Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of September 27, 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.

EX and CX Come Down to the Same Thing: Put the Person First by Inge De Bleecker

(CMSWire) The better the experience, the more likely that person will return and give the brand their business. On the flip side, sometimes it only takes one bad experience to undo years of goodwill. The same can be said for an employee’s experience with a brand.

My Comment: Customer service starts on the inside, starting with employees. My concept of The Employee Golden Rule is about treating employees the same way you treat customers, if not even better. Just as you want the customer to experience an easy process and system when they do business with you, the same applies to your employees.

5 Ways to Make Your Customer the Hero on Social Media by Chris Kim

(PR News) How can social media leaders create a steady cadence of fresh, customer-centric social posts, especially when formal case studies are resource-intensive and can take months to produce?

My Comment: This one may be more of a personalized marketing strategy than customer experience, but then again, customer experience and marketing go hand in hand. This works for any type of business but is especially powerful in the B2B world. It’s a simple idea. Find ways to promote your customers on social media.

How to Create a Customer-First Environment In an Online Business World by Natalya Bucuy

(PomoDone) How are the Wizard of Oz and online businesses alike? It’s fair to assume that the author, L. Frank Baum, wrote a children’s novel and not a customer-relations manual. However, there are some valuable aspects of the story that can come quite handy when it comes to connecting with customers. (And it’s more fun this way, isn’t it?)

My Comment: This informative article is also entertaining, drawing an analogy between e-commerce and The Wizard of Oz. Personalization, customer journey mapping, and surprising customers with the unexpected are just a few of the topics covered in this article.

Hyper-personalization: the Next Great CX Disruption by Chris Bauserman

(No Jitter) The forces for the next great disruption in customer experience (CX) are aligning now and as with all disruptions, there will be winners and losers. The standard approach and practices for designing customer journeys will only take you so far. What you need now are hyper-personalized customer journeys.

My Comment: Personalization is one of the hot topics in customer experience. Our research shows that a personalized experience will bring a customer back. This article claims that hyper-personalization will be a major competitive disrupter. Read the article and see if you agree.

Four Simple Ways To Reinforce Customer Loyalty by Logan Rush

(Forbes) For many businesses, customer acquisition is the focus of their marketing campaigns. Yet, changes in the business landscape have Gartner reporting CMOs will move their focus to customer retention over acquisition this year. After all, it can take thousands to acquire a new customer and very little to maintain customer loyalty.

My Comment: In the real estate world, the three ways to be successful are location, location, location. In this article, we can say that the secret to customer loyalty is communication, communication, communication. The way you communicate, what you communicate, and how often you communicate can create the experience that gives a customer confidence to continue doing business with you.

BONUS

The Cx Leader’s Manual to Customer Excellence by Steven Van Belleghem

(Steven Van Belleghem) The Cx Leader’s Manual to Customer Excellence is a compilation of my favorite basic pieces from these past few months with some brand-new unpublished ones.

My Comment: If you’ve been following this weekly roundup, the name Steven Van Belleghem should be familiar. If not, this is your chance. I’m a huge fan of his work. This free eBook, which does not require you to share your name or email address, is an outstanding look at how major brands are creating an excellent customer experience. Download and read this eBook. You’ll be glad that you did!