5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of April 16, 2018

Each week I read a number of 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.

This Is The One List That Retail Businesses Want To Avoid by Dan Gingiss

(Forbes) Retail signs and displays communicate more about your brand than just what’s on sale. The popular marketing tactic of using “doorbusters,” “endcaps” and other eye-catching displays to drive purchases can be quite successful, but it can also backfire spectacularly when there are unintended mistakes.

My Comment: We start with a fun article by customer experience expert Dan Gingiss who writes about how signs and displays may communicate more about your brand than you might think. It’s like an episode of TV Bloopers but in the retail world. This one will make you smile.

7 Top Tips to Build Trust Faster with Prospects by Susan Friesen

(Business2Community) Our biggest goal as business owners who have an online presence is knowing how to build trust fast with prospects.

My Comment: One of the most powerful customer experiences strategies you can deliver to your customers has nothing to do with customer service. It has to do with trust, which creates confidence and comfort with your customers. It ties to a customer’s emotional side and can be an important reason the customer chooses to do business with you. This short article has seven tips that will help build a confidence-building CX.

8 Tips for Raising Your Customer Service Standards by Bobby Amezaga

(Salesforce) It’s time to review your current customer service standards and see where your service team can improve and make a deeper impact on the customer experience.

My Comment: Do you have customer service standards? What are the “non-negotiable” behaviors and processes that drive a consistent high-level customer experience? If you don’t have them – and even if you do – here is a list of some of the “standards” you may want to consider.

Brands That Use AI To Enhance Marketing (Infographic) 2018 by Karthik Reddy

(16Best) We all know how marketing can enhance sales. However, enhancing marketing requires real skills and creativity. Or does it?

My Comment: Here is a short article and infographic that describes how 16 brands – many of them recognizable – are using AI to fuel their marketing, but also to create a better customer experience. Great examples and I’m sure you’ll be surprised by a few of the ways these brands are embracing AI and technology.

My Comment: Are up ready for a scary prediction? Forrester’s recent Predictions 2018 report (a fee is charged) states that customers’ expectations will outpace a company’s ability to “evolve or invent experiences.” Furthermore, this decline in CX performance will “translate to a net loss of a point of growth.” So, what are you doing about this? Start by reading this article on five CX trends that may give you some insight into what you need to do to stay ahead of your customers’ expectations

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken