Only 14% of customer issues resolved by self-service, Gartner reports
CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES — A recent survey by management consulting company Gartner highlighted a significant shortfall in the effectiveness of self-service customer support solutions.
According to the survey, only 14% of customer service issues are fully resolved through self-service platforms. Even for issues customers describe as “very simple,” the resolution rate only reaches 36%.
The survey, conducted in December 2023 with 5,728 participants, underscores a critical challenge for organizations that have heavily invested in self-service capabilities. Despite these investments, the resolution rates remain disappointingly low, indicating a gap between customer expectations and service delivery.
Customer usage vs. resolution
Eric Keller, Senior Director of Research at Gartner’s Customer Service & Support Practice, expressed concern over these findings.
“While 73% of customers use self-service at some point in their customer service journey, it’s concerning to see that so few fully resolve there,” Keller stated.
He emphasized the need for customer service leaders to address these issues to maximize the value of their self-service investments.
The survey also revealed that 45% of customers who began their service journey through self-service felt that the company did not understand their needs.
Additionally, 43% of self-service failures were attributed to customers being unable to find relevant content for their issues, highlighting a disconnect between customer needs and available resources.
Strategies for improvement
To enhance self-service resolution rates, Gartner suggests several strategies for customer service leaders:
- Expand content creation: Encourage customer service representatives to contribute to content creation as part of the issue resolution process rather than treating it as a separate task.
- Proactive solutions: Utilize customer data, including account, interaction, and product usage information, to anticipate and address customer needs proactively.
- Simplify resolution paths: Implement a single digital concierge, such as a GenAI chatbot, as the primary entry point for customers, simplifying their journey to resolution.
- Continuous content improvement: Establish processes for ongoing evaluation and enhancement of self-service content, allowing both customers and representatives to flag ineffective materials.
Keller noted, “The realities of self-service journeys, which have many potential paths to a solution, varying expectations for content, and constantly evolving issue types — have limited the success of organizations’ self-service investments.” He stressed the importance of capturing, diagnosing, and predicting customer intent to match them with appropriate solutions.
The path forward
Addressing these self-service challenges will be crucial for achieving organizations’ goals of improving customer satisfaction and reducing operational costs.
Improving self-service solutions enhances customer experience and optimizes resource allocation, offering a win-win scenario for businesses and their clientele.
