Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of March 14, 2022

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

Using Customer Journey Maps and Jobs to Be Done for a Better Customer Experience by Tobias Komischke

(CMSWire) Customer experience design’s goal is providing consumers with the offerings they need to accomplish their objectives frictionlessly across all phases of the customer lifecycle.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five roundup with a robust article that takes us back to the basics, journey mapping the customer experience. If you haven’t done this exercise before, it’s time. The journey map, according to the author, is, “… A step-by-step visualization of the activities that a customer goes through to accomplish something.” In other words, it’s all of the interaction points the customer experiences. I also like the author’s JTBD (Jobs to Be Done) concept, and it’s not what you think. And there’s much more.

The New Reality of Loyalty: Consumers Want Brands To Earn It by PRNewsWire

(MarTech Cube) Amid ever-rising consumer expectations, supply chain disruptions, and less access to third-party data, Yotpo’s annual State of Brand Loyalty survey reveals just how hard brands have to work to earn loyalty that drives positive business outcomes.

My Comment: I geek out over stats and facts, and this article has plenty of them. You’ll love how consumers define loyalty, which is when they “tend to buy from the same brand.” And, I love that 42% of consumers would buy from a brand they were loyal to despite cheaper competitors. And, of course, there is much more.

These AI Mistakes Are Slowly Killing Your Customer Experience by Young Entrepreneur Council

(Forbes) From self-driving cars to fraud prevention, artificial intelligence (AI) has long transcended the “buzzword” label. And two years into Covid-19, AI assumes an expanded role in the customer service landscape.

My Comment: Here is an excellent article that covers how certain AI (Artificial Intelligence) “mistakes” can negatively impact your customer service and CX. In addition to mentioning my stance on over-automation and under-personalization, there are four more ideas/mistakes that will help ensure your customers receive the best experience possible.

These 5 Practices Can Lower Your Call Center Attrition Rate by Chrissy Kapralos

(Fonolo) Call center turnover rates are some of the highest in the entire workforce. But that doesn’t mean call center leaders are powerless. How do you retain high-performing call center employees?

My Comment: If you have a call center, this article is for you. Our friends at Fonolo have shared a short but powerful article on how to reduce employee attrition. According to the article, the average attrition rate is 30-45%. If you’re experiencing unacceptable employee churn, then pay attention and spend four minutes reading this.

The Best Way To Focus on Customer Experience Is To Follow Mom’s Advice by Dan Gingiss

(Dan Gingiss) Customer experience doesn’t have to be a multi-year, multi-million-dollar transformational project. In fact, it’s more often a series of little things. It’s a long series, to be sure, and in theory it never ends because as soon as think we’ve landed on the optimal CX, customers change their expectations.

My Comment: My buddy and fellow customer experience expert, Dan Gingiss, came out with a short and entertaining read this week. He’s sharing his Mom’s advice, which I won’t tell you here. You’ll have to read the article to find out. I’ll just say that it’s a lesson that is applicable to any leader of any type of organization. And it’s so simple – even easy!