Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of October 10, 2022

Each week I read many 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.

7 Tips for Successfully Embedding Customer-centric Governance Into Company DNA by Meygan Gerber

(EHL Insights) Today’s business world requires companies to put customers in the driving seat. Nurturing customer relationships is the secret to boosting your customer lifetime value, cutting down churn, leaving your competitors in the dust, and catapulting your business growth. Usher in customer-centricity. We see you wondering, “What is it and how can you hack it?”

My Comment: Customer Centricity is an often used yet misunderstood term. I like this article’s definition: ”Customer-centricity is a business approach where you prioritize your customer and place them at the heart of your business operations. The goal is to offer positive experiences and build life-long relationships.” I’m almost in agreement. Not every decision, such as a price increase, is going to make the customer happy. My take is that we consider the customer with every decision. Even if it won’t make the customer happy, you have at least considered the impact. That said, this article has some great takeaways, especially if you want to be a customer-centric organization.

Five Emotional Intelligence Customer Service Skills To Help Employee Retention by Roberta Moore

(Forbes) What do you do when you have numerous stores to run, loyal customers to keep satisfied and a pandemic that causes people to drop out of the workforce in droves? This was the question on the minds of owners/operators of a major fast-food chain, 26 of whom I worked with in southern Illinois and the eastern central Missouri area. Much like many restaurant owners across the nation, these regional owners were understaffed and facing high turnover rates of more than 200% over the past 12 months.

My Comment: Emotional intelligence has been a hot topic over the past few years. Used in a customer service and support setting, it is a powerful way to make your customers connect with you and ideally return for more. The author shares five “skills” that will help build relationships with your customers; stress tolerance, self-actualization, assertiveness, interpersonal relationships, and happiness.

The Experience Advantage: How to Supercharge Your Brand’s Growth by Peter Aitken

(Kantar) How can brands make sure that their customer experience (CX) is different to competitors? Great customer experiences have a direct impact on business value, driving both revenue and cost savings.

My Comment: Who doesn’t want to supercharge the customer experience? Here’s a stat quoted in the article: “91% of CEOs agree that customer centricity – making the customer experience as brilliant as it can possibly be – is essential for driving business growth. The less good news? Only 20% of customers rate these business leaders’ brands as being truly customer-centric.” That’s a big gap, and the strategy behind it is to “Mind the Gap.” And there’s several other thoughts and ideas in this excellent article.

The Secret to Building Brand Devotion is Not a Loyalty Program. Here’s What Customer’s Really Want. by Andrew Reid

(Entrepreneur Media) The idea of consumer loyalty has been around for centuries. But with a growing consumer appetite for privacy and control, it may be time to rethink the traditional brand relationship.

My Comment: I’ve always preached that there is a difference between a repeat customer and a loyal customer. Often, companies believe they will create loyalty from loyalty programs. Those programs may get customers to come back, but that doesn’t mean they are devoted to you. They could be devoted to just your loyalty program. What happens if you take away the loyalty program? Do they stop doing business with you? They might. So consider what you really want. Is it a loyal customer, or is it a devoted customer?

How to Improve Your Website’s Customer Experience (CX) by Wise Marketer Staff

(The Wise Marketer) In the era of the customer, companies are hyper-focused on providing amazing experiences at every touchpoint to differentiate themselves from the competition. One of the most important touchpoints to improve Customer Experience (CX) is your website since it is often the first point of interaction a potential customer has with your brand.

My Comment: This article makes a bold statement: “Many businesses fall short when it comes to providing a great CX on their website.” My thought on this is that the website is designed by people to be used by people. Keeping that in mind should help as you design the site’s experience. The author suggests focusing on accessibility, including live chat, sharing customer testimonials, and ensuring the site is fast.

BONUS

What Has Changed in Customer Service? by itelCX

(itelCX) For Customer Service Week, we sit down with New York Times bestselling author and renown customer service and customer experience (CX) expert, Shep Hyken, to discuss all things CX, including what has changed in customer service, and the shifting landscape of customer expectations.

My Comment: Our friends at itel interviewed me for Customer Service Week (which just ended). They asked some great questions – and I hope that they were happy with the answers. We talked about everything from removing friction, how fast customers will leave after just two or three mistakes, building trust, and more.

CX Podcasts That Bring Real Value by Uniphore

(Uniphore) CX is one of today’s top business priorities. And it’s easy to see why. One of the keys to. One of the keys to having a successful business is having loyal customers who enjoy their interactions with you, always going back for more. CX can be difficult to nail down for some during this post-pandemic age of change, but we’re here to help.

My Comment: Last week, I shared a list of top podcasts in the CX space. This week Uniphore shared their lists of CX podcasts that bring the most value. Amazing Business Radio showed up again. Thank you, Uniphore, for including me on this list of amazing shows!

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.