Q: Do you have any recent articles you recommend about adding value to programs, things that help justify price and value?
A: This is a great question: The most highly rated value-added service is convenience, followed by good customer service. The two are closely related.
Here is some information from the American Express 2011 Global Customer Service Barometer for responses in the US:
73% of consumers have said they have spent more money (on average 13%) with a company because of good customer service experiences.
90% of consumers say they are very or somewhat interest in resolving customer service issues by speaking with a ‘real’ person over the phone.
59% of consumers will switch to a different company to get better customer service.
78% of respondents indicated they have not completed a purchase because of poor customer service.
While 66% of consumers said the best customer service experience they had was characterized by the agent being able to solve the problem, a nearly tied 65% said it was just because the agent was friendly and listened to their concerns.