Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of June 3, 2024

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 comments about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

The Secret to Dealing With Awkward Customers by Call Centre Helper

(Call Centre Helper) Let’s talk about awkward customers… You know, the ones that make you seriously think that some people aren’t worth doing business with! From repeatedly sending back products and making apparently unwarranted complaints, to demanding something over and above your offer… Not to mention taking up too much of your agents’ time! It can be tough to know what to do in these situations, can’t it? So, we asked our consultants panel for their best advice on how to firmly (but politely) handle these conversations for the best possible outcome.

My Comment: Let’s start this week’s Top Five roundup with an article that has compiled tips and techniques for dealing with “awkward customers” from a number of recognizable customer service and CX experts. What is an awkward customer? It’s the polite way of referring to the customers that you say, “They just aren’t worth doing business with!”

Practical Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience by Bindiya Thakkar

(LogRocket) Businesses worldwide have recognized the immense value and significance of good customer experience. This is especially important in the digital era where customers are empowered with choices, convenience, and knowledge. As a result, customers are well informed about the products and services they use, as well as what your competitors offer.

My Comment: How do you improve your company’s customer service and CX? Here are five ways. While you may not see anything new, I want to emphasize the third strategy, which is proactive customer service. Our customer service and CX research found that customers expect (and hope) a company or brand will proactively contact them about problems.

15 Expert Insights On How To Elevate Customer Service With Chatbots by Forbes Expert Panel®

(Forbes) Chatbots provide a convenient first line of customer service, but there are times when users need more personalized assistance. While escalating complex issues to a higher tier can improve satisfaction, many chatbots lack robust escalation features. However, if a chatbot’s ability to provide customer support is sophisticated enough, it can help users feel their concerns are being adequately addressed.

My Comment: Since chatbots were introduced, I have promoted the idea that the bot must me smart enough to recognize when a customer is not getting their question answered or their problem resolved. Here’s a group of 15 members of the Forbes Agency Council who share different ideas on how using chatbots can increase and improve customer service and experience.

7 Tips to Inspire Lifelong Customer Loyalty by Asad Salman

(Hiver) Needless to say, today, it’s not good enough for brands to just offer a great product or service – modern consumers are far more demanding. They expect businesses to be there for them even after they make a purchase. The product is only part of what customers buy; they also buy the experience and associated lifestyle that comes with their purchase.

My Comment: This excellent article includes seven tips to create stronger customer loyalty. Not only does the author share ideas, but also includes examples from very recognizable brands. In addition, I love the reminder that there are two types of loyalty: emotional loyalty and transactional loyalty.

Why You Should Be Tracking Customer Surplus Value by Felix Eggers, Marco Vriens, Rogier Verhulst, Jason S. Talwar, and Avinash Collis

(Harvard Business Review) How much value are your customers getting from your products? Net Promoter Scores are one tool to answer that question but the authors offer another: Customer Surplus Value. The idea, drawn from economics, is to ask customers how much money they’d need to be given to give up your product for a period of time. The more money it would take for them to accept, the more valuable the product. An experiment at LinkedIn shows how this measure complements NPS scores as a way of measuring customer satisfaction.

My Comment: This article starts with a nod to NPS and the success of companies using this metric to measure customer satisfaction. One of the authors came up with another metric, Customer Surplus Value (CSV), to complement NPS. This is “the difference between what consumers are willing to pay for a product or service and its price.” The example they use is simple. If a customer is willing to pay $5 for a cup of coffee, but it only costs them $3, there is a $2 surplus. I’m intrigued by this measurement and plan to do a little more research to get a better understanding of the importance of this metric.

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.