Good Customer Service Is Your Best Holiday Marketing Investment (Infographic)

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, consumers are busy checking off gift lists, bargain hunting, power shopping and… enduring unpleasant customer service interactions.

While big-name companies including Amazon and Overstock are making customer service a priority this holiday season, a new study of more than 1,200 U.S. consumers is finds customer service is still falling short across the board. Poor customer service experiences put a major damper on holiday cheer and do some serious damage to your bottom line as well. Almost half of the survey respondents (48 percent) indicated they had stopped doing business with a company due to negative customer service experiences within the past year.

Related: Let's Get Personal: Using Technology to Improve In-Store Customer Experience

The holidays are an ideal time to capture consumers’ hearts and turn them into loyal customers year-round. The infographic below identifies what frustrates consumers most, and what you can do to ensure customer cheer throughout the holidays and all the days that follow.

Related: Why You Should Think Less About Sales and More About the Customer Experience