Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of July 20, 2020

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.

5 Customer Experience Trends Thet COVID-19 Is Only Accelerating by Stephen Fioretti

(SmarterCX) The current pandemic is a clear example of a disruption that, in many cases, is accelerating trends that were already happening.

My Comment: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve shared my thoughts on how this crisis put us five years into the future. All the Zoom like calls, the virtual working experience and more would have eventually been here. COVID-19 just accelerated the adaption of a new way to do business. This article is an excellent look at how the future of customer service became today’s way of doing business.

Don’t Make These Common Self-Service Customer Experience Mistakes by Kaya Ismail

(CMSWire) We’ve asked industry leaders to weigh in on the importance of self-services and how brands can overcome some common self-service mistakes.

My Comment: The biggest mistake businesses make in the self-service world, which is more than just customer service, is they over-do it. Even the self-service lines at the grocery store have an employee helping everyone. This article includes a list and some insights into some common self-service mistakes. If you’re doing anything that includes a self-service experience, make sure you’re not guilty of any of these.

Zappos’ New Program Lets Shoppers Buy Single and Mixed Size Shoes by Alex Warner

(People) The shoe doesn’t always fit perfectly — so Zappos is on a mission to do something about it.

My Comment: I love Zappos, which is why I’m including this article. You may not be an online retailer that sells shoes (and much more), but there are many lessons that you can learn from one of the most customer-focused companies on the planet. In this case, they are breaking the tradition of how shoes are sold. It shows that one-size does not fit all – in that all people don’t wear the same size shoes on each of their feet. And, some people only have one foot, so why should they have to buy two shoes?! Check out this article and I think you’ll agree, Zappos is a customer service and experience rock star.

What Is Broken About Customer Experience Today? by Niraj Ranjan

(Forbes) Many of us have had to rely more on our existing customer base to ride through this turbulent period. And in the process of doing so, we’ve realized how important it is to have strong relationships with our customers and be more caring and human as a business.

My Comment: Is customer service broken? One of my favorite stats, that’s also mentioned in this article is that according to a Bain & Company survey, 80% of companies (and I’ll suggest that’s the leadership in those companies) believe they deliver “superior experiences.” The other side of this is that only 8% of customers agree. Here are four ways companies are guilty of underserving their customers.

How to Turn Every Customer Service Call Into a Valuable Customer-Retention Conversation by Gregg Schwartz

(AllBusiness) This article shares a few simple strategies to improve your customer retention with your everyday customer service interactions:

My Comment: The customer support department fields customers’ questions, complaints, problems, etc. Rather than just respond, why not take the opportunity, since your connected with the customer, to deepen the relationship. That turns customer support into customer retention, and that’s exactly what this article is about.

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