1 | HDI Research Corner: Customer Technical Support Edition, October 2012
Jenny Rains
Senior Research Analyst, HDI
For companies that sell products or services that require technical support, the support customers receive might be the only personal
experience they can use to gauge their satisfaction with an organization. Since, for many of these organizations, customer satisfaction
directly affects revenue, measuring customers’ satisfaction with the service experience and the services provided is extremely important
as it enables these organizations to manage and improve the customer experience.
This HDI Research Corner report reveals the findings from 264 support organizations that provide technical support for the services or
products used by customers. The data was collected via an online survey from August to October 2012.
Survey Results
Methods of Assessment
Ninety-five percent of customer technical support organizations are assessing customer satisfaction with the support services provided.
The most common method for analyzing satisfaction levels, used by 68 percent of technical support organizations, involves sending
a customer an email regarding a specific ticket. The second most popular method of formal assessment involves periodically (e.g.,
quarterly, annually) surveying customers regarding support services, also by email (39%). About one-quarter of companies allow
customers to submit feedback at any time through the company website, a less traditional channel.
Eleven percent of customer technical support organizations use social media monitoring, a relatively new means of gauging customer
satisfaction. One benefit of this surveillance method is that satisfaction can be monitored without soliciting responses. However,
organizations should keep in mind that customers usually post comments about companies’ customer service when they are either
extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied. Monitoring social media channels is a valuable way to spot red flags, but it should not be
the sole method for gauging customer satisfaction levels.
Measuring Customer
Satisfaction with
Support Services
OCTOBER 2012
CUSTOMER TECHNICAL
SUPPORT EDITION
Assessing Customer Satisfaction
with the Support Services Provided
Assessing Customer Satisfaction
with the Support Services Provided
Respondents were allowed to choose more than one option.
Percent of organizations
EMAIL sent to
customer regarding
a specific ticket
PHONE CALL to
customer regarding
a specific ticket
PHONE: Customers can
opt to participate in a
survey
before
speaking
with a representative
PHONE: Customers can
opt to participate in a
survey
after
speaking
with a representative
PERIODIC
(e.g., quarterly, annually)
survey of customers
regarding support
services, via
EMAIL invitation
PERIODIC
(e.g., quarterly, annually)
survey of customers
regarding support
services, via
POSTAL MAIL survey
PERIODIC
(e.g., quarterly, annually)
survey of customers
regarding support
services, via
PHONE survey
PERIODIC
(e.g., quarterly, annually)
survey of customers
regarding support
services, via the
COMPANY WEBSITE
68%
39%
23%
2%
5%
46%
27%
6%
11%
5%
8%
7%
(OTHER)
5%
(NONE)
0%
0%
0%
Customers submit feedback
when they chose, via the
COMPANY WEBSITE
INFORMAL FEEDBACK
from customers
SOCIAL MEDIA
monitoring
2 | HDI Research Corner: Customer Technical Support Edition, October 2012
Comparing Assessment Methods
Overall, organizations are not overly confident that their method, or combination of methods, is successful at measuring customer
satisfaction with support services. When asked to rate the success of their assessment methods on a scale from one to ten, where ten
is “very successful” at assessing their customers’ satisfaction with the support services provided, the average score was a 6.32.
The highest scoring method, periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) surveying of customers regarding support services via email invitation,
was rated 6.67. Companies with a combined approach of incident-based surveying (i.e., requesting feedback regarding a specific
ticket) and periodic surveying (i.e., requesting general feedback about support services provided) rated their success in assessing
customer satisfaction higher, with a score of 6.80.
Organizations were also asked to estimate the percentage of customers that are offered the survey and end up completing the survey
(completion rate). The most common survey method, sending an email to a customer regarding a specific ticket, has the lowest
completion rate, with a median of 21–25 percent. Phone surveys about specific tickets have a higher median completion rate, at 41–50
percent. Note that completion rates can vary depending on the number of customers sampled, the frequency of surveying, and the
opt-out options available to customers.
Success Ratings for Customer Satisfaction Assessments
(1 = “very unsuccessful” –> 10 = “very successful”)
Average
Rating
Email sent to customer regarding a specific ticket
6.58
Phone call to customer regarding a specific ticket
6.27
Phone: Customers can opt to participate in a survey before speaking with a representative
Limited Data
Phone: Customer can opt to participate in a survey after speaking with a representative
Limited Data
Customers submit feedback when they chose, via the company website
6.41
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via email invitation
6.67
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via postal mail survey
6.61
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via phone survey
Limited Data
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via the company website
Limited Data
Social media monitoring
6.61
Informal feedback from customers
6.22
Completion Rates by Survey Method
Median
Email sent to customer regarding a specific ticket
21–25%
Phone call to customer regarding a specific ticket
41–50%
Phone: Customers can opt to participate in a survey before speaking with a representative
Limited Data
Phone: Customer can opt to participate in a survey after speaking with a representative
Limited Data
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via email invitation
26–30%
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via postal mail survey
26–30%
Periodic (e.g., quarterly, annually) survey of customers regarding support services, via phone survey
Limited Data
3 | HDI Research Corner: Customer Technical Support Edition, October 2012
The Metrics: Customer Satisfaction
Most companies (50%) report that more than 90 percent of their customers are satisfied with the technical support services they provide.
An additional 17 percent report that 86–90 percent of their customers are satisfied. Customers from 23 percent of organizations are able
to review the company’s satisfaction scores. Sixty-eight percent of organizations share their satisfaction scores with the technical support
staff. Managers and directors are the most common group that reviews customer satisfaction scores (86%), followed by executives (74%).
Customer Satisfaction’s Effect on Compensation
Because customer service is tied to revenue in customer-facing technical support, it is not surprising to learn that compensation
(including either salaries or bonuses) for support representatives/analysts in more than one-third (34%) of organizations is influenced
by their customer satisfaction survey results. Thirty-five percent of organizations use other customer satisfaction-related performance
metrics to set salaries and calculate bonuses for this group. Forty-six percent of companies’ support representative/analyst compensation
practices are influenced at least somewhat by measures of customer satisfaction. Results are similar for management, with 47 percent
of companies’ management compensation practices influenced by measures of customer satisfaction.
Less than 50%
50–60%
61–70%
71–75%
76–80%
81–85%
86–90%
91–95%
96–100%
Customer Satisfaction
with Support
Services Provided
Customer Satisfaction
with Support
Services Provided
Customer
Satisfaction
Measures That
Influence
Bonuses or
Salaries for
Each Level
Customer
Satisfaction
Measures That
Influence
Bonuses or
Salaries for
Each Level
Percentage of organizations
Percentage of organizations
Percentage of
satisfied customers
5.2%
2.9%
1.9%
5.7%
4.8%
12.4%
17.1%
26.2%
23.8%
Customer satisfaction survey results
Other customer service-related metrics
Customer retention
Other
34.1%
35.2%
11.0%
9.1%
29.9%
34.8%
18.2%
12.5%
Management
Support representative/
analyst
4 | HDI Research Corner: Customer Technical Support Edition, October 2012
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Other Customer Satisfaction Metrics
Beyond customer satisfaction ratings, other measures of satisfaction used by customer technical support organizations include average
time to respond (67%) and time to resolve (61%). Reopen rate (17%) and net promoter score (15%) are currently the least common.
The most common “Other” response was abandonment rate.
Companies that provide external technical support for products or services have a unique role compared to support centers that
provide internal IT support. For these companies, the technical support team is often the face of the company, or at the very least the
hands, from the customer’s perspective. This scenario creates an interesting challenge with regard to measuring customer satisfaction
with the actual support provided instead of with the product or service being consumed. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the companies
surveyed admit that it is difficult to distinguish between their customers’ satisfaction with the support provided and the product or
service being supported. This complexity could partially account for the unimpressive ratings for the success of various assessment
methods (“Comparing Assessment Methods”).
The organizations that reported that it is not difficult to distinguish between the two (36%) were asked to briefly explain how their
organizations make that distinction. The most common response was that the survey questions they use on their satisfaction surveys are
designed to specifically address this possible confusion. For example, they are either specific in the way they word their questions (i.e.,
this survey is about the support provided and not a product or service) or they include a separate question(s) about the customer’s
satisfaction with a product or service. In addition, several organizations reported that allowing customers to provide text responses
helps make this distinction.
Conclusion
As an industry, companies that sell products or services requiring technical support realize the importance of assessing customer
satisfaction with the support service. Only a small percentage (5%) report that they are not currently doing this. Most are allowing
their customers to provide formal feedback, and some are monitoring social media or assessing informal feedback from customers. In
addition, organizations are measuring performance metrics that directly affect the customer experience.
However, it is important to note that assessing satisfaction is only one part of the solution to improving support. Organizations must act
on that analysis. While basing salaries and bonuses on customer satisfaction may encourage some employees to provide better service,
training support staffs and modifying practices based on the assessment of customer satisfaction is the key. Measurement alone will not
improve customer satisfaction. When a company’s revenue depends on satisfied customers, taking action and making research-based
modifications is critical to its survival.
Percentage of organizations
Customer Satisfaction-
Related Metrics Currently
Measured for
Support Services
Customer Satisfaction-
Related Metrics Currently
Measured for
Support Services
Average time to respond
Time to resolve
First contact resolution rate
SLAs met
Reopen rate
Net promoter score
Other
66.7%
61.4%
56.4%
44.3%
16.7%
15.2%
14.4%
5 | HDI Research Corner: Customer Technical Support Edition, October 2012
