Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of July 13, 2026

Every week, I read dozens of articles on customer service and customer experience from a wide range of sources. Below are my top five picks from last week, along with my takeaways. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

Why Your Primary Focus Should Be on Customer Retention by Linda Pophal

(CRM) For all kinds of businesses, in all industries, and of all shapes and sizes, finding and attracting customers has long been a primary area of focus. And certainly that makes sense. Without customers, no business could survive.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five with an excellent article reminding us that acquiring customers is far more expensive than retaining them. Two ways businesses grow are through new customers and getting existing customers to come back and buy more. Both are important, but the second way is far less expensive. Furthermore, research finds that repeat and loyal customers spend more per interaction than one-time transactional buyers. So, here’s the point: Once you get them (customers), keep them!

3 Moves to Rebuild Customer Trust After the Automation Backlash by Adam Povlitz

(CMSWire) Total automation burned customer trust. Three moves — human escalation, proof of performance, and EX repair — can win it back.

My Comment: AI and automation work… until they don’t! There are plenty of companies that have become so enamored with AI and automation that they miss what customers want and expect from them. Of the companies that have gone to 100% self-service support, most are going back to find that balance. And the ones that haven’t yet done so, well, most of them eventually will. Here’s a quote from the article: “A funny thing happened on the way to total automation: customers got frustrated.” And what to do if that happens? (Read the article!)

New Report From Trustpilot Finds Returns Are Biggest Untapped Loyalty Lever for Brands by CustomerThink

(CustomerThink) Trustpilot, the world’s largest open feedback platform, today released “The Future of U.S. Retail: Trust, Returns, AI and the New Consumer,” a new report revealing how consumer values are reshaping retail in 2026.

My Comment: A new report from Trustpilot shares what consumers want. There are some great stats/findings in this article. If you’re in retail, one of the big takeaways is the importance of properly managing returns. The promise of an easy return has a powerful impact on a customer’s decision to choose one company over another. And while many consumers are using AI to help them make choices, Taylor Cunningham, VP of US marketing at Trustpilot, said, “Use AI to help us discover and decide between products, but give us humans when we need support.”

B2B Customer Experience Is at an Inflection Point. Here’s the Question Every Leader Should Be Asking. by Brad Birnbaum

(Entrepreneur Media) AI has changed the pace of the market. Capabilities are improving quickly. Customer expectations are changing just as fast. The economics of building versus buying technology are shifting underneath teams that are used to planning in longer cycles.

My Comment: What is the one question every leader should be asking about B2B customer experience? Related to how technology (AI) is impacting CX, the author poses this question: “Are we buying faster horses when we need a different way to travel?” What does that mean? It made me think of two more (at least) questions: Is the AI working for us or against us? And, are we using it the right way? There’s more to unpack in this article, but if you’re a B2B company using AI or thinking about an AI strategy, this article gives you insights that will get you to ask more questions, too.

Next Generation Customer Loyalty Market Size & Share 2026-2035 by Global Market Insights Inc.

(Global Market Insights Inc.) AI-driven personalization has emerged as the primary capability differentiator in next-generation loyalty platforms. Enterprises across retail, BFSI, and travel are deploying machine learning models to analyze purchase history, engagement signals, and zero-party preference data, generating individualized loyalty propositions that demonstrably outperform rule-based reward structures on both engagement rates and incremental revenue per member.

My Comment: This is an interesting article, sponsored by GetResponse, on the power of using email (and other channels) to follow up with customers after purchase. Their point is that customers come into your business knowing what they want, thanks to AI making recommendations. Salesforce research finds that 39% of consumers use AI for “product discovery and inspiration…” That makes it tougher on marketers to get first-time buyers to a website or to their doors. But once customers choose you, it’s up to you to keep them interested and engaged after their first purchase.

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.