Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of February 28, 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.

It’s Time to Change How We Build Companies & Brands by Chris Malone

(Fidelum Partners) As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, we need to change the way we think about and build companies, brands and customer relationships. Most of the systems and processes we use to engage in commerce were built with an emphasis on competent and efficient execution of transactions. As a result, thoughtful customer experiences that inspire trust and lasting loyalty are rare.

My Comment: Here’s a new idea. Consider how “warm” you are with your customers. How much empathy, care, passion, etc. can be summed up with the idea of you and your customers warming up to each other. It’s all about how customers relate to and with the brand. I found this article fascinating, and I think you will, too!

2022 – Time to Make the Move Beyond Cx and Ex to Total Experience by Candice Mueller

(diginomica) More recently, organizations have realized the importance of Employee Experience. Research shows happy employees out-perform competitors by 20%, are 12% more productive, 65% more energetic and take 10 times fewer sick days. Likewise, happy salespeople drive 37% more sales — and now we have an array of dedicated Employee Experience tools.

My Comment: Customer experience (CX) has been at the top of many company’s success strategies for years. Then along came the employee experience (EX). Recently, there has been much written about how the two belong together. When you combine them, you get a Total Experience (TX). That alone should intrigue you enough to want to read this informative article.

How to Enhance Customer Loyalty: 6 Tips to Make Loyalty Great Again by Julia Morrissey

(NewStore) The pandemic fundamentally changed the way we interact with businesses. Big meetings don’t have to be done in person. “Going to the movies” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going into a theater. And patronizing your favorite restaurant could mean DoorDash delivery to your kitchen.

My Comment: If customer loyalty is important to you and your business – and you know it is – then you will enjoy this article. Here are six tips that can drive more loyalty. My favorite is number three, which focuses on personalizing the experience.

Customer Experience (CX) Continues to Boom, Putting Customers First by Alon Ghelber

(PaymentsJournal) It is not uncommon for individuals to state that they have gone above and beyond to solve a customer’s problem. In this way, businesses could link customer service to customer experience as they have reacted to a customer’s issue. However, it is essential to realise that customer service is just a facet of a holistic customer experience strategy. While customer service is essential, it is a reactive action by a business and usually means that it does something memorable only when something goes wrong.

My Comment: If there is nothing else you get from this article, remember this line: “… it is essential to realize that customer service is just a facet of a holistic customer experience strategy. It takes more than just customer service to create a great CX, although that’s a good place to start!

Cx Trends for 2022: Comfort, Creativity, Convergence, Change by Carina Rolley

(Retail Customer Experience) What can customer experience teams expect in the year ahead? It’s not just more of the same. We expect to see a stronger emphasis on inspiring consumer confidence, a growing need for brand differentiation, converging CX-related functions, and a new focus on creative work that leverages data insights. Here’s what CX teams can prepare for now and deliver on in 2022.

My Comment: If you want to build a relationship with your customers that gets them to come back, then pay attention to the first two of the four ideas/trends shared in this article, which is to create an emotional connection and inspire confidence. It seems obvious, but if that were true, more companies would be focusing on these two very important ideas?

BONUSES

5 Lessons From the 2022 Cx “global Gurus” on Future-facing Customer Experience by Jeanne Bliss

(Customer Bliss) If you’re looking for resources to share with your team on experience leadership, I encourage you to take a look at the authors on this year’s Global Gurus list of customer experience leaders for inspiration (a sincere thank you to Global Gurus for including me in the list once again). Over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing many of the people on the list, so I’ve pulled out some of my favorite highlights from our conversations that look to the future of experience leadership.

My Comment: Fellow customer experience expert, Jeanne Bliss, shares five important CX topics with links to the interviews from her podcast. Excellent interviews with five other CX experts. (Thank you, Jeanne, for including me in this list!

Ecommerce Leaders Tell All: 10 Trends and Predictions for 2022 by Namogoo

(Namogoo) Curious about what’s next in the world of eCommerce? We reached out to eCommerce influencers and asked: “What do you think will be the biggest eCommerce trend in 2022, and why?” These influencers did not hold back. From AI technology to personalization, these successful eCommerce experts shared their trends, predictions, and strategies for how to engage shoppers, reach profit goals, and drive eCommerce brand success in the upcoming year.

My Comment: Here’s another list of CX experts sharing their insights. This time it’s 10 trends and predictions for the eCommerce industry in 2022.