Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of December 11, 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.

10 Questions Every Business Leader Should Ask About Customer Retention by Samuel Wilson

(Forbes) Many of you can probably recall an experience of sitting in a big conference room with the quarterly review slides and questioning why growth isn’t higher. Over the last 20 years, possibly the most common direction for that conversation to move is toward acquiring new customers. Should we run a promotion, rebrand, start an advertising campaign, chase new leads, offer free product trials, or something else?

My Comment: Let’s start this Top Five roundup with a list of questions on customer retention. Before getting into the questions, the author shares some compelling stats and findings to pique your interest. In the end, the author wants you to focus on a single goal: happy customers. I’d add three more words: that come back!

Developing Customer Success through a Culture of Trust by Gabrielle Lukianchuk

(Fast Company) “Trust your gut”—a saying that most of us will be told in our lifetime, and indeed a mantra that many people still use to make even life-changing decisions. This type of human intuition is not to be taken lightly, which is why business leaders realize that fostering a culture of trust is a powerful tool for success.

My Comment: Trust isn’t a feeling. It’s an asset. Without it, a company won’t have customer loyalty. (Who wants to come back to do business with a company they can’t trust?) This article has several ways to foster trust, and I’d like to add one more, and that is customer service. My customer experience research found that 82% of customers say great service increases their trust in a company.

Visual Engagement: The Missed Opportunity of Digital Customer Service by Robin Gareiss

(No Jitter) Video capabilities can help customers resolve their issues more quickly and with greater satisfaction – so contact centers should offer customers the choice of beginning their interactions that way.

My Comment: When it comes to customer support calls in the software world, screen sharing has been around for years. Other industries should consider the same. Using video when interacting with customers has many benefits. This article shares some of them, and consider this quote from the author: “I have measured my resolution time with and without screen-sharing, and it’s 80% faster with screen-sharing vs. without.”

Amazon CEO Says Generative AI Will ‘Change Every Customer Experience’ by Julie Coleman

(CNBC International) In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said generative artificial intelligence will change the customer experience in the company’s enterprise and discretionary consumer business.

My Comment: Amazon is always at the forefront of customer service and CX. This time, we hear straight from Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. In short, Jassy is big on generative AI and believes it will change (for good) the customer experience.

Generative AI Not Likely to Increase Customer Satisfaction by Dave Michels

(No Jitter) Generative AI refers to a broad set of AI capabilities powered by large language models (LLMs). They offer a more human-like conversational experience than prior bots, but this tech is about more than bots. Without doubt it will clearly have a significant impact on the contact center. For example, generative AI will likely reduce the training times necessary for new agents.

My Comment: And just when you get excited about Amazon’s CEO believing AI will change CX, this article takes the view from almost the complete opposite side. I’m not on board with everything this author writes about, but I appreciate the viewpoint. And I believe it’s important for all of us to listen and consider “both sides of the coin.”

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. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.