Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of March 4, 2013

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.

What If? A Simple Process for Exceeding Customer Expectations by Marilyn Suttle

(Who’s Your Gladys?) “What if” questions allow creative and profitable ideas to take form. To make it work for your company, resist the urge to reject any idea until they’re all on the table.

My Comment: What if???  Great question.  What if you did do this or didn’t do that? What’s your “this” or “that?”  This is a great question to brainstorm at your next employee meeting.

Pricing Can Make Or Break The Customer Experience: Find The Issues That Drive Away Your Customers! by Maxie Schmidt-Subramanian

(Forrester) Pricing matters when it comes to your customers’ experiences and loyalty!

My Comment: While I believe that the right customer experience and an amazing level of customer service will make price less relevant, you must still consider price in your customer experience strategy.  This short article makes the case for exactly that point.

6 Tips for Building Brand Evangelists by Shane Gamble

(Sweet Tooth) Brand evangelists are the most valuable customers that you have. These are your raving fans, the customers that would have no problem climbing to the rooftops and shouting your praises. They are a lot more willing to get involved than your average fan, and are trendsetters capable of creating a movement.

My Comment: If customer service is the “new marketing,” it is also part of the branding. This is an excellent article with six brand building tips that fall right into great customer service and experience strategy.

6 customer loyalty lessons from Lady Gaga by Michele McGovern

(Customer Experience Insight) Gaga’s loyalty didn’t happen by accident. Sure, she can sing and dance and perform. But her solid business practices created loyalty and fanaticism that most companies can only dream of, according to Jackie Huba, author of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics.

My Comment: I am really looking forward to reading Jackie Huba’s book, Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics.  http://amzn.to/160SwQg Every business needs to learn from this rock star.  In the meantime, this article serves up a few great lessons that any business can put into action to improve customer service and brand loyalty.

Consumers are Willing to Spend More on Excellent Customer Service, But are Businesses? by Tricia Morris

(Parature) According to the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, two thirds of surveyed consumers are willing to spend more with a company they believe provides excellent customer service, and three out of four consumers surveyed confirm they have spent more with a company because of a history of positive customer service experiences (think Zappos, Amazon.com).

My Comment: You pose the right question: Knowing that customers will pay more for great service, will companies invest in delivering better service?  The short answer is that more companies are willing to do so.  But, not all.  And, are these companies doing enough?  The cost to create the right system and train the employees to deliver a great front line (and internal customer) experience is small compared to the return that a company can gain from creating an amazing customer experience.  So the next question is: Why aren’t more companies doing it?

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)