Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of December 16, 2024

Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comments about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

The Customer Experience Paradox – and How to Overcome It by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE

(MARKETING-INTERACTIVE) As consumers tighten their spending after poor experiences, brands face mounting pressure to prioritise CX or risk losing market share. Qualtrics’ fourth annual Consumer Experience Trends report reveals the stakes: despite fewer negative interactions, consumers are quicker to cut spending after bad experiences, while trust, loyalty, and satisfaction have all fallen over the last year.

My Comment: Let’s kick off this week with a powerful statement: In 2025, delivering exceptional customer experiences (CX) is the difference between growth and decline. This is the opening line of this excellent article, which is filled with stats and findings from Qualtrics’ fourth annual Consumer Experience Trends report. This information will compel you to make sure you’ve given the attention CX deserves. Not doing so is a risk to the long-term survival of your company!

Loyalty Programs Are Growing—So Are Customer Expectations by Ed Crouch, Ben Eppler, Lauren Taylor, Christina Mühlenbein, and Elizabeth Hearne

(Boston Consulting Group) This article explains that the incentives companies offer in a loyalty program must go beyond points, perks, and cash. In short, to quote the article, “To keep people happy, companies must deliver a differentiated experience with personalized benefits and relevant partnerships.” What does that mean? Go back and read the first sentence of this very short description, and then read the article.

My Comment: This article explains that the incentives companies offer in a loyalty program must go beyond points, perks, and cash. In short, to quote the article, “To keep people happy, companies must deliver a differentiated experience with personalized benefits and relevant partnerships.” What does that mean? Go back and read the first sentence of this very short description, and then read the article.

Building Relationships That Last a Lifetime by Inc. Custom Studio

(Inc. Magazine) A growth-at-all-costs mindset can land a company in hot water, creating misalignment with consumer needs and preventing the development of the long-term customer relationships that are foundational to healthy businesses. In fact, it’s so-called forever customers who remain perennially faithful to a brand that can be key to delivering steady growth year after year. Indeed, driving that kind of sustainable growth is a top priority for 94.8% of midmarket consumer products businesses, according to new research from SAP Insights.

My Comment: What is a Forever Customer? Exactly what it sounds like. They are repeat and loyal customers who are crucial to a company or brand staying in business. They appreciate the value (product and experience) of the brands they love. They aren’t wooed away by a better price or deal. This is the customer you want!

Emotion Is the New Metric: The Rise of Sentiment Analysis in Retail by Scott Clark

(CMSWire) Sentiment analysis — a technique that uses natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and AI to gauge emotions in customer interactions — has emerged as a powerful tool for uncovering the drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Sentiment analysis enables retailers to go beyond surface-level data, uncovering the emotional trends that shape purchasing behavior and brand loyalty.

My Comment: A new metric? Could emotion or “sentiment” be the next metric that helps predict customer loyalty – or at least a returning customer? This is an interesting new way to look at customer interactions, both in person and digitally. Customer behavior is driven by the experience, which could include an emotional connection to the company or brand. Maybe understanding sentiment analysis is worth considering as you look for ways to track and understand your customers’ buying patterns.

Jet-Lagged but Inspired: Fresh Takes on AI and Customer Experience by Ian Jacobs

(Opus Research) Despite the headlong rush enterprise and contact center leaders are in to automate seemingly every customer interaction, the low-hanging fruit for brands remains in augmenting the employees providing interaction assistance.

My Comment: We close out this week’s Top Five with a focus on the role of a contact center. Two lines in this article caught my attention. First: The Contact Center Is More than Just Agents. Second: CX Is More Than Just Customer Service. If you have a contact center, this is an excellent article that will make you realize that the customer support department does much more than answer questions and solve problems. This takes the traditional customer service or support department (and agent) to another level. And while CX is a popular name that, for some companies, is synonymous with customer service, it’s not. It’s much more powerful and important than just service.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.