Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 10, 2013

Top Customer Service and Business Articles

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online 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 Management: Art vs. Science by Deb Miller

(CMS Wire) There is a long-standing debate as to how much of customer experience management is science and how much is art.  As you decide where you weigh in on the question, here are two customer experiences for your consideration. While one experience is a customer satisfaction triumph and a pleasure to share, the other tells a cautionary tale. They both illustrate the critically important role technology can play, blending science and art to create positive impressions and continuing customer loyalty.

My Comment: It used to be that customer experience was just the customer service that the customer received.  Today it has transcended to marketing, providing us with data that helps us bring customers into the business.  However, the “art” of the experience, not the data, will keep them coming back.

12 Effective Ways to Increase Employee Engagement by Stan Phelps

(9″ Marketing) After studying 1,001 examples of companies that give little unexpected extras to employees, here are a dozen ways to drive engagement and reinforce culture from the book, What’s Your Green Goldfish.

My Comment: Employee engagement is key to creating a better customer and employee experience.  The best companies recognize how important it is to create an environment that fulfills employees and gets them engaged.  The result is a loyal workforce that wants to create loyal customers.

Reader Question: Keeping the Personal Touch Online by Very Bad Business Bureau

(Very Bad Business Bureau) I believe my business is successful because we offer extremely personal service. I can never hope to technologically compete with a national company, so why should I invest in expanding my business online? Anyone who shops online is going to go with the big name.

My Comment: This is a great question for an entrepreneur wanting to compete with a big global company and its online customer service strategy, but here’s my take.  While the answer for the small business/entrepreneur is an excellent answer, bigger businesses should take note.  Customers like doing business with people and companies they have a connection with.  That is why so many national and international brands are trying to create a more local or community presence.  But sometimes, it’s not just about being local.  It’s just to connect.  Every company, big, small and in between, should try to make a personal connection.

7 Lessons You Can Learn from Jeff Bezos About Serving the Customer by Kevin Baldacci

(Desk.com) The latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index reveals Amazon.com as the reining and undisputed champ in both Internet retailing and across the entire department in overall customer satisfaction. Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, perhaps more than any business leader has taken the philosophy of truly caring for the customer and ushered it into the digital era. Bezos has built a company from the ground up purely based on the unbending, unyielding philosophy of serving the customer across all departments. With 164 million Amazon customers, few would argue Bezos is the key architect of building an authentic, customer-centric company.

My Comment: Jeff Bezos once again shares his ideas on what makes Amazon.com an amazing customer service and customer-focused company.  The seven lessons he shares in this article are spot on to the customer service practices of any company, of any size, in any industry.

Gallup’s Workplace Jedi On How To Fix Our Employee Engagement Problem by Mark C. Crowley

(Fast Company) More than half of America’s workforce is disengaged. In an exclusive conversation with Dr. Jim Harter–who initiated the first “State of the American Workplace” study in 1997–we dig into the latest report, due out this month.

My Comment: I firmly believe that what is happening inside a company is felt by the customer on the outside.  Employee engagement is crucial to this.  It seems the most engaged employees are fulfilled employees who are “exploited” and then appreciated for the talent they bring to their job.  This article is a fascinating look at why so many companies may not be successful in creating an engaged workforce.

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.

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)