Did you know that consumers are only willing to wait an average of 76 seconds for customer service support when visiting a Web site? In the time it takes to toast a piece of bread, a customer – or potential customer – could be gone.This figure comes from New York customer experience management company LivePerson’s second-annual Connecting with Customers research study, which explores the online trends and consumer behaviors that are shaping today’s digital experiences and driving consumer expectations.On LivePerson’s The Connected Customer Blog, Anurag Wadehra shares the four primary themes that emerged from the research.
Brands today cannot afford to deliver only the basics when it comes to the online experience. Consumers are quick to look elsewhere when they feel their expectations are not being met. Forty-nine percent of consumers continue to find Web sites difficult to navigate, with 33 percent struggling to seek help or locate customer service.
There’s no substitute for the human touch. Seventy-eight percent of consumers agree that they are more likely to be loyal to a company that provides real-time, one-on-one support at critical moments during their digital journey.
The window of expectation for timely assistance is growing narrower. Nearly three-quarters of consumers stated speed and efficiency were the most important factors in creating a great online experience.
Identifying the key moments where consumers may require additional support during their digital journey is essential. The actual moment of purchase is one of these moments, as 35 percent say that they need help or support at this stage.
There’s been talk in the microblogosphere of a clandestine experiment being conducted by Twitter to predict which tweets have the potential to go viral.The Twitter account @MagicStats is protected and the bio simply reads “I favorite the best tweets I see in re-al-time.” According to T...