Is There a Disconnect Between Company and Customer Perceptions of Self-Service?

Customers today actually like self-service options. It may not seem the case, given how prone most people are to complaining about self-service. But what customers hate is ineffective self-service: speech recognition-based solutions that don’t seem to recognize speech, automated systems that don’t offer the option to escalate to live help, and outdated help pages on websites…just as a few examples.

A recent research report published by NICE entitled the “2022 Digital-First Customer Experience Report” found that 81 percent of consumers say they want more self-service options, yet only 15 percent of consumers expressed a high level of satisfaction with the tools provided to them today. The biggest disconnect happens in the attitude of companies that think they’re providing good self-service. In fact, businesses believe 53 percent of consumers are very satisfied with their self-service. Clearly, customers beg to differ.

At the same time, the need for effective automation technologies is exploding. Ninety-five percent of companies have reported a major increase in self-service requests in 2021, indicating a rapid growth in consumer demand for greater speed and convenience.

NICE noted that consumer expectations are increasing as digital and self-service channels proliferate and evolve, which has led to companies searching for insights into customer experience and brand loyalty. Brands must understand their blind spots and improve their digital and self-service options. For example, although 36 percent of consumers say they would like to see companies make their self-service smarter, less than 11 percent of businesses are making that a priority.

“Avoiding friction is the key factor today in shaping opinions and differentiating between brands consumers love and those they feel are not worth their time,” said Paul Jarman, CEO of NICE CXone. “While focusing on digital-first interactions, our report underscores the importance of both agent-assisted and self-service channels, with businesses primarily wanting the ability to choose whichever option they prefer at any given time.”

Edited by Erik Linask

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