5 Top Customer Service Articles for the Week of November 11, 2019

Each week I read a number of 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.

3 Ways Store Layout Decisions Impact on Customer Experience by Oisin Ryan

(ServiceDock) The following covers three of the most common and obviously non-customer-centric strategies that retailers use. Each of them maximizes short term profitability but at the potential expense of long term customer loyalty. These examples focus primarily on supermarkets but the thinking behind them could easily be applied to other retail businesses.

My Comment: While this article is focused on retail, I think it has application to every type of business. The example in the article is about a supermarket. There’s a reason the “staples,” like milk and bread at the back of the store. The store is looking to maximize profitability by making the customer walk by the other merchandise, hoping they will make an extra purchase. A customer just looking to pick up a carton of milk sees the layout as inconvenient. So, what ideas do we make in our businesses that are more profitable and inwardly focused versus customer focus?

Why Is Identity So Important In Today’s Customer Experience? by Matt Seeley

(AdAge) The foundation for personalized customer experience starts with identity and rich consumer data.

My Comment: I like the word “identity,” and as it applies to CX and service, how it delivers a better experience. So, do you know who your customers are? More specifically, do you know who each customer is? The ability to identify a customer is a powerful opportunity for personalization that, thanks to today’s CX technology, is starting to become more and more common.

Weeding Through the Customer Experience Gap by Aaron Perlut

(Elasticity) A recent article in Campaign by Lindsay Stein focuses on the customer experience gap. She cites SAP Chief Marketing Officer Alicia Tillman who says, “…we live in an experience economy and what that means is business is won or lost based on the experience we deliver to our customers.”

My Comment: Here’s another business definition of a “gap” in business. It’s the difference between what a customer experiences with a great brand and what they experience with any brand that isn’t great. He mentions the difference between the simplicity and ease of doing business with Amazon versus the long line and wait time at a coffee shop at a busy airport. Your customers have a new expectation, and it’s not set by your competition. It’s set by the best service they have ever had. So, what’s your gap?

3 Steps to Building a Customer-Centric Organization by Kristin Raza

(CIO) Create customer-centricity by delivering seamless experiences, leveraging IT’s unique insights, and evolving your leadership mindset.

My Comment: I like most articles that cover the corporate culture and customer experience. Since it came from the CIO publication, it directs the comments to the CIO, but it really can be good for anyone in leadership. There are three great tips; focus on delivering seamless experiences, take advantage of IT’s insights to improve a process and have a customer-centric leadership mindset.

4 Things to Consider Before Building a Review System by Matt Wujciak

(CCW Digital) Designing and maintaining a review ecosystem can be to your advantage. Think of this platform as a garden that requires constant monitoring and innovative ideas to grow your brand and gain consumer intelligence.

My Comment: There are review sites for virtually any industry – B2B and B2C. Many companies are concerned about the more public reviews on Yelp and Facebook. As the article points out, “Unless you have a reason to hide in the bushes, you shouldn’t look so guilty. The fact is that a company should embrace their reviews, good and bad. They show you you’re doing things right, or show you opportunities to make things better.