Australian Companies Failing to Deliver Omnichannel Customer Service, Zendesk Research Reveals

November 26, 2013

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – November 26, 2013 – A global survey from Zendesk has revealed that Australians think brands need to go further to have a single view of the customer across all channels, with 79% of consumers agreeing that brands pay more attention to increasing sales through their different channels, rather than focusing on a joined up customer service.

Over half (54%) of Australians surveyed expect to be able to return goods via a different channel to the one used, with a further 43% expecting to be able to contact the same representative regardless of the method they originally used (compared to the global average of 37%).

The research report, entitled “The Omnichannel Customer Service Gap,” was produced by Loudhouse, an independent research agency based in London, on behalf of Zendesk. It is based on surveys of 7,000 online shoppers between the ages of 18-64 in Australia, the U.S., Brazil, France, Germany, Japan and the U.K. with one thousand shoppers surveyed in each country.

“The customer journey doesn’t end at checkout,” said Michael Hansen vice president and Asia Pacific managing director at Zendesk. “Australian brands are failing to match their omnichannel efforts in sales with their customer service experiences. To meet the demands of today’s consumers, they need to create seamless customer service across every channel.”

After using the phone (59%), Australians are most likely to email (53%) customer services with an issue or problem. Australian customers are more likely to try other channels outside the ‘core methods,’ with one in three (33%) using self-service portals in the last six months, compared to the global average of 27%, with a further 21% using Live Chat tools.

Based on the findings of the report, the use of key methods is set to increase over the next twelve months as both expectation and demand grows. Two thirds (66%) of Australian respondents are likely to contact a brand via email, with a further 57% likely to address their problems directly in-store. If the use of email fails to deliver a result, three in four Australian shoppers (75%) will fall back to the ‘failsafe’ phone.

Australia was in line with the rest of globe in its expectations for a quick, simple and logical approach to customer service. The vast majority of respondents believe that speed of response (88%), resolution (89%) and the use of effective processes (84%) are important to the customer service experience.

“Omnichannel” refers to the ability to have a consistent and ongoing purchase or customer service experience across all channels—such as email, phone, chat or in a store.

The report revealed that Australians appear sensitive to the quality of service they receive. For  businesses willing to invest in a simple, seamless and unified user experience, 82% of Australian consumers will use a brand again, with a further 41% prepared to spend more money with a company (compared to a global average of 33%), if they receive excellent customer service.

Australian shoppers will punish brands for bad customer service, with 44% sharing negative experiences with friends and family and 13% sharing poor experiences on social media.

The full report is available at www.zendesk.com/resources/omnichannel-customer-service

About Zendesk

Zendesk builds cloud software for better customer service, bringing companies and their customers closer together. With Zendesk, companies engage directly and openly with customers, building more meaningful customer relationships that last a lifetime. More than 30,000 companies, such as Gilt Groupe, Disney and Box, use Zendesk to provide service to more than 200 million people worldwide. Founded in 2007 and based in San Francisco, Zendesk has offices in nine countries and funding from Charles River Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Goldman Sachs, GGV Capital, Index Ventures, Matrix Partners and Redpoint Ventures. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.