Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of November 26, 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.

Busting 3 Massive Myths About Employee Engagement by Christine Comaford

(Forbes) There’s a lot of buzz about employee engagement these days. But the sad truth is that engagement stats worldwide are still dreadfully low. And to throw some fuel on the fire, myths about what actually creates engagement are rampant—and are making the problem worse.

My Comment: If employee engagement is important to you, then this may be one of the most important articles you read this year. That’s a bold statement, but it’s true. I’ll leave it at that and hope you are intrigued enough by my hyperbole to spend five minutes reading this article.

My Comment: I smiled when I read this article. It comes off as a rant. Take 90 seconds and you’ll smile, too. You may even laugh. But, make sure you get the point. Do customers really want to take your survey? Many will, but do they really want to?

To Improve Customer Experience, Start With Morale, Not Technology, Feds Say by Tom Shoop

(Nextgov) Cultural factors, such as empowerment of staff, given greater weight than upgraded IT and bigger budgets.

My Comment: This short article reminds us that no matter how much you are investing – or plan to invest – in technology to deliver a better customer experience, your first investment should be in the morale of your people.

Customer Retention Made Easy by Samir Palnitkar

(The Wise Marketer) Companies are realizing the importance of focusing on their repeat customers and designing special loyalty rewards program exclusively for this category of customers.

My Comment: In the 1980’s I read that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an old one. Boston Consulting group confirms that the numbers haven’t changed much; $7 to keep an existing customer versus $34 to acquire a new one. And not only that, happy and loyal customers do more than come back. They tell others. Here are a few ideas on how to retain those happy customers.

Customer Experience by Tom Fishburne

(Marketoonist) Singapore Airlines has long been a pioneer in customer experience, not just in airlines, but the hospitality industry in general. They’re investing in taking their customer experience even further, partly with a sophisticated app that tracks granular customer data from check-in, through the flight, to baggage claim.

My Comment: Let’s end this week’s Top Five list with a fun article from Tom Fishburne of www.Marketoonist.com. I love business cartoons, and Tom has shared several of his favorites. There a lesson or two you’ll get from them as well.

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