Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of February 22, 2021

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.

Carole McCluskey: Create Memories That Count by SMG Events

(CMSWire) Carole McCluskey’s late grandmother once told her that it was easier to remember the dirty jokes than the clean ones, and that is often the case with customer service, too: The bad experiences are often the most memorable.

My Comment: Here’s an interesting article that we’ll start with, mainly because I love the opening sentence: “Carole McCluskey’s late grandmother once told her that it was easier to remember the dirty jokes than the clean ones, and that is often the case with customer service, too: The bad experiences are often the most memorable.” Unfortunately, that’s human nature. Enjoy this article that focuses on creating positive memories for your customers.

How to Win Over your eCommerce Customers’ Loyalty? by Pratik Dholakiya

(Small Business Trends) If you’re wondering how top eCommerce brands turn their customers into loyal brand advocates, then this comprehensive guide will help you with just that. Read on to learn about tips and tricks, and that will help you do the same.

My Comment: Many companies are incorporating an eCommerce option for their customers. For some, it’s an option. For others, it’s 100% expected. It can be difficult (but still possible) to gain loyalty with online purchasing. The human-to-human connection is missing. But, it can be done. This article shares seven ways to get eCommerce customers to come back.

Here’s why the experts think empathy is the key to customer experience by Kate Rogerson

(Comm100) Buzzwords come and go in the customer experience world, but while we lose our patience with most, there are some that rightfully stick around. In 2013, Forrester Research landed on one such phrase – the ‘age of the customer’. Customers have more power than ever to get their voice heard and listened to. Brands are forever fearing that one viral tweet could severely damage or even destroy their carefully constructed brand image in a fleeting yet far-reaching flurry of complaints.

My Comment: I’ve been saying that the “Word of the Year” is empathy. This article starts with my comments about empathy and then calls upon a number of noted experts in the customer service and CX space to weigh in on the topic. Some interesting commentary that should make you realize just how important that is to today’s customer experience.

The state of customer-centricity after a year of monumental change: Predictions for 2021 and beyond by Greg Heist

(Retail Customer Experience) Greg Heist, chief innovation officer at Gongos, Inc., shares his insight on why, in the quest to achieve customer-centricity in 2021 and beyond, retailers must stay in tune with customers to ensure experiences are as emotionally in touch as they are functionally touchless.

My Comment: We’re not quite two months into the year, so reading relevant predictions for 2021 are still being written. This is a good one with eight trends/predictions for us to consider. Number eight covers the “exponential acceleration” of digital transformation but also mentions creating frictionless experiences. That’s music to my ears! Customers love low or no friction. We’ve gotten used to a new way of doing business throughout the pandemic, and much of that is going to be here long after it is over.

How to Develop Challenging (Yet Realistic) Customer Service Goals by Salesforce

(Salesforce) Set attainable goals for your team with an actionable framework.

My Comment: This excellent article shows a process on how to create customer service goals. We have revenue goals, sales goals, and more – so why not customer service goals? If your goal is to create loyal customers, it can’t happen by accident. Make a plan. Set goals. Manage and measure the progress. This is a fairly robust article on how to do all of that, and more.

BONUS

Who’s Who in Digital Experience? by Neringa Mikutyte

(Onalytica) This Who’s Who report brings a varied list of Digital Experience influencers ranging from Social Amplifiers, Analysts, Industry KOLs, Event Speakers to experts in User Experience (UX), Customer Experience (CX) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) providing a broad overview of the most influential voices within the topic.

My Comment: Our friends at Onalytica have compiled a list of experts, practitioners, and thought leaders in the DX (Digital Experience) space. If you’re looking for experts to follow, you’ll find more than enough people here to fuel your need for good information.

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 at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.