Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of December 2, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online 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.

What irritates customers most? The top five irritations revealed! by Ian Golding

(IJ Golding) I am delighted to reveal the findings to the question ‘what irritates us most’. A question that potentially leads to the ‘opening of floodgates’, I experienced mixed emotions reading the 240 responses. I found myself switching from laughter, to sadness, to anger, to empathy as I immersed myself into the pain and frustration of others – pain that I myself have experienced all too often. So in order to avoid running the risk of irritating you, the reader, by rambling on, let me reveal the results.

My Comment: It doesn’t matter if you’re a B-2-B or B-2-C company, any of these five “irritations” will erode your customers’ confidence and loyalty. Make sure you’re not guilty of committing any of these “offenses.”

The great customer service debate by Business Technology

(Business Technology) Gartner analyst and customer satisfaction guru Ed Thompson explains how trust, touching and team spirit are at the heart of every genuine service-led company

My Comment: Here is some very sage advice and information from Gartner analyst Ed Thompson. Customers are smarter, willing to complain more (to the company and the public). It seems that customer service would be at the top of the list of important strategies and initiatives. (Yet, as Mr. Thompson points out, experts say this is nothing more than lip service.) Excellent information!

The Evolving Role of the Chief Customer Officer by Jennifer LeClaire

(CIO Online) While the activities a chief customer officer might engage in are legion, there are seven that are most common and important regardless of company size, industry, or chief customer role. Even if your company doesn’t have a chief customer officer, to become truly customer-centric, an executive needs to be held accountable for customer activities.

My Comment: It is refreshing and exciting to see how the Chief Customer Officer’s role is evolving. What used to be the function of someone in charge of customer service, it now includes a number of important roles that include analytics, processes and more.

5 Ways to Use Mystery Shopping to Improve Your Business by Silvia Planella

(Business2Community) Mystery Shopping exercises allow businesses’ owners to get a quick, reliable and quality feedback from the customers perspective. It is an invaluable tool in aiding the evaluation of teams customer care performance levels, training budgets and company mission statements delivery to core customer sector.

My Comment: While most people think that mystery shopping is for the retail industry, I believe there are many advantages to mystery shopping just about any type of business. Here are some compelling reasons a business should consider a mystery shopping program.

Omnichannel customer service report by Zendesk

(Zendesk) How are companies around the globe doing in implementing omnichannel customer service and sales strategies to meet consumers’ expectations? Loudhouse, an independent research agency, surveyed 7,000 consumers in seven countries (U.S., U.K., Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, and Japan) to find out.

My Comment: My friends at Zendesk partnered with Loudhouse and created an information-packed report on omnichannel customer service.  As customers are more comfortable getting customer service (and buying) across multiple channels, it is in our best interest to keep up with the latest and greatest.  This report has some very valuable information to help you understand how communication with our customers is changing.  Go to the Zendesk site and download the PDF.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)