Benchmarks for response speed, customer expectations, self-service, and retention impact.
Customer support benchmarks: response speed, self-service adoption, retention economics, and the commercial impact of experience. Sources include HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, PwC, and Harvard Business Review.
Speed expectations remain unforgiving: 90% of customers want an immediate response, and 60% define that as 10 minutes or less.
Actual email performance still trails those expectations. SuperOffice found a 12-hour, 10-minute average response time and reported that most companies do not answer support emails at all.
Customer experience still drives economics, not just sentiment. PwC found customers will pay up to a 16% premium for better experiences, while 32% would leave a loved brand after one bad interaction.
Self-service is no longer optional. Salesforce and Zendesk both show strong customer preference for resolving simple issues independently before contacting support.
Retention remains the more efficient growth lever: Harvard Business Review cites both the 5-to-25x acquisition cost gap and the 25% to 95% profit lift tied to a 5% retention improvement.
| Statistic | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 90% of customers rate an immediate response as important when they have a customer service question. | HubSpot | 2022 |
| 60% of customers define immediate as 10 minutes or less. | HubSpot | 2022 |
| 62% of companies do not respond to customer service emails at all. | SuperOffice | 2025 |
| Across the companies SuperOffice studied, the average email response time was 12 hours and 10 minutes. | SuperOffice | 2025 |
| 73% of consumers say customer experience is an important factor in their purchasing decisions. | PwC | 2018 |
| Nearly 60% of consumers say they have higher customer service expectations than they did one year ago. |
HubSpot found that 90% of customers consider an immediate response important, and 60% define immediate as 10 minutes or less.
SuperOffice reports an average customer service email response time of 12 hours and 10 minutes and found that 62% of companies did not respond to support emails in its study.
PwC found that 73% of consumers treat experience as a meaningful purchase factor, and some customers will pay up to a 16% premium for a better experience.
| 62% of companies do not respond to customer service emails at all. | Response Time Benchmarks | SuperOffice | 2025 | Source |
| Across the companies SuperOffice studied, the average email response time was 12 hours and 10 minutes. | Response Time Benchmarks | SuperOffice | 2025 | Source |
| 73% of consumers say customer experience is an important factor in their purchasing decisions. | Customer Expectations | PwC | 2018 | Source |
| Nearly 60% of consumers say they have higher customer service expectations than they did one year ago. | Customer Expectations | Microsoft | 2016 | Source |
| Customers will pay up to a 16% price premium for a great experience. | Customer Expectations | PwC | 2018 | Source |
| 32% of customers say they would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. | Customer Expectations | PwC | 2018 | Source |
| 97% of consumers say customer service is important in their choice of and loyalty to a brand. | Customer Expectations | Microsoft | 2016 | Source |
| 82% of service professionals agree customer expectations are higher than they used to be. | Customer Expectations | Salesforce | 2025 | Source |
| 61% of customers prefer self-service for simple issues. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Salesforce | 2024 | Source |
| 90% of customers worldwide expect brands or organizations to offer a self-service customer support portal. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Microsoft | 2016 | Source |
| Roughly 1 in 5 people say they cannot find the information they need in self-service resources. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Microsoft | 2016 | Source |
| 80% of high-performing service organizations provide self-service, versus 56% of underperformers. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Salesforce | 2025 | Source |
| 81% of customers try to solve problems themselves before reaching out to a live representative. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Zendesk / Harvard Business Review | 2023 | Source |
| 26% of service representatives say they often lack context about a customer’s situation. | Self-Service & Channel Strategy | Salesforce | 2025 | Source |
| Acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. | Retention & Revenue Impact | Harvard Business Review | 2014 | Source |
| A 5% increase in customer retention can raise profits by 25% to 95%. | Retention & Revenue Impact | Harvard Business Review / Bain & Company | 2014 | Source |
| Microsoft |
| 2016 |
| Customers will pay up to a 16% price premium for a great experience. | PwC | 2018 |
| 32% of customers say they would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. | PwC | 2018 |
| 97% of consumers say customer service is important in their choice of and loyalty to a brand. | Microsoft | 2016 |
| 82% of service professionals agree customer expectations are higher than they used to be. | Salesforce | 2025 |
| 61% of customers prefer self-service for simple issues. | Salesforce | 2024 |
| 90% of customers worldwide expect brands or organizations to offer a self-service customer support portal. | Microsoft | 2016 |
| Roughly 1 in 5 people say they cannot find the information they need in self-service resources. | Microsoft | 2016 |
| 80% of high-performing service organizations provide self-service, versus 56% of underperformers. | Salesforce | 2025 |
| 81% of customers try to solve problems themselves before reaching out to a live representative. | Zendesk / Harvard Business Review | 2023 |
| 26% of service representatives say they often lack context about a customer’s situation. | Salesforce | 2025 |
| Acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. | Harvard Business Review | 2014 |
| A 5% increase in customer retention can raise profits by 25% to 95%. | Harvard Business Review / Bain & Company | 2014 |
Yes for simpler issues. Salesforce reports that 61% of customers prefer self-service for straightforward problems, and Zendesk cites the well-known benchmark that 81% try to solve issues themselves before reaching an agent.
The economics are substantial. Harvard Business Review cites research showing that acquiring a new customer costs 5 to 25 times more than retaining one, and that a 5% retention lift can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
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