Unlocking the Customer Experience Advantage

While consumers in Europe agree with the statement that “a company is only as good as its service,” they are less likely to agree with that statement than consumers globally (76% in Europe compared to 82% globally). This gives CX leaders in the region an opportunity to bolster their company reputation through good customer experiences.

Consumers who say “a company is only as good as its service” (responses marked “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree”)

What consumers value from service interactions

Consumers in Europe value first-contact resolution and fast response as the most important aspects of a service interaction, in line with consumers globally. German consumers value a fast response (44%) and a knowledgeable representative (44%) more than first-interaction resolution (42%). Consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland value a fast response (52%), first-interaction resolution (51%) and a knowledgeable representative (44%). Consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland value a fast response (52%), first-interaction resolution (51%) and a knowledgeable representative (44%).

Attributes valued in a customer service interaction (responses ranked in the top three)

What consumers value most when interacting with a preferred brand (showing choices ranked in top three)

When interacting with their favorite brands, consumers in our survey said that organizations listening to their needs and understanding what they’re trying to achieve was most valuable. Consumers in Germany were more likely to value organizations anticipating their needs and offering proactive solutions (56% compared to 50% across Europe). British and Irish consumers value aspects of personalization and omnichannel experiences, ranking “they know my account history” and “they ensure I don’t have to repeat myself” higher than global consumers.

Consumers want personalized service

Consumers consistently express a desire for personalized service and have a broad definition of what makes personalization valuable. This gives organizations opportunities to meet — or exceed — consumer preferences.

Consumers value personalization during an interaction (showing choices selected in top three)

Consumers surveyed across Europe ranked being connected with an agent who can solve their issue as the most important form of personalization, with 67% of consumers across the region, 69% in Germany, and 67% in the UK and Ireland ranking this highly. The second-most valuable form of personalization for European consumers is being able to receive service in their preferred channel.

The channels consumers use

Consumers value the ability to interact with organizations through multiple channels. Almost three-quarters (73%) of consumers across Europe reported using email for service interactions in the last year, making it the most-cited channel, in line with the results of our global survey.

Consumers across Europe value being able to interact with live agents, ranking interacting with an agent via phone and webchat second and third, respectively, in our survey. But consumers also show a willingness to interact with chatbots and virtual agents, with roughly 40% of consumers across Europe in our survey saying they’ve used chatbots in the last year.

Channels used by consumers in the last 12 months

Email and interacting with live agents are the most-frequently used channels in Europe. The frequency of using chatbots and virtual agents for service is in line with the global average, with 25% of consumers in Europe saying they’ve used chatbots and virtual agents via the web and 17% on mobile most frequently in the last year.

Channels used most frequently by consumers in the last 12 months (top three choices)

Aligned with what they report having used, consumers in Europe cite interacting with a live agent by phone (58%) and email (55%) as their most preferred channels. Live agent via web (which 42% of European consumers have used in the last year) is the third most-cited preferred channel.

A sizable number of consumers regionwide (23%), in Germany (26%), and in the UK and Ireland (21%) say messaging apps are their most-preferred channel. This could provide an opportunity for CX organizations across Europe to offer a channel that consumers use in their daily lives.

Consumers’ most preferred channels (top three choices)

European consumers also value being able to move from one channel to another without having to reshare information. Regionwide, 97% of consumers say this is either “somewhat important” or “extremely important” (consistent with the global average); 93% of German consumers and 95% in the UK and in Ireland say it’s important.

The potential cost of bad experiences

Underscoring the potential impact of poor service, 30% of consumers globally (and 28% in Europe overall) have stopped doing business with a company in the past year because of a poor customer service experience.

Which of the following experiences have you had within the past year?

Consumers in the UK and Ireland were more likely to say they’ve enjoyed a customer service interaction (40%, compared to 35% in Europe) but less likely to say they’ve felt valued and appreciated after an interaction (30%, compared to 37% in Europe). German consumers were the opposite, with 45% saying they’ve felt valued and appreciated after an interaction but only 33% saying they’ve enjoyed a customer service interaction.

When it comes to switching away from a favorite brand due to poor service interactions, consumers surveyed in Europe largely align with the results of our global survey, with half saying they’ll switch after two to five poor interactions. But almost one in 10 European consumers surveyed said they’d switch from a favorite brand after just one poor service interaction.

After how many negative interactions would consumers switch from a favorite brand to another business?

Waiting on hold to interact with a live agent is a reality faced by many consumers. The length of time on hold — and whether it meets their expectations — can have an impact on customer satisfaction.

Length of time consumers wait in a queue or on hold to interact with a service representative

Twelve percent of consumers surveyed across Europe experienced hold times of less than five minutes, slightly below the global average of 13%. Forty-two percent of consumers in Europe have experienced wait times of less than 15 minutes. CX leaders should ensure that the time consumers wait on hold or in a queue meets their expectations. Just under 70% of European consumers say acceptable hold times are less than five minutes.

Length of time consumers view as acceptable to wait to interact with a live agent

What CX organizations prioritize and value

CX organizations across the region offer multiple channels for customers to seek service. Reflecting what consumers value, the two channels offered most often by CX organizations in Europe are email and live agents via phone. Chatbots and virtual agents are offered by 37% of CX leaders regionwide.

Channels offered for customer interaction

CX leaders believe they are “extremely effective” at delivering key attributes of empathy. In our survey, professionalism and friendliness (50% in Europe) and listening, understanding and empathy (45% in Europe) scored slightly higher than globally (49% and 44%, respectively).

What CX leaders believe their organizations are extremely effective at accomplishing

Consumers consistently say they value personalized experiences and the ability to move between channels. CX leaders across the region believe they’re delivering extremely personalized experiences at a lower level than globally (37% in Europe compared to 42% globally). Across the region, 97% of leaders in our survey said they are delivering service that is at least somewhat personalized (96% in Germany and 95% in the UK and in Ireland).

The degree to which CX leaders believe they’re delivering personalized experiences

CX leaders in Europe are most likely to say that competing departmental priorities are impacting their ability to deliver a seamless customer journey (31% regionwide, 29% in Germany and 33% in the UK and in Ireland). The second-most cited issue in Germany (25%) and in the UK and Ireland (30%) is a lack of consolidated and shared data.

Internal issues that impact the ability to deliver a seamless customer journey

Measuring customer satisfaction leads the set of metrics that European CX organizations are using, followed by new customer acquisitions and customer retention, mirroring global trends. CX organizations in the UK and Ireland are focusing on customer lifetime value (42% compared to 32% globally) — connecting CX metrics to key business metrics.

The metrics CX leaders are using

When it comes to the challenges facing their organization, leaders in Europe say that “keeping pace with rising customer expectations” is their biggest challenge. They rated keeping pace with rapidly evolving CX technology as the second most-pressing challenge. In Germany, keeping staff continually trained was cited as a key challenge (37% in Germany vs. 35% in Europe). Respondents in the UK and Ireland cited improving the effectiveness of selfservice technologies (40% vs. 30% in Europe). Looking ahead, challenges around data and technology were also cited by leaders..

To support their strategic priorities, and help with the deployment of AI, CX leaders in the region are heavily focusing on technology initiatives around data, integrating their CX platform with other systems, and the employee experience.

Planned technology initiatives over the next two years

CX organizations in Europe continue to shift technology to cloud-based platforms, but roughly 56% of CX organizations haven’t fully embraced the cloud, using either on-premises infrastructure or a hybrid approach — which will make it challenging to meet rising customer expectations and fully adopt AI in CX.

How customer care infrastructure is being delivered today and plans for two years in the future

Staffing and budgets for CX organizations

Our survey provides insights into the staffing levels, turnover rates and budgetary plans for CX organizations across Europe.

How many seats are in your contact center, including remote agents and contractors/outsourced agents?

The average employee turnover rate in Europe overall is lower than globally (30% vs. 33%) — with leaders from Germany indicating an even lower turnover rate of 25%. But British and Irish contact centers are experiencing 37% turnover, suggesting that a focus on improving the employee experience through better workforce management, techniques such as gamification and AI-powered copilots and summarization may be helpful.

What is the current annual employee turnover rate in your contact center?

Across the region, CX leaders expect a 10% decline in full-time equivalent employees over the next 12 months; a 15% decline is expected in Germany, while CX leaders in the UK and Ireland anticipate a 5% decrease. European leaders expect less of the employment change to be the result of adopting AI-powered CX technologies than their global counterparts.

Percentage of anticipated full-time equivalent employment change in the contact center

Percentage of anticipated employment change due to implementing AI solutions in the customer experience

While CX budgets globally are expected to increase by 15% year-on-year, European CX leaders expect an 8% increase overall. German CX leaders are anticipating only a 5% budget increase, while those in the UK and Ireland are planning for a 15% increase.

Expected overall contact center budget change from 2024 to 2025

Regionwide, 29% of CX budgets are planned for AI-powered CX technologies, slightly below the 33% that global CX leaders plan to dedicate to AI. Failing to adequately invest in AI could lead to a potential long-term competitive disadvantage.

What percentage of your expected CX budget do you plan to spend on AI-powered CX technologies in the next 12 months?

Guidance for the future of customer experience

According to our survey, European CX professionals have a clear focus on the channels that consumers prefer, such as live agent via phone and email. But internal cultural issues and data challenges continue to hamper the ability to deliver truly channel-less experiences.

Here are some key recommendations for the future of customer experience:

• Augment human agents with personalized digital channels. The preference for working with human agents coupled with a willingness to use digital channels presents an opportunity for organizations to differentiate themselves. Allow consumers to seamlessly interact across channels — including ensuring that context flows across channels — and offer self-service options such as virtual agents.
• Deliver personalized service. European CX professionals are making good progress in delivering consistently personalized experiences. Connecting data and systems and allowing customers to interact in their preferred channel are ways to continue to advance this effort.
• Adopt AI across the customer journey. With roughly one-third of CX budgets worldwide planned for AI initiatives, it’s clear CX leaders see the value in AI. Almost two-thirds of consumers globally say AI will improve the quality and speed of customer service over the next two to three years, creating an opportunity for organizations that ethically and transparently adopt AI.
• Embrace cloud-based platforms. Roughly 57% of organizations globally have yet to adopt the cloud; that number is roughly 56% in Europe. Given the benefits of the cloud –– including scalability, continuous innovation and the most sophisticated AI — organizations that fully adopt the cloud will be poised to reap a competitive advantage.

Methodology

About Genesys

Genesys empowers organizations of all sizes to improve loyalty and business outcomes by creating the best experiences for their customers and employees. Through Genesys Cloud^TM, the AI-Powered Experience Orchestration platform, organizations can accelerate growth by delivering empathetic, personalized experiences at scale to drive customer loyalty, workforce engagement, efficiency and operational improvements. Visit www.genesys.com.