{"id":1768,"slug":"gartner-12-percent-website-4-percent-search-engine-channel-2019","title":"Gartner (Sept 2019, 8,398 customers) — company website preferred by 12% / search engine by 4% for issue resolution; phone leads at 44%","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["self-service-customer-preference"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** In a survey of 8,398 customers, the company website was a preferred issue-resolution channel for **12%** and a search engine for **4%** (phone led at **44%**).\n\n**Source:** Gartner press release, September 25, 2019.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified — independent, primary press release.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Honest channel-share data. The numbers caution against overselling \"everyone self-serves now\" — phone is still dominant for resolution preference even though [[gartner-14-percent-self-service-resolution-2024]] shows 73% of customers TRY self-service at some point. Use to keep the catalogue case sober.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"hbr-81-percent-attempt-self-service-first-2017","title":"HBR (Dixon et al., 2017) — 81% of all customers attempt self-service before reaching out to a live representative","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-searchable-structured-catalogue-working-tool-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the searchable, structured catalogue as a working tool — when records-not-prose pays off (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.636Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.636Z"}