Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of October 15, 2018

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. 

The 3 Types of Customers That Will Talk About Your Business—and The One That Definitely Won’t by Jay Baer

(Convince and Convert) Have you ever wondered what causes some companies to earn free publicity from customers who gush about them? Meanwhile, countless brands toil away in obscurity hoping someone will notice them.

My Comment: My friend, Jay Baer, has written an amazing new book, Talk Triggers, about how to get your customers to talk about you – and so much of that depends on the customer experience. In this article he covers different personalities, and why (or why not) they will talk about their experiences with you and your organization. Word of mouth marketing shouldn’t happen by accident.

Great Customer Experience Means Consistent Customer Service by Glenn Pasch

(CBT Automotive Network) If the focus is educating the customer not only on the product but how you will deliver it and be of service, then you will distinguish yourself from others who are just trying to manipulate customers into buying a product.

My Comment: Delivering a consistent and predictable customer experience builds customer confidence, which can lead to trust and potentially customer loyalty. This short article shares five steps on how to deliver the experience that your customers will and should come to count on when they do business with you.

When customers won’t comment: How to encourage customer feedback by Georgina Nelson

(MyCustomer) When it comes to collecting customer feedback, brands shouldn’t fret about the odd negative review. It should be about getting the numbers up.

My Comment: For many businesses, customer feedback and reviews are an important marketing strategy. So, how do you get feedback? The simple answer is to keep it simple. Here are six tips to consider when asking for feedback.

Top 10 tips to ensure design thinking boosts customer engagement by The Wise Marketer

(The Wise Marketer) Lesley Gulliver and Darren Evans, strategic brand consultants from The Engine Room (UK), draw on over 45 years’ combined industry experience to advise how to enhance customer engagement with real design thinking.

My Comment: The concept of “Design Thinking” has become a popular topic as of late. So, what is it? Here are ten tips that will help you understand what Design Thinking is and how it can impact (positively) the customer experience.

The future of customer service needs a new model of operational excellence by Vala Afshar

(ZDNet) The future of customer services requires a new model of operational excellence that is built on the five pillars of customer centricity, outcome-first design, data-driven decision making and workflow, automation-focus, and ecosystem-based. The 2018 Customer Service Study from ThinkJar highlights strategy, budgeting, stakeholders, and the current top-trends: digital transformation, AI, IoT, and data-based decision making.

My Comment: My friend, Vala Afshar of Salesforce, summarizes the 2018 Customer Service Study from ThinkJar, which focuses on operational excellence and current trends in the customer service and experience world. There is a lot of information and detail in this article about AI, data, automation and more.

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