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. 10 Tips To Turn Customers Into Advocates During International Customer Loyalty Month by Tom White […]
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.
(The Buffalo News) International Customer Loyalty Month is a reminder that loyalty is built long after checkout. It shows up in the follow-up email that actually helps, the support interaction that feels human, and the small details that make customers feel recognized instead of processed.
My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five roundup with an article about International Customer Loyalty Month. (You didn’t know about this special month?) The article shares 10 tips for turning your average customers into repeat and loyal customers.
(CMSWire) What resolves tickets fast may be quietly draining millions, as goodwill credits slip outside governance and into habit.
My Comment: You’ve probably had a bad experience at a restaurant, told the manager, and you received a free meal, either immediately or next time. This article refers to this as a “goodwill credit,” and calls it (rightfully so) an “easy button.” Regardless of whatever industry you are in, this solution can work for or against you, and this very robust article explains both sides.
(Retail TouchPoints) Over the past decade, following Amazon’s lead, big-box stores and other national chains have fundamentally altered what customers expect from the shopping experience. Local and regional retailers must find ways to match the speed, personalization and seamlessness of their big-brand competitors in order to bring shoppers in the door, stem customer attrition and stay on solid financial footing – and do it quickly to avoid losing additional ground.
My Comment: While this article is retail-focused, the three ideas shared can be used for any type of business that has competition, big or small. The bigger you are, the harder it is to create a sense of localness, but if you can, you win. And for smaller companies or retailers competing with national brands, doing local well is one of your best strategies.
(Forrester) If CX wants to reclaim strategic relevance over the next decade, it has to shift from diagnosing experiences to delivering change and from a language of sentiment and pain points to one of growth, trust, and resilience.
My Comment: I’m not sure why anyone would ever consider CX to be dead – or even close to it. Regardless, this is an insightful article by a Forrester research director, and one of the article’s main points is that, rather than a company using AI to help a customer, we are not too far away from customers using AI to make their purchases.
(CX Dive) If CX wants more credibility, it has to stop reporting activity and start translating experience improvements into outcomes leadership already values.
My Comment: I’m often asked how to get the company’s leadership to allocate more budget to CX. The key is to prove ROI. This article does an excellent job of telling the “ROI Story.” This article includes ideas on what to present, the right questions to ask, and much more.
BONUS
(CX Today) In this episode, Rob Wilkinson sits down with customer service and experience expert Shep Hyken to unpack insights from his State of Customer Service and CX 2026 report – and some of the findings challenge long-held assumptions about what actually drives loyalty.
My Comment: Ron Wilkinson of CX Today interviewed me about my 2026 research on Customer Service and Experience. We have an excellent discussion about customer expectations and how AI is impacting CX.
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.
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