Companies in Canada are investing in headcount and software for customer service

Data suggests that demand for customer service is growing. We asked 200 professionals what their company is doing about it, and specifically which technologies and strategies they are investing in.

In a crowded marketplace, exceptional customer service can help brands stand out from the competition. But delivering on the promise of a great experience can be costly —it requires good people plus investment in customer service tools and processes. What’s more, customer service can be hard to scale. The more customers you have, the more effort it takes to keep them all happy.

To understand more about the challenges of customer service in Canada in 2024, we surveyed 200 people who are involved in this area within their company.

In this article, we explore the growth in demand for customer support, and how companies are investing in outsourcing and software to deal with it. In part two, we ask whether artificial intelligence (AI) is helping companies deliver better and/or more efficient customer service and explore some of the pros and cons.

You can scroll down to the bottom of this article for a full methodology.

Email and phone support still rule, and satisfaction rates are high

Brands can offer many different customer support channels today, but traditional ones are still the most widespread. Over 80% of those polled said their company offers phone or email support, while significant proportions provide help via live chat, social media, and SMS.

When looking at live support options, most agents are able to speak to customers and resolve issues fairly quickly. In our survey, 89% said that customers can speak to a representative on the phone or on live chat within 10 minutes. And 65% said that customer issues via these channels are typically resolved within the same time window.

Perhaps as a result, most brands are reporting good customer satisfaction scores. 54% cite an improvement compared with scores from two years ago, while only 6% said they have seen scores decrease.

Software investment set to continue

Established service channels appear to be performing well, and customer satisfaction is stable or increasing for most. But with demand growing, brands should consider where their next customer service investment lies. The major target areas here are either in personnel (whether in-house or outsourced) and technology.

Customer service software is widespread among the companies represented in our survey, although perhaps not as widespread as would be expected.

For example, although 82% offer live phone support, only 51% use dedicated call centre software. And less than half of companies in our survey use help desk software, even though this would be the obvious choice for fielding, tracking, and resolving customer support requests.

Call centre software, however, is high on companies’ wish lists. Of those that don’t currently use it, 35% have formal plans for an investment, and 23% are considering it. In total, therefore, 80% of respondents to this survey say their company either uses call centre software or has some interest in starting to use it.

Demand for customer service capacity is growing

Several factors indicate that demand for customer service is growing. A large proportion (42%) of the more senior staff in our survey —those involved in customer service budget and strategic initiatives— said their company plans to add more staff in this area, compared with just 15% who foresee a decrease in workforce.

Around two-thirds of these senior respondents said that they handle customer service phone enquiries in house, but the rest outsource at least some calls. What’s more, most of those that don’t currently outsource are at least considering it.

Most of those (67%) that currently outsource customer phone support expect their company’s investment in this area to remain steady over the next 18 months, although nearly a quarter (23%) think it will increase.

Strategies to handle increased customer service demand

Research indicates that companies in Canada are pursuing three well-established strategies to help them better handle their customer service challenges.

1. Grow your in-house team

Like many of the respondents to our survey, you might want to consider recruiting more customer service agents. Although hiring can be expensive, in-house staff are fully embedded in your company, so should be able to provide the most comprehensive support. You can also explore combining customer service duties with other roles to provide employees with a more rounded experience.

2. Consider outsourcing

Using a dedicated customer service provider can be a cost-effective way to meet your immediate needs, and this is a popular option among Canadian businesses. But you should consider what impact this might have on data protection if an external provider is handling sensitive information belonging to you or your customers.

3. Find efficiencies through technology

Software investments can help streamline workflows, manage processes, and automate aspects of your customer service provision. AI features have added new functionality here, and we will explore the impact of this in more detail in part 2.