Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of November 19, 2012

Top Customer Service and Business Articles

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online 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.

Is Social Media The Future Of Customer Service? [INFOGRAPHIC] By Shea Bennett

(Mediabistro) Brand pages and profiles on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have become enormously valuable for businesses looking to market products and services, raise awareness, boost website footfall and drive sales, but the two-way nature of social media has also meant that these channels are increasingly being used by consumers for customer support.

My Comment: Love this infographic that makes the case for social media’s impact on customer service. The key will be for companies to not only embrace the social media channels but to use them effectively. For now, one of the biggest mistakes companies make is their response time. A customer tweets about a problem or complaint and a day later hears back from the company. This will, if not already, become unacceptable to the customer.

Calculating The Economics Of Loyalty by Bain Insights

(Forbes) But now ask yourself: do you know how much more valuable these customers are than others? If you could turn another 10% or 20% of your client base into loyal, enthusiastic patrons like these, do you know how much more growth that would generate? Unless you can answer such questions, you can’t know how much to invest in creating and retaining this kind of high-value customer.

My Comment: If you can’t measure it, you can’t prove it. Rob Markey and Fred Reichheld share some simplistic tips on how to measure customer loyalty.

Grow Your Company as Big as Zappos.com: 7 Tips From Tony Hsieh by Allison Fass

(Inc) Tony Hsieh, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Zappos.com, offers leadership advice for fast-growing companies.

My Comment: When there is an article about Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com, I always read it – twice. Tony is just amazing, and the leadership lessons he shares in the article prove it. He has built one of the most customer-centric – and employee-centric – companies on the planet.

Customer Service Recommendations For 2013 by Richard Shapiro

(Richard Shapiro) As 2012 is quickly coming to a close, I thought it would be beneficial to provide 9 recommendations that companies should consider implementing in 2013.

My Comment: Richard Shapiro’s article with customer service recommendations for 2013 is great. Just choose one or two that stand out to you and implement them in your organization. I bet you have a hard time trying to figure out which one you should focus on first.  Great list!

The mathematics of customer loyalty: A customer saved is 1.2 customer earned by Ginny Macdonald

(Financial Post) Creating a strong framework for employees to solve customer problems or complaints will have a greater impact on your business than nurturing your top group of loyal customers for referrals.

My Comment: It has always been my belief that if you manage a mistake/complaint well, you will not only restore confidence. You may even restore it to a higher level than if the problem hadn’t ever happened. People will say, “I love working with them. And when there is a problem, I know that I can count on them to take care of it.” That’s the key – restoring confidence to a higher level.

As for treating your top tier customers differently, I still think it is a solid strategy. Loyalty is important. Creating customer evangelists (where they recommend you) is very powerful. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful marketing and branding strategies.

So, why not do both?

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or http://www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)