We’ve all been there; a busy supermarket where all the staffed checkouts have long queues.

Meanwhile, your fellow customers are moving through the self-service checkouts at a brisk pace. Of course, you choose to follow them and scan your shopping to get out of the store as fast as possible.

Increasingly, this trend is being replicated online. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of statistics that underline the importance of a digital self-service customer experience.

14 Stats Proving the Importance of Self-Service in Customer Service

1. ‍According to the Harvard Business Review, 81% of all customers attempt to take care of issues themselves before reaching out to a live representative - across industries.
2. ‍91% say they would use a knowledge base if it met their needs. That’s excellent news for those who have a comprehensive customer self-service system available. Less great news if their knowledge base is not easily accessible.
3. The same study also finds that 40% of customers contact a call center after they've tried to self-serve, indicating that customer self-service solutions too often fail.
4. ‍90% of customers globally expect brands or organizations to have an online self-service customer support portal, according to this report from Microsoft.
5. ‍‍A report from Aspect Software found that 73% of customers want the ability to solve product/service issues independently. Interestingly, the same report found that a third of those surveyed would rather clean a toilet than speak to customer service!
6. ‍70% expect company websites to include some form of customer self-service platform.
7. A Nuance Enterprise survey found that 75% of respondents said self-service is a convenient way to address customer help service issues.
8. The same survey also revealed that 67% prefer serving themselves over speaking to a customer service representative. 
9. It’s a top priority for organizations: 91% of companies surveyed by Customer Contact Week identified webshop self-service as a relevant investment focus.
   
10. People are more and more familiar with the concept of self-service; 77% of consumers report having used a self-service support portal, report Microsoft. 
    
11. More than six in 10 US consumers say that their go-to channel for simple inquiries is a digital self-serve solution such as a website, mobile app, voice response system, or online chat.
    
12. American Express found that over 60% of US consumers prefer an automated self-service for simple customer service tasks, such as a website or mobile app.
    
13. According to Gartner research, organizations report up to 70% reductions in calls, chat, and/or email inquiries after implementing a Virtual Customer Assistant. 
    
14. Gartner research also discovered that 25% of customer service and support operations would integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020, up from less than two percent in 2017, further emphasizing the increasing importance of customer self-service to organizations.

AI has the answers

As these statistics reveal, it’s never been more critical for organizations to empower customers to answer their queries online.

Raffle Site Search uses AI to instantly find relevant answers from companies’ knowledge bases and deliver them to the customer. Raffle is a self-service customer care platform that connects customers to content hassle free. That’s real self-service, delivered by intelligent AI technology.

‍‍Want to get started with self-service in your customer experience today?

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