad cusLomer servlce
nave you had any GCCD]8AD customer serv|ce
|nteracnons w|th m|d-|eve| compan|es?
47
63
63
69
23 30 33 40 43 30 33 60 63 70 73
1he ouLcome was whaL l was orlglnally hoplng for when l
conLacLed cusLomer servlce
1he problem was resolved ln one lnLeracuon - no passlng
around Lo muluple people
1he person who helped me was nlce
1he problem was resolved qulckly
What spec|hca||y made these customer serv|ce |nteracnons GCCD?
Page 4
Similarly, survey participants who had indicated they had a bad customer service experience were asked what
specifcally made that experience so bad. The most important Iactor cited by participants was needing to explain
their problem to multiple people (72), Iollowed by having to deal with an unpleasant service person (67). Only
halI (51) Ielt that their customer service interaction was bad because the problem was not resolved.
Customer service impacts sales
Among participants that had experienced good customer service, most oI them (83) reported that their behavior
changed in some way as a result. The most common way that their behavior changed was that they purchased more
Irom that company (52).
Participants receiving customer service Irom B2B companies were signifcantly more likely to increase their
purchases as a result oI good customer service (62), compared to those who dealt with B2C companies (42).
!"#:': ,-. ;-. 12340567 3678916+
31
63
67
72
23 30 33 40 43 30 33 60 63 70 73
1he problem was noL resolved
lL Look Loo long Lo resolve
1he person l dealL wlLh was unpleasanL
l had Lo explaln my problem Lo muluple people
What spec|hca||y made these customer serv|ce |nteracnons 8AD?
!"#$%%& ,-. /00. 12340567 3678916+
22
28
44
42
13
48
38
62
17
38
31
32
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70
no changes
l consldered purchaslng or uslng more producLs or servlces from LhaL
company, alLhough have noL yeL done so
l recommended Lhose producLs or servlces Lo oLhers
l purchased or used more producLs or servlces from LhaL company
D|d th|s GCCD customer serv|ce |nteracnon change your behav|or |n any way?
All
828
82C
Page 5
While Iewer participants reported a bad customer service experience with a mid-sized company, they were much
more likely to change their behavior iI it happened (96). Simply not buying Irom the company in the Iuture was
the most typical response (59).
Interestingly, the reactions to bad customer service reactions diIIered between business and personal experiences.
Those who had a bad customer service experience in a business context were much more likely to stop buying Irom
the company (66) than when it was a case oI personal use (52). Conversely, those who had a bad customer
service experience Ior a personal product or service were more likely to recommend others not buy the product
(44) compared to business purchasers (36).
Customer services experiences can be long lasting - especially bad ones
Participants were asked how long ago it was that these customer service experiences happened. In this question, they
were asked specifcally to think about that experience with the mid-sized B2B or B2C company whose good or bad
customer service impacted their buying behavior.
Bad customer service experiences were more long lasting. Over one third oI participants, 39, continued to change
their buying behavior more than two years aIter the negative incident had occurred. Good customer service also
4
44
36
42
32
4
36
62
67
66
4
40
49
33
39
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70 80
no changes
l recommended oLhers noL buy Lhose producLs or servlces
l was less llkely Lo conslder LhaL company when maklng fuLure purchases,
alLhough l conunued Lo do buslness wlLh Lhem
l swlLched Lo a dlerenL company for LhaL producL or servlce
l sLopped buylng from Lhe company
D|d th|s 8AD customer serv|ce |nteracnon change your behav|or |n any way?
All
828
82C
!"#:': ,-. ;-. 12340567 3678916+
Page 6
resulted in long term impacts, with about one quarter (24) saying that they continued to change their buying
behavior based on a positive customer service incident that happened more than two years ago.
Certain segments oI the market had particularly long memories. The participants most likely to say they were still
infuenced by a bad customer service experience that happened two or more years included women (45), those
who received customer service Ior business (51), and Gen X (54). Those with household incomes exceeding
$150,000 per year had the longest memories Ior bad customer service experiences (79).
Customer service stories are spread widely
Participants who indicated that they had experienced good or bad customer service were asked who they had told
about those experiences. These stories were widely shared, especially the bad experiences. More participants
reported they shared stories about bad customer service (95) than told about good experiences (87). Stories were
47
64
14
12
39
24
0 20 40 60 80 100
8ad experlence
Cood experlence
now |ong ago d|d you have th|s GCCD]8AD exper|ence?
Less Lhan one year ago
Cne year ago
1wo years ago or more
39
43
31
32
34
79
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
All Women 828 $100,000 -
$130,000
Cen x (36 - 30) Cver $130,000
8uy|ng dec|s|ons |nuenced by bad customer serv|ce exper|ence that
happened two years ago or more
(Se|ect demograph|cs)
Page 7
told most Irequently in person to Iriends or Iamily (81 Ior bad and 72 Ior good) or coworkers (57 Ior bad and
40 Ior good).
Participants also reported broad use oI social media (45 Ior bad and 30 Ior good) and online review sites (35
Ior bad and 23 Ior good) to spread stories about customer service experiences.
Certain segments oI the market were much more likely to share their customer service stories with others. Those
who received support in a business context, participants Irom Generation X and the wealthiest participants shared
the most inIormation with their personal and online networks. Among those earning more than $150,000 a year,
a remarkable 100 had shared their bad customer experiences with others! However, all these segments took a
balanced approach and also shared their good experiences more Irequently.
13
23
32
30
40
72
3
33
43
43
37
81
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70 80 90
no one
Cnllne revlew slLes (l.e. ?elp)
1he company who provlded Lhe good cusLomer servlce
Cnllne frlends (l.e. soclal medla)
Coworkers ln person
lrlends or famlly ln person
Who d|d you te|| about these GCCD]8AD customer serv|ce |nteracnons?
8ad
Cood
99
100
93
99
89
98
87
93
30 33 60 63 70 73 80 83 90 93 100
Cood cusLomer servlce
8ad cusLomer servlce
Shared GCCD]8AD customer serv|ce |nteracnons w|th others.
(Se|ect segments)
All
828
Cen x (36 - 30)
Cver $130,000
Page 8
When these stories were told, they were oIten repeated many times. The survey participants who indicated they had
shared their good or bad customer service experiences with others were asked how Irequently they had told their
story. More than halI, 54, indicated that they had shared their bad customer service interaction story with more
than fve people.
Today's customers share service stories more frequently
All survey participants were asked iI they were more or less likely to tell others about their customer services
experiences. More than halI (58) reported that they were more likely to share their experiences. A very small
number (4) were less likely to share customer service stories now than they were fve years ago.
!"#$%&' )**+
More llkely
38
no change
38
Less llkely
4
Are you more or |ess ||ke|y to te|| others about customer
serv|ce exper|ences now than you were hve years ago?
33
33
23
7
34
28
12
6
0 10 20 30 40 30 60
More Lhan ve
1hree Lo ve
1wo
Cne
now many nmes d|d you share |nformanon about each of these
GCCD]8AD customer serv|ce |nteracnons w|th others?
8ad
Cood
Page 9
The biggest diIIerences in participant answers Ior this question occurred between the generations. Baby Boomers
were the generation that changed the least over the past fve years while Gen X tells more customer service
experiences now. Among the Millennials, 9 claimed they were actually less likely to share customer service
experiences now than they were fve years ago, more than any other segment.
Online customer service reviews impactful
All survey participants were asked iI they had seen online reviews oI customer service. About two-thirds oI
participants (63 Ior negative and 69 Ior positive) reported that they did recall reading these online reviews.
Review sites were the most common place to read a negative review oI customer service (39) where Facebook was
the most common place to read a positive review oI customer service (44).
30
63
61
47
33
30
3
2
9
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70 80 90 100
8aby 8oomers (Cver 30)
Cen x (36 - 30)
Mlllenlals (18 - 33)
Are you more or |ess ||ke|y to te|| others about customer serv|ce
exper|ences now than you were hve years ago?
More llkely
no change
Less llkely
!"#$%'& )**+
31
23
24
39
44
41
37
22
23
29
38
39
0 3 10 13 20 23 30 33 40 43 30
none of Lhese
1wluer
?elp
Company slLe
lacebook
Cnllne revlew slLe
Do you reca|| read|ng a CSI1IVL]NLGA1IVL rev|ew
customer serv|ce |n any of the fo||ow|ng?
negauve
osluve
Page 10
These reviews are very impactIul. The vast majority oI participants who have seen reviews claimed that that
inIormation did impact their buying decisions. This was true oI both positive reviews (90) as well as negative
reviews (86).
Survey Methodology
In early 2013, 1046 individuals completed an online survey about their experiences with customer service. All
participants lived in the United States, and had recent experience with the customer service oI a mid-sized company
either as a consumer (B2C), or in a business context (B2B). For this survey, 'mid-sized was defned as any
company that was not a large, well-known company or a small local or online company. The 1046 participants
included both men and women. They represented a wide range oI ages and household income.
90
86
88
10
14
12
0 10 20 30 40 30 60 70 80 90 100
osluve
negauve
All
nas read|ng these CSI1IVL]NLGA1IVL rev|ews
|nuenced your buy|ng dec|s|ons?
?es
no
Mlllenlals (18 - 33)
27
Cen x (36 - 30)
33
8aby 8oomers (Cver 30)
38

Less Lhan $23,000
11
$23,000 - $30,000
27
$30,000 - $73,000
23
$73,000 - $100,000
13
$100,000 - $130,000
12
Cver $130,000
14
Annua| nouseho|d Income
Male
44
lemale
36

8uslness (828)
31
ersonal (82C)
49
1ype of Customer Serv|ce
Page 11
The survey was conducted by Dimensional Research, an independent market research company specializing in
technology. The survey was sponsored by Zendesk, the leading provider oI proven, cloud-based customer service
soItware. Survey participants were not inIormed oI this sponsorship.
About Dimensional Research
Dimensional Research
provides practical market research to help technology companies make their customers more
successIul. Our researchers have deep understanding oI how technology is developed and used. We partner with
our clients to deliver actionable inIormation that reduces risks, increases customer satisIaction, and grows business
results. For more inIormation visit www.dimensionalresearch.com.
About Zendesk
Zendesk is the proven cloud-based help desk soItware that is the Iastest way to enable great customer service in
rapidly growing companies. Zendesk is so easy to use; support teams and their customers worldwide love it. More
than 25,000 organizations including Adobe, MSNBC, Sony, OpenTable and Groupon, trust Zendesk with their most
valuable asset: their customers. Now, organizations can deliver exceptional support across the web, email, and social
media. Since the mobile device explosion having created even more opportunities to help customers anywhere, any
time, Zendesk is also available across devices such as the iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android.

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