Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of March 6, 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.

How Companies Can Improve Their Customer Service Practices by Pete Mercer

(Repertoire) Every year, businesses across the world spend months planning and strategizing the best ways to attract and retain customers in an increasingly competitive market. Customer service and the customer experience are at the forefront of conversations about success and excellence in business. How can business leaders shape the future of their organizations using a customer-centric approach?

My Comment: I seldom use articles that feature my comments as Top Five article. (They are usually included at the end as a bonus article.) That said, this article was an interview for a magazine that focuses on healthcare, but don’t let that stop you from reading it. There are plenty of ideas, tips, strategies, and comments about customer service and experience for all types of businesses in any industry.

10 Tactics to Boost Your Customer Lifetime Value by Tom Wicky

(Inc. Magazine) If your customer experience leaves consumers feeling underwhelmed, or if your customer lifetime value (CLV) is low, it’s time to make a change. In this post, we’ll cover what CLV is and why it’s crucial to e-commerce success. We’ll also share some effective ways to increase your CLV for greater results.

My Comment: Do you want to increase your Customer Lifetime Value? That’s a rhetorical question. Who doesn’t? This excellent article has ten ways in which to do so. Loyalty programs, incentives for larger orders, cross-sells, upsells, and more are included.

20 Customer Experience Metrics Critical for Your Business by Tobias Komischke

(CMSWire) This article covers 20 selected metrics that not only allow you to measure and understand your business viability, but at the same time also focus on the quality of your audience’s customer experience. The focus on customer needs throughout the entire customer lifecycle is critical for commercial success. As you will see, in most cases underperforming metrics can be explained by a mismatch between what your customers and users need, and what you offer.

My Comment: How do you measure customer experience? Let me count the ways! And this article has 20 of them! The author breaks these metrics into four categories. There is something here for everyone. Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” So look at these and determine which ones work for you and your business.

More Consumers Want Better Customer Experience by Retail Customer Experience

(Retail Customer Experience) More than half, 69%, of consumers want retailers to improve their customer experience, a hefty jump from 35% in 2019 and just about the same number, 61%, judge a retailer’s innovativeness based on its communications.

My Comment: It’s simple… Customers want a better experience. The article opens with powerful stats: “69% of consumers want retailers to improve their CX… and 61% judge a retailer’s innovativeness based on its communications.” Plenty of other findings will compel you to create a better customer communications experience.

Customer Agents Know Product, but Personalization Lacking by Retail Customer Experience

(Retail Customer Experience) A good majority, 91%, of customer agents are offering in-depth knowledge of products, but way less, 34%, are providing a personalized experience. Those are top findings from Incisiv’s 2023 Omnichannel Customer Service Index conducted in partnership with Nuance Communications Inc. While retailers are investing big in shoring up digital capabilities, the customer service capability isn’t on par, according to a press release on the study’s findings.

My Comment: This very short article reminds us in the contact center world that, our customers want more than agents who have answers to questions and resolutions to problems. They want personalization. Our customer service research found that 74% of our customers want a personalized experience. That means agents know the customer’s recent purchases, when and why they have called in the past, and more.

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.