51% of customers first seek service via third-party platforms
Businesses may invest a lot in their contact centers, but research from Gartner Inc. shows that the most common customer service journeys are beginning on social media channels and generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based market research firm surveyed close to 6,000 people to produce its findings, which it published in its clients-only report Use Third-Party Platforms to Enhance Your Service Strategy.
Gartner found the trend towards third-party services and tools was even more pronounced among younger generations. Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z customers, for instance, are likely to begin reaching out for service information by querying a platform like ChatGPT, Gartner said.
The research suggested companies have a significant ease-of-use challenge in offering service via their own channels, where only 22 per cent of those surveyed said they start, stay and resolve issues. In contract, third-party platforms such as ChatGPT and YouTube scored much higher at 66 per cent.
“This disparity emphasizes the need for companies to enhance their self-service offerings and integrate advanced AI technologies to meet evolving customer expectations,” Gartner said in a press release accompanying its findings. “This strategy not only streamlines service delivery but also aligns with the diverse preferences of customers navigating multiple service modalities.”
360 Magazine Insight
With all due respect to Gartner, the answer here isn’t necessarily investing in AI. In fact, the question might be whether having customer service journeys begin elsewhere is such a bad thing.
People are most likely turning to social media and AI because they are already spending significant periods of their day there. Why force them back to your own site?
While you need to have paid access to read the full report, it seems likely that a lot of the customer service journeys we’re talking about here are self-service, DIY efforts. An increase in those using third-party platforms for that purpose can only alleviate the strain on already-overworked contact centers.
This shift is also no accident. Several firms have rolled out specific strategies to offer service via tools like Facebook Messenger to provide greater ease and convenience. The only concern is whether issues are properly routed and that that influx from third-party platforms doesn’t somehow create greater congestion in a firm’s owned channels.
Third-party platforms are probably great outlets for the most common issues, but there’s a bigger discussion to be had about how easily customers can escalate more complex problems directly with a brand. Otherwise, customers will probably not blame ChatGPT or YouTube for a poor experience but the brand itself.
What ultimately matters is whether the service experience remains high-quality if it happens outside the company. With AI, the technology is still immature enough that brands have reason to be worried about errors and hallunications — the same risks they face if they deploy more AI within their owned channels.
