• by Ray Schultz , November 16, 2022

Email teams trying to build their lists or develop them for better targeting should study their customer service interactions, according to CX Leaders Trends & Insights, a recent study from Execs in the Know sponsored by Zenarate.  

Of the consumers polled, 49% have utilized email to contact customer care, although that has declined from a high of 61% in the pandemic year: 2020.  

But they are not happy. “Email was a close third in overall use, but a distant fourth in the occurrence of positive experiences,” the study notes. 

These were the contact methods that  resulted in positive experiences:

• Phone/In-Person/Video Chat — 51%
• Online Chat — 23%
• Mobile Chat/SMS — 14%
• Email — 12%
• Chatbot/Self-Help/Mobile App — 8%
• Social Media/Online Community — 8%

Email has been used by 49% of consumers for customer service in 2022 -- down from a high of 61% in the pandemic year of 2020 and 52% in 2021. 

In contrast, phone has been used by 67% to date in 2022 -- up from 58% in 2020 and 64% in 2021, and followed by online/video/chat, which has been used by 54% this year. 

Voice-based channels (phone, video, in-person) were used by most frequently by 45%, and text-based (online chat, SMS, email) by 35%.

While only 20% of consumers say they have had a poor experience with email, the percentage has risen from 13% in 2021. But 57% have had a bad experience with phone/in-person/video chat, down from 65% last year. 

The results are based on data captured by the Google Survey platform from August 3-September 12, 2022.