More insight from  Microsoft’s new State of Global Customer Service Report confirms that this youngest set of customers is upping the ante for customer service innovation, which is a key part of the customer experience. Take a look at these breakouts by age around areas such as mobile customer service, self-service, social and customer loyalty:

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Great Expectations

  1. 68% of 18 – 34-year-old consumers have higher expectations for customer service today than they had just one year ago (compared to 56% across all age groups and 47% of consumers ages 55+).
  2. 78% of 18 – 34-year old consumers expect a customer service agent to know their contact and product information as well as service history when they contact a brand for assisted service (compared to 72% across all age groups and 66% of consumers ages 55+).
  3. 68% of 18 – 34-year-old consumers have stopped doing business with a brand due to a single poor customer service experience (compared to 60% across all age groups and 54% of consumers ages 55+)

Self-service, Mobile and Chat 

  1. When engaging with a brand or organization for customer service, 65% of 18 – 34-year-olds’ interactions now begin online (compared to 55% across all age groups and 46% of consumers ages 55+).
  2. When beginning an online customer service interaction, 36% of consumers ages 18 – 34 start on a mobile device rather than a desktop or laptop computer (compared to 28% overall who start on mobile and 21% of consumers ages 55+).
  3. 60% of consumers ages 18 – 34 regularly use live chat for customer service (compared to 45% across all age groups and 32% of consumers ages 55+).
  4. 89% of 18 – 34-year-old consumers have used a search engine to try and find the answer to their customer service question (compared to 75% across all age groups and 60% of consumers ages 55+).
  5. 84% of millennial customers have used a self-service portal for customer service (compared to 73% overall and 63% of consumers ages 55+).
  6. For millennials, 81% have a more favorable view of a brand or organization if their customer service portal is mobile-responsive (compared to just 66% overall and 53% of consumers ages 55+).

Social Customer Engagement 

  1. Almost half (47%) of consumers ages 18 – 34 have used social media to complain about a brand’s customer service (compared to just 29% overall and 12% of consumers ages 55+).
  2. 52% of 18 – 34-year old consumers have used social media to ask a customer service question (compared to 31% of consumers overall and 13% of age 55+ consumers).
  3. And if you were wondering if your brand should continue to invest in social media as a customer service channel (or give customer service access to your brand’s social media properties to respond to customer service questions), 64% of consumers ages 18 – 34 say they believe social media is an effective channel for customer service, compared to 45% of consumers overall and 27% of those ages 55+.