5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of March 14, 2016

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.

Developing a customer-experience vision by Brooke Boyarsky, Will Enger, and Ron Ritter

(McKinsey & Company) To provide a distinctive experience for customers, an organization must unite around the goal of meeting their true needs. Done well, the effort can power a vast amount of innovation.

My Comment: This is an excellent article about creating your customer experience vision, and most importantly, focusing on what’s important to the customer versus what you (and others in your company) think is most important. There are several great examples, but one that stood out was the case study of the airport to help us understand what needs to go into the process of creating the vision and the pitfalls we need to avoid.

How Consumers Are Changing the Face of Customer Service [Infographic] by Jana Barrett

(Bizness Aps) Self-service has become the name of the game for the modern consumer. People now prefer seeking answers on the web—it minimizes the interaction necessary to resolve an issue and fits in this era’s mold, moving us toward increased automation and reduced human contact. This evolution in service preferences raises important questions about the future of customer service and how the man and the machine both fit into it.

My Comment: This article/infographic shows how the customer’s role in customer service is growing. Yes, their voice is louder than ever before (thanks to social media), but they are also playing an important part in the customer service process which is shifting from traditional service to include technology and self-service models. That said, as the article clearly points out, there will always be a need for human contact.

75+ Actionable Insights and Resources To Customer Success for SaaS Startups by Tara Thomas

(Nudgespot) Whether you are bootstrapping or have a budget to spend, think of this as an essential reading list. Here, you will get an idea of the various ingredients involved in creating Customer Success magic for your SaaS startup. The best part? You can dip into and find use for every step of the way.

My Comment: More than an article, this is really an amazing resource of tools and strategies. While the title of the article indicates the focus is on SaaS startups, I believe it shares many tips and resources that can be used by many different types of businesses. I even saw a couple of recommended tools that we currently used or have considered using in our business. Definitely worth a look.

What is customer experience? 18 industry experts weigh in by Spencer Lanoue

(User Testing) Customer experience clearly has a big impact. But what is customer experience, exactly? It’s become a widely-used phrase in the last few years, but the problem is there’s no commonly accepted definition. Each person you ask will give you a different explanation.

My Comment: So many times I’m asked, “What is Customer Experience (CX)?” Well, our friends at User Testing have put together a great resource of 18 industry experts who weigh in on the definition. As CX becomes more and more important, this is a good place to start to define what CX means to you and your company.

How to Use Positive Communication in Customer Service by Olga Kolodynska

(LiveChat) In this post I want to help you perceive different situations in customer service in a better way which will help you create positive thoughts and phrases.

My Comment: I believe that communication is one of the cornerstones of customer service. It’s easy to fix the problem of a broken product, cold food, an errant invoice, a lost shipment, etc. But if there is a breakdown in communication, well that may be the toughest problem to overcome. Bad communication causes a lack of confidence. This article has some great tips on how to communicate effectively and positively to your customers (and internal customers).

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken