ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 28, 2019 – CFI Group’s 2019 Government Websites report shows that customer satisfaction with federal government websites remains at 73, as measured on a 0-100 scale, unchanged from 2017 and 2018. The likelihood that visitors will recommend federal government websites also remains steady at 76, and while the likelihood that visitors will return to the site is slipping, the score of 80 remains relatively strong.

U.S. government federal websites receive roughly 10 billion visits annually. The Digital Analytics Program, hosted by the GSA’s Technology Transformation Service, tracks unified activity across 400 domains and 5,700 federal agency websites. Agencies can use these analytics to understand how visitors are engaging their websites, but a deeper understanding of the role and efficacy of these sites can be realized by capturing website customer experience feedback that complements the DAP website activity metrics.

The 2019 Government Websites study is designed to determine how well agency websites deliver a satisfying customer experience for visitors. This study is based on feedback from 732 respondents who have recently visited a federal government website.

According to the study, agencies should focus on the three high-impact elements of the website customer experience in 2019:

1. Enable better FUNCTIONALITY for mobile devices

11% are not able to accomplish their intended task using their mobile device

2. Improve WAYFINDING for intuitive browsing and searching

42% visit an agency’s website just to browse for general info

3. Make CHAT available by the agency contact center

Visitors who use chat are 21% more satisfied than those who do not

Offering live chat on the agency website is a clear boost to customer satisfaction with the website experience. While only 14% of federal website visitors use the chat feature on the site to get assistance, visitors who use chat have an exceptional website experience compared to those who do not. The 2019 Government Websites report shows that for those who use chat, the satisfaction score is 86. Moreover, 93% accomplish their task, and 89% have an improved view of the agency. For those who do not use chat, the satisfaction score is 71. 88% accomplish their task, and only 35% have an improved view of the agency.

“Enabling live chat for website visitors is a powerful way for an agency to deliver top-notch service to their customers,” says Kelly Stallard, Public Sector Program Director at CFI Group. “Making contact center agents available by chat boosts customer satisfaction, helps customers accomplish their tasks, and improves the reputation of the agency, all while cutting contact center costs by reducing call volume.”

Analysis from CFI Group’s upcoming Government Contact Center Satisfaction Index (GCCSI) 2019 report shows that 51% of those who reach out to the contact center try the agency’s site first. Agencies should measure the website and contact center together as part of the full customer service journey to best understand how to improve the customer experience across all customer service touchpoints.