Conversely, each enchanted customer can channel more new business and loyalty over the long term, as one international survey suggests.

Between October and November 2023, a survey involving 7,708 consumers (aged 18 – 74) across 17 markets (including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) was commissioned to gauge international trends in customer engagement (CX). 

The global data indicated 42% of respondents were “very satisfied” when communicating with businesses. In this respect, APAC respondents most preferred mobile calls (73%) to communicate with businesses, followed by phone calls via messaging apps (60%), messaging via non-SMS apps (64%), emails (50%) and social media posts (47%). 

Common communication frustrations cited included “long wait times to speak to an agent (63%)”; “no way to speak to customer service via voice/phone (59%)”; “lack of 24/7 support availability (48%)” and “lack of self-service support (46%)”. Some 80% of APAC respondents cited they were “likely” to take their business elsewhere as a result of poor experiences. Overall, 61% of respondents cited that they “will not tolerate bad experiences” and would walk away after just one or two bad encounters. 

Other findings

 The data showed a “likelihood” cited by respondents to increase usage of chatbots and video-chats: 10% were using chatbots at the time of the survey, and 23% expected usage in the next six to 12 months.

Additionally, 13% indicated they were using video chat at the time; 26% expected usage in the next six to 12 months. Also:

    • 56% of respondents indicated they were likely to offer positive survey feedback after a great experience with a business; 55% noted they would share their experience with friends and family
    • 52% of respondents reported heightened brand loyalty following great engagement encounters, and 36% cited wanting to purchase additional products due to great CX

According to Joy Corso, Chief Marketing Officer, Vonage, the firm that commissioned the survey: “To differentiate on CX businesses need an omnichannel communications strategy that allows customers to contact them seamlessly across their preferred channels. Those that do will also benefit from the ability to leverage the powerful capabilities of AI across communication channels, such as voice, video, messaging, and chat, enabling them to augment live customer support. This goes a long way to ensuring personal and real-time customer engagement at every touchpoint.”