RightNow Study Reveals Consumer Expectations for Customer Care Continue to Soar Despite Economy

• 58 percent of U.S. consumers said that in a down economy, they will always or often pay more for a better customer experience.
• When recommending a company, outstanding customer service is more important (58 percent) than low prices (44 percent) and top quality products/services (43 percent).

Impact of Negative Customer Experiences

While consumers are willing to recommend organizations and companies to others because of outstanding service, they are almost twice as likely to tell others about poor treatment. 

• 84 percent of consumers indicated they would tell others about a bad experience – up from 74 percent in 2007 and 67 percent in 2006. 
• In addition, blogging about a negative customer experience is on the rise:  22 percent of consumers this year have posted negative feedback about a company, vs. only 13 percent in 2007.
• However, in some ways, men and women react quite differently following a negative customer experience. While men are more likely to react angrily or physically by swearing or hitting something (5 percent of males vs. 1 percent of females), the female tendency is to react emotionally by crying (9 percent of females vs. 2 percent of males) or getting a headache (11 percent vs. 2 percent, respectively).

Also interesting to note, even with the exploding popularity of social networking and mobile technology, when asked how companies can improve their customer experience to encourage consumer spending: 

• Only 5 percent of consumers said the “delivery of tailored information via mobile technology” would help.
• Only 4 percent said they wanted organizations to “increase their presence on social networking sites like Facebook, etc.”
• Even those aged 18-34 didn’t demand this type of engagement with great frequency – opting instead for better access to agents. Tailored information via mobile technology, as well as presence on social networking sites were both selected by 9% of respondents in this age group, respectively.

The survey also found that, when interacting with organizations online, 51 percent of consumers want the option of a live web chat session, a similar rate as in 2007.

Comments on Customer Experience:

“Two years ago when we started this survey, consumers said they wanted better customer service.  In 2008, it’s clear that now they demand it. The good news is that by improving web self-service and giving service agents improved access to knowledge, businesses can both improve the customer experience and gain a competitive edge – while also reducing operating costs.”
- Greg Gianforte, CEO and founder of RightNow

“In all of my work with large organizations, I’ve never heard anyone say 'we spent too much on customer insight.' That’s because most companies spend too little in this area. Customer research, including ethnographic field studies, makes sure that we truly understand our customers’ needs, interests, and desires."
 - Bruce Temkin, Customer Experience Matters Blog

Survey Methodology

This Customer Experience Impact Report was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RightNow Technologies between September 4-8, 2008 among 2,112 general population adults age 18 years or older. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. 

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.