5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 10, 2020

Each week I read a number of 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.

How to Increase Customer Loyalty: 5 Customer Retention Strategies by Christopher Hutchens

(SmartBug) In this blog, we look at five customer retention strategies that you can implement to deliver more value to your customers and increase customer loyalty.

My Comment: Let’s start this week with a list of customer retention strategies. I love the first one: Quite Selling and Start Educating. Customers love to feel in control. Give them knowledge and you are on your way to a better experience. And, who can argue with number two? (You’ll have to read the article to find out about this one.) This list is good. Take a few minutes and think about how these five ideas can work for your organization.

The New Qualities of Customer Service Excellence by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

(CustomerThink) If you claim to be customer-centric are you sure you’re truly walking the talk and not just talking about customer service excellence? Many companies are and the pandemic has brought them into the spotlight.

My Comment: Even if you don’t think these are new ideas, I think you’ll agree they are at least worth considering. The article starts with a good example and makes the case for the list of seven ideas that follow. And, even if the focus is on the customer support/care center, most of these are good ideas for anyone who has customers – both internal and external.

7 Strategies for Offering Free Products or Services (Without ‘Buying’ Loyalty) by Ad Age Collective Expert Panel

(Ad Age) These seven experts from Ad Age Collective have spent a lot of time examining user behaviors and have offered their insight into how a company can build long-term brand loyalty with offerings without alienating their customers.

My Comment: This is a compellation of different “experts” from companies. They are the ones “in the trenches” and doing the real work. I was intrigued by the difference between something you give away for free and a gift. Are they the same? Not really. Even if the ideas shared are short, they will stimulate your thinking about how you offer your customers value that gets them to want to do more business with you.

Mastering the 3 C’s of Customer Experience by Beyond The Arc

(Beyond The Arc) These fundamentals also apply to managing major change – which is often what’s needed to make a measurable impact in your customer experience.

My Comment: This article falls into building a CX culture. Actually, Culture is one of the three “C’s” mentioned in the article. When you surround it with Champions and Communication, you have a winning combination.

A Short Guide To Delivering Great Customer Service During a Pandemic by Niraj Ranjan Rout

(Entrepreneur India) Delivering support during these challenging times-while working remotely-is only one piece of the puzzle. The bigger challenge would be to genuinely help customers when they’re hit by a huge business slowdown

My Comment: Delivering great customer service in the midst of a pandemic has created challenges for some companies. Here are a number of ideas to consider. Some are soft skills and others need to be baked into your process. I’d add that “Easy Returns” to the list, which ties into “Making Cancelations Easy.”

BONUS

10 Tips for Graduates Seeking a Career in Service by SmarterCX

(SmarterCX) Looking to get started with a career in service but not sure where to begin? In the final part of our tips for graduates series, we asked CX professionals for their best advice for those seeking a career in service.

My Comment: While this article focuses on ten tips for graduates seeking a career in service, I can’t imagine anyone looking to get into this field wouldn’t benefit from these ideas. And for those already in the biz, it’s worth a read, as well.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken