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When Customers Need Help Is Your Website Secretly Sabotaging Your Brand?
The aim of this article is two-fold. The first is to showcase why the website is such a critical interaction channel for brands and the second is to highlight the actions brands must take to improve its effectiveness.
The perception of a brand is often defined by pivotal moments, none more so than when a customer reaches out for help. The way a brand responds during these critical moments often has a lasting impact on customer relationships, influencing loyalty and trust. For many customers, the website is the first point of contact when seeking assistance. But at critical moments are websites effective, not only at addressing immediate customer needs, but also deepening the customer’s connection to the brand?
What Happens When Websites Fail
Are websites failing to meet customer expectations at key moments? This is not a question that is best answered in isolation, rather it requires comparative analysis. The data reveals important industry differences that need to be highlighted. Customers who avoid interacting with financial institution websites during their journey are more than twice as likely to report that all their brand interactions have been positive (a 14-point difference). Across all industries, customer journeys that include website interactions tend to deliver a worse experience than those that avoid them.
Many brands encourage customers to visit their website as the first point of contact for questions. However, when websites fall short of meeting customer expectations and preferences, this strategy can inadvertently harm customer-brand relationships.
The Impact of Not Aligning with Customer Preferences
Brands not only fail due to poor website experiences but also by ignoring customer preferences. Our data shows that when seeking help, customers prefer using the phone over the website by a 2-to-1 margin. This reveals a key misstep: brands push customers to use websites at critical moments, placing undue pressure on a channel many don't want to use in the first place.
Many brands limit live communication options, pushing customers to digital channels and eliminating the human interactions that could foster empathy, resolve issues, and build long-term loyalty. While it's easy to find a brand's website through a quick search, data shows only 1 in 10 users resolve their issue in a single website interaction. In contrast, 1 in 2 customers using the phone achieve their desired outcome in one call. This significant performance gap explains why customers prefer the phone. When brands insist on website use by decreasing phone access, they intentionally prolong issue resolution, further eroding customer trust.
Why Websites Underperform & How to Fix It
At critical moments, such as when seeking a resolution, customers expect an effortless experience. However, websites often fail to meet this expectation. On average only 35% of customers find websites easy to use when they need help the most. Healthcare websites are the least user-friendly, with just 30% of customers rating them as easy. In contrast, Tech, Media, and Telecom (TMT) brands set the standard, with 42% of customers finding their websites effective.
The two main reasons why websites often fail during critical moments are outdated content and lack of clarity. When brands fail to update their website content regularly, they risk frustrating customers, 53% of those who find websites difficult to use cite outdated content as the primary issue. The second reason is that the content is hard to understand, with 51% of users reporting this as the main barrier to a seamless experience. The solution is straightforward: leveraging a platform that identifies content falling short of customer expectations in these two areas and recommends targeted improvements to create a more effortless customer journey.
Conclusion
Websites are a critical touchpoint in the customer journey, especially when help is needed most. However, as the data reveals, many websites fall short of delivering the seamless and effective experiences customers expect. This failure not only undermines customer satisfaction but also damages trust and loyalty, cornerstones of long-term brand success.
To turn this around, brands must take a dual approach: align with customer preferences by offering choice and flexibility in support channels, and ensure their websites are optimized for ease of use, clarity, and up-to-date content. A website that meets these criteria can serve as a powerful tool to strengthen customer relationships and enhance brand perception. By prioritizing customer-centric improvements, brands can transform their websites from a source of frustration into a driver of loyalty and trust.
The Author: A Brief History
JASON TEN-POW
Jason Ten-Pow is a trailblazer in customer experience (CX) transformation, strategy, and analytics. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and growth brands across various industries, including technology, healthcare, consumer goods, and financial services, to strengthen customer relationships, enhance retention strategies, and improve customer support processes. Ten-Pow has guided global giants like Intel, Deloitte, and Coca-Cola in mastering CX.
In 2001, Ten-Pow founded ONR, a pioneering firm focused on online research in customer satisfaction, experience, and segmentation. Under his vision and leadership, ONR has continuously invested in proprietary systems, research, and analytics tools to drive client business growth, improve customer journey strategies, and enhance post-purchase support and retention.
In 2021, Ten-Pow published the best-selling book Unbreakable, which outlines the five stages of CX mastery, providing companies with a roadmap to elevate customer relationships. His innovative strategies have transformed the way businesses interact with their customers, resulting in increased revenue, operational efficiency, and employee engagement for his clients.
In 2023, ONR launched its latest platform, bespokeCX, offering VoC, advanced customer intelligence analytics and actionable strategy development. This platform helps businesses understand their unique challenges and develop tailored action plans based on customer insights for a personalized, frictionless experience.
Based in Toronto and Orlando, Jason Ten-Pow remains at the forefront of CX excellence, committed to helping brands thrive through exceptional customer loyalty and strategic insight.
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