Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of January 23, 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.

AI improves field service quality and customer experience by Vala Afshar

(ZDNET) Research shows that 80% of high performing field service organizations use artificial intelligence.

My Comment: If you have service technicians in the field, you will enjoy this article by CX guru Vala Afshar, who covers how AI supports customer service and experience efforts. The article starts with stats and facts that make a case for why delivering excellent service is non-negotiable. This is followed by three trends from the Salesforce State of Service research and five takeaways.

6 Contact Centre Initiatives You Can’t Ignore by Call Centre Helper

(Call Centre Helper) Here are some of the top initiatives contact centre managers need to be keeping a close eye on, to avoid their operations being left behind.

My Comment: This excellent article focuses on strategies and tactics to consider for your call center. It starts with the important topic of keeping your best people. Next is my commentary on self-service and convenience, featuring findings from our customer service research. Throw in four more initiatives, and you have plenty of good ideas worth your consideration.

How retailers can capture customer loyalty in 5 charts by Arielle Feger

(Insider Intelligence) As brand loyalty declines, deals remain a surefire way to win over consumers. Shoppers get discounts and retailers get invaluable first-party data. It’s a win-win. Here are five charts on how to up your loyalty game.

My Comment: This is one of the more interesting articles about loyalty programs. It takes five ideas, such as “Give the people what they want (the rewards),” and supports the idea with research, stats, and facts. For example, the number one perk customers want is discounts over freebies. It also includes some findings on why customers would leave your program.

40 Ideas to Shake Up Your Hiring Process by Joseph Fuller, Nithya Vaduganathan, Allison Bailey, and Manjari Raman

(HBR) In this article, the authors list 40 tools — some familiar but underutilized, others unfamiliar and innovative — that can help companies find and keep the people they need to succeed in both the short-term and the long-term.

My Comment: What happens when a Harvard Business School professor teams up with partners at Boston Consulting Group to write about hiring? You get a list of 40 ideas to get you thinking about what to do, change, stop doing, and more when it comes to your hiring practices. If you want to attract and keep your best talent, take a few minute to read this article.

BONUS #1

4 Secrets For Getting Awesome Customer Service by Chip Bell

(Forbes) Time-tested practices can land you the best table at a restaurant, an upgraded hotel room, or expedited service from the contact center agent. I asked seven world-famous customer experience gurus to share their secrets for being well served.

My Comment: This week, I’m including several bonus articles. This first one is written by fellow customer service expert Chip Bell. He called upon seven of his friends, myself included, to share how to get the best customer service. This isn’t about giving good service but getting good service.

BONUS #2

13 of the most popular Customer Experience blogs by Steven Van Belleghem

(Steven Van Belleghem) I am always looking for interesting sources to update my customer experience knowledge. To kick start 2023, here you can find some of my favorite customer experience blogs

My Comment: Steven Van Belleghem is one of the top CX experts in the world. He assembled a list of the 13 most popular customer experience (CX) blogs. This is a list of the best-of-the-best, including Seth Godin, Brian Solis, Gary Vaynerchuk, and more. (Thank you, Steven, for including me on this prestigious list.)

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 at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.