Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of March 27, 2023

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.

3 Digital Marketing Strategies That Can Improve Customer Retention by John Hall

(Forbes) What happens if you gain 10 new customers but lose 20 from your existing client base? The net result clearly isn’t positive, and if the trend continues, your company’s market share will shrink. Even if your net results were break-even, the business isn’t growing its revenue. In the long term, this can challenge a company’s ability to compete and innovate.

My Comment: A content marketing experience is part of the customer experience. While it may seem like marketing, if done well, content marketing connects with the customer and gets them engaged or emotionally connected. The author, John Hall, is a content marketing expert. He shares three foundational strategies to enhance your CX and improve customer retention.

Your Customers are Happy Because Your Employees are Happy by Katie Pierce

(eRep) Employee happiness significantly impacts customer satisfaction and positive reviews1 regarding your business. If your employees are happy, it will be easier for them to provide the excellent service your customers demand.

My Comment: I’ve written much about this in the past, but it is worth repeating (over and over), and that’s this: What’s happening on the inside of your organization is felt on the outside by customers. This article is about taking care of employees so they will take better care of your customers.

Businesses Willing To Pay Big Bucks for Quality Customer Service by Jack M. Germain

(ECT News Network) Artificial intelligence and ChatGPT promise to revolutionize customer service automation, but is that what customers really want? What if AI in the CRM stack leads to dissatisfied B2B customers fleeing for better treatment?

My Comment: Our customer service research at Shepard Presentations found that about half of American consumers will pay more for better customer service. That number increases in the B2B space. According to this article that cites a Fusion Connect study, 90% of businesses are willing to pay more for better service. How much more? Read the article and find out.

Consumers Less Trusting Compared to 2022 by Retail Customer Experience

(Retail Customer Experience) Consumers have 10% less trust in brands than they did in 2022 and nearly half of consumers are interested in sharing first-party data for a more personalized customer experience.

My Comment: I recently wrote an article about how to get customers to trust you more, so this topic has been on my mind. Without trust, you can’t create long-term repeat business and loyalty. Nor will customers pay attention to you and your efforts to connect with them. At the foundation of trust is transparency. You’ll find some intriguing findings and statistics about what drives trust (and mistrust).

Good Customer Service: How to Get It by Josh Centers

(TextExpander) Good customer service is something we cherish. Think back to your latest amazing customer service experience. Maybe the rep gave you a refund with no questions asked or quickly solved a technical issue. You probably remembered it because it’s not always the norm, and there is a perception that great customer service has been harder to find.

My Comment: The call center agent is one of the more stressful jobs in the world. According to a Cornell University study cited in this article, over “50% of respondents in the study reported being prescribed medication to alleviate stress and anxiety. Between angry customers and a shortage of workers, it’s like a perfect customer service storm for the agent to navigate. Most customer support agents care. They want to do a good job for both their company and the customer.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.