Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of November 1, 2021

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.

Customer Service Is Free by Seth Godin

(Seth’s Blog) Customer service is expensive. But all of that expense–it’s the cheapest way to spread the word about what you do.

My Comment: We start with a very short article from business guru, Seth Godin. Short, in this case, means a 45-second read, but as the saying goes, “Good things come in small packages.” The message is clear and powerful!

3 Customer Experience Lessons Brands Can Learn From Amazon by Scott Clark

(CMSWire) Amazon’s mission statement is “We aim to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. Our mission is to continually raise the bar of the customer experience by using the internet and technology to help consumers find, discover, and buy anything, and empower businesses and content creators to maximize their success.”

My Comment: Anytime I can learn a lesson from Amazon, I jump on it. Also, this article isn’t just for the B2C world. These lessons are applicable to the B2B world, as well. Three simple and powerful lessons: meet expectations, personalization, and “commerce anywhere” experiences. Note: I use the word simple, but remember that simple does not always mean easy.

15 ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ Actions To Help Revamp Your Customer Experience by Forbes Business Council

(Forbes) Fortunately, changing up established procedures doesn’t have to require a complete overhaul. Leaders can choose the “low-hanging fruit”—easy to identify and implement—to drastically improve the customer experience without spending excessive time and resources. Not sure where to begin? Try these 15 simple, yet effective actions to help revamp your customer experience, shared by the members of Forbes Business Council.

My Comment: Our friends at the Forbes Business Council give us another great list. There are plenty of ideas for all types of businesses and industries. And most of them are somewhat easy to implement. Look them over and take a few of these ideas to your next team meeting. Never miss the opportunity to improve your CX!

How Brands Are Using Technology to Amplify the Customer Experience — Whether You’re Shopping or Ordering Fast Food by Dept

(Business Insider) Connected commerce refers to a customer experience that integrates commerce across all aspects of the customer’s life. This is across any and every touchpoint, from online to in-person to everywhere in between. The only goal is to make a product as accessible as possible and make purchasing it as instantaneous as possible.

My Comment: I was intrigued by this article. It’s very retail focused, but if you’re not in retail, still take a couple of minutes to learn a new word: phygital. It’s the word to describe the connected and digital world. (By the way, if you Google the word, you get the definition from an article in 2016, but my spell check doesn’t recognize it.)

How to Create a Positive Customer Experience Through Personalization by Greg Chen

(Total Retail) To say that the retail world is changing is an understatement. The constant pressure from discounters, along with the increasing power wielded by consumers, has pushed retailers to seek new effective differentiation approaches to remain competitive in the market.

My Comment: We close out this week with an article on one of my favorite topics, personalization. Our customer service research indicates that 75% of customers are more likely to the companies and brands that deliver a personalized customer service experience. While retail focused – it seems many of the articles are – the B2B company that finds way to personalize the experience will also win.