Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of January 9, 2023

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 comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Customer Experience Predictions for 2023 by Dan Gingiss

(Dan Gingiss) It’s a new year, so why not start it off right with some powerful customer experience predictions from the world’s foremost experts?

My Comment: This week’s Top Five roundup will include articles with LOTS of content in the form of lists. If I did my addition correctly, there should be 115 ideas, trends, predictions, and more in these articles. We start with my friend and fellow CX expert Dan Gingiss, who shares a list of 45 items, including the best books to buy and podcasts to listen to.

23 Things Every Contact Centre Manager Needs to STOP Doing in 2023 by Call Centre Helper

(Call Centre Helper) Are you guilty of doing things the way they’ve always been done? Looking to make some positive changes, but don’t know where to start? Look no further! We asked our panel of consultants for the things contact centre managers really need to stop doing – as soon as possible – to help rejuvenate their customer service operations.

My Comment: Here are 23 things NOT TO DO! How many of these are we guilty of? As you read what not to do, change the words just a bit (get rid of the negative implications), and you’ll come up with a list of what you can and should do.

11 Customer Experience Themes for 2023 by John DiJulius

(Franchise Update Media) Now is the best time to create your Customer Experience theme for the new year, one that you can rally your entire organization around. Here are some excellent and actionable insights to kick off brainstorming for making 2023 your best year ever:

My Comment: My buddy John DiJulius, another global CX guru, shares 11 “themes” related to customer service and CX. I like his positive twist on some of the negative themes that we’ve experienced. For example, he turns “The Great Resignation” into “The Great Retention.”

Seven Ways to Improve Customer Service in Hotel Industry by TravelDailyNews

(TravelDailyNews) Excellent customer service is crucial in the hospitality industry, where customers often play an active role. Travelers usually stay at hotels to indulge in self-care or mark special occasions. Providing nothing less than the best in such a situation is imperative. In the hotel industry, providing excellent customer service is crucial to enriching brand recognition and attracting repeat business. Here are seven suggestions for improving customer service in the hotel sector.

My Comment: There are some good predictions in this article. I’m especially intrigued with the first two, which are about hyper-personalization and a new measurement focused on trust. Our CX research finds that 83% of customers trust a company or brand more if they deliver a great customer experience. Want your trust scores to go up? Focus on providing excellent customer service.

6 Keys To Ramping Up Your Customer Service From Average to Exceptional by Martin Zwilling

(Inc. Magazine) Customer service has traditionally been focused on the resolution of complaints, primarily after a transaction. With the advent of social media, and instant communication via the Internet, that definition has been expanded to include all aspects of the customer experience, from finding you and what they need, to the ease of completing the transaction, as well as all follow-on support.

My Comment: Who wants to do business with a company that is average – or just okay? Here’s a list of ideas to move you from average to exceptional. What I like is that these ideas (and most in all of the articles shared today) don’t take a lot of financial investment. It’s really about how you think about what you already do and have.

BONUS

23 Ways to Create an Amazing Experience In 2023 by Shep Hyken

(Shep Hyken) I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, which are often broken. Instead, I like setting and resetting my goals for the year, and in my world, those goals focus on delivering an amazing customer service experience. So, I’ve created a list of simple ways to deliver the experience that everyone wants. Here are 23 ways to help you and your teams provide an amazing customer experience in 2023.

My Comment: As long as we’re sharing lists, here’s mine… A list of 23 ideas that will help you create the experience your customers want. Many of these are common sense, but as I say often, they are (unfortunately) not so common.