Zendesk Benchmark: Customer Satisfaction Takes Off for Travel

May 7, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – May 8, 2014 – The Zendesk Benchmark report today found that customer satisfaction improved by 1 percentage point in the first quarter of 2014 to reach 81 percent after a seasonal fall during the holidays. The travel, hospitality and tourism industry had the best rebound across all industries in the first quarter. It gained 5 points to reach 80 percent customer satisfaction, even as the amount of customer service inquiries held steady after the busiest travel season.

“The beginning of the year is known for the best travel deals, but it’s also the best time to receive the royal treatment when planning your vacation,” said Sam Boonin, research lead on the Zendesk Benchmark and vice president of products at Zendesk. “The industry came prepared after dealing with the holiday rush and delivered for travelers in the first quarter of 2014.”

The quarterly report is produced by Zendesk, Inc., a leading cloud-based customer service software company, and is available at http://www.zendeskbenchmark.com/

Customer Satisfaction by Country: New Zealand Two-Time Reigning Champ

New Zealand returned to the No. 1 spot with 92 percent customer satisfaction. Canada and Norway are tied at No. 2 with 90 percent customer satisfaction. The U.S. dropped four places to No. 15 despite an increase by 2 percentage points to 82 percent customer satisfaction.  Despite improving by 5 percentage points, India still ranks the lowest with 59 percent customer satisfaction.

Top Countries	Q1 (2014)	Since Q4 (2013)*
New Zealand	92%	n/a[1]
Canada	90%	1
Norway	90%	-1

Bottom Countries	Q1 (2014)	Since Q4 (2013)*
India	59%	5
Turkey	62%	1
Malaysia	69%	-4

Customer Satisfaction by Industry: Social Media Stays in Last Place

For the third consecutive quarter, the same two industries have claimed the top two spots for highest customer satisfaction—government and non-profit, and IT services and consultancy, earning 95 percent and 94 percent, respectively. Education, which tends to jockey with real estate for third place, fell 1 percentage point but still ranked third with 92 percent customer satisfaction.  Since the inception of the Benchmark report, the social media industry has ranked at the bottom with the lowest customer satisfaction level.

Top Industries	Q1 (2014)	Since Q4 (2013)*
Government & Non-profit	95%	0
IT Services & Consultancy	94%	-2
Education	92%	-1

Bottom Industries	Q1 (2014)	Since Q4 (2013)*
Social Media	69%	0
Entertainment & Gaming	74%	-2
Retail	79%	3

In Focus: Measuring Performance Pays Customer Dividends

This quarter, the Benchmark report took a closer look at the business impact of data–specifically, how organizations that measure their customer service performance compare to those who don’t. Organizations that take advantage of analytics reporting provide faster customer service with 12 percent shorter first reply time, while also resolving inquiries 16 percent faster.

“The Zendesk Benchmark data proves that Peter Drucker was right when he said, ‘What’s measured improves’”, said Boonin, who also oversees Zendesk’s analytics features. “ Zendesk customers that take a data-driven approach are doing better in their customer service.”

About the Zendesk Benchmark

The Zendesk Benchmark is based on actual customer service and support interactions between 16,000 participating organizations and their customers across 125 countries. Introduced in March 2012, it allows organizations to compare their customer service performance against industry peers. It measures key metrics around customer support efficiency, customer self-service behavior, and levels of customer engagement. Customer satisfaction is based on the percentage of positive responses to the question of whether or not a customer was satisfied with a customer service interaction. For a country to be included in the quarterly report, it must have a minimum of 10,000 responses during the quarter.

About Zendesk

Zendesk provides a customer service platform designed to bring organizations and their customers closer together. With more than 40,000 customer accounts, Zendesk is used by organizations in 140 countries to provide support in more than 40 languages. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. Source: Zendesk

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