• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 28, 2022

Brands cannot afford to focus only on one channel, whatever it is. That’s especially true when it comes to the customer service area, judging by Maximizing the Omnichannel CX With AI, a global study by Vonage. 

But it's important to get this right, for 75% of consumers will stop buying after bad experiences, and 50% of those need only a single episode or two. 

Which channels should be included in the CX mix?

Email remains popular: 38% of consumers use it daily, and 29% will increase their usage the next 6-12 months. Of those polled, 38% use the channel to communicate with friends and family, and 30% with service providers.  

Consumers also plan to increase their email use, 29% to message friends and family, and 32% with business. In this, email lags only behind mobile phone calls (41%) and messaging via non-SMS apps (32%).  

But it varies by gender: Men are more likely to prefer email for daily personal use, women for messaging and social apps.  

Overall, mobile  phone calls are preferred by 37% for  dealing with service issues.

The study concludes that mobile phone calls and emails are “loved universally. Yet 1/3 of customers Never use video chat.”

Meanwhile, email comes in first for post-purchase follow-up, offers and loyalty programs:

• Email—63% 
• Texting using mobile phone—45% 
• Phone call—42% 
• Messaging through social media—32%
• In-store meeting—19%
• Video chat—16% 

Email is selected by 42% for shopping, 45% for purchasing and 43% for problem solving. In contrast, the phone is chosen by 54% for shopping,  38% for purchasing and 63% for problem solving.  

Using the phone? Here are the main complaints, all having to do with phone calls: 

• Long wait times to speak to an agent.
• Having to call multiple times endlessly repeating yourself.
• Confusing phone menus.

The study concludes, “The data is clear. Customers love their communications methods. They love a CX that has lots of channel options but resolves in the first one they choose. And they want businesses to know that the consequences for not sharing that love are severe.”

Vonage surveyed 4,638 consumers across five global regions in July 2022.   

Click here for the full study.