Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of March 9, 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.

Customer Onboarding Is the New Long-Term Revenue Driver by Onramp

(Informa TechTarget) Why post-sale handoffs lose revenue and how teams can turn onboarding into a repeatable engine for retention expansion and advocacy.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five roundup with an article on customer onboarding. Once the customer decides to buy, the next step in the experience should be to make them feel they made the right decision. The article uses software as an example, but as I think back about recent experiences, I realize onboarding is something many businesses can take advantage of. The auto dealership that “delivers” the vehicle and spends an hour teaching the customer everything about their new car. Or the camera store that takes the time to help the customer set up their new camera. Looking for ways to confirm that customers made the right decision is a powerful way to build trust and confidence, bringing customers back for more.

For Loyal Amazon Customers It’s No Longer Love but Intentional Reflex by Judy Mottl

(Retail Customer Experience) Retail loyalty is changing from consumer love to reflex as it’s no longer an emotional decision, it’s an automatic one.

My Comment: This is more than an article about Amazon. This shows how a brand has worked its way into the fabric of our daily lives. The research findings and comments in the article show how a brand goes from being a decision to do business with to simply part of the routine. For Amazon, customers don’t even think about who to do business with. They just do. The article also emphasizes an interesting concept: the “favorite” brand becomes synonymous with the word “frictionless,” meaning easiest to do business with.

Gen Z Service Customers Are Shaping Up To Be The Most Loyal Generation by CDK Global

(CDK Global) Gen Z is becoming the most loyal dealership service customers. Learn what drives their trust and spending habits.

My Comment: Everyone is fascinated by Gen Z’s buying and loyalty habits, and they should be. After all, they will become major influencers and customers in the coming years. All generations have certain traits when it comes to expectations and earning repeat business and loyalty. This article focuses on Gen Z. And while the article was written for the automotive market, the ideas apply to most every other industry that serves Gen Z.

Master the Customer Journey with Analytics and Personalization. by Adobe for Business Team

(Adobe for Business) Findings from our study reveal a clear truth — seamless, connected journeys build trust and loyalty. With so many customers willing to switch brands because of friction, omnichannel customer journeys have become a key driver of loyalty, conversion, and long-term relationships. As customer expectations rise, brands increasingly rely on customer journey analytics and omnichannel data insights to understand how each interaction shapes satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term value.

My Comment: When you look at the “journey” your customers take when doing business with you, you’ll start to see the friction points that cause customers to defect, or at best, come back until something better comes along. While I’m not a fan of the word “omni-channel” (the word, not the concept or meaning behind it), I recognize its importance. If there’s one message that stands out in this article, it is that you must make it easy for customers to communicate with the brand when they want and how they want to do so.

Privacy UX as the New Personalization: How Trust Builds Customer Loyalty by Jonathan Moran

(CMSWire) Consumers still want relevance — just not surveillance. Privacy UX turns transparency into a loyalty advantage.

My Comment: Personalization is more than using the customer’s name. The information a customer gives you or demonstrates through their buying history is fair game, but once you start finding clever ways to get other personal data, you risk losing business because customers will think, “How did they know that?” When the customer gets a connected personalized experience, trust develops. The point is to be extremely careful about how you obtain the customer’s information. That info is a gift. Use it the right way to build the relationship.

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.