Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of August 18, 2014

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.

Top Brands That Rock at Customer Service and Tips on Keeping Your Clients Sweet by Lucy Hardaker

(Business2Community) Customer service has always been heavily related to retail environments, but that doesn’t mean us B2B types can’t learn a thing or two about client retention from our B2C cousins.

My Comment: Here is a very short article that features three great brands with three great tips we can all consider using to give our customers an amazing experience.

The Expert Guide to Building Trust Online by Jessica Merritt 

(Online Reputation Management) Building trust online is essential to developing a great reputation, whether you’re a corporation, small business, or ecommerce website. When customers know they can trust you, they believe that you’re credible, that you’ll do the right thing, protect your customers, and deliver on your promises. Without trust, customers may question your reputation and feel unsure about doing business with you.

My Comment: Many clients have asked me about how to create credibility and trust online.  It’s easy to create that trust in a person and even over the phone. Well, the best companies do an amazing job of creating trust. This excellent article provides some great suggestions that will help warm up any website – even if it’s not a website you’re using to sell. The more trust and credibility you can give your customers, the better! 

The Zendesk Customer Service Benchmark by Zendesk

(Zendesk) Unlike a survey or expert opinion, the Zendesk Benchmark is based on actual customer service and support interactions from more than 25,000 companies (across 140 countries) that opted to participate. It measures key metrics around customer support efficiency, customer self-service behavior, and levels of customer engagement.

My Comment: Our friends at Zendesk have released the 2014 Q2 benchmark study. They explore the correlation between the customer service agent’s word choices and the effect it has on the customer and satisfaction ratings. Fascinating information!

Customer support should be everyone’s job. The why and how to make it happen. by Alice Default

(frontapp.com) Turns out though that Zappos, Amazon, Freshbook and all the other companies that share customer support duties throughout their whole teams don’t do it because it’s easier and more cost efficient. In most cases, it goes far beyond meeting demand. It’s about culture, commitment and getting as close as possible to their customer.

My Comment: For years I’ve said, “Customer service isn’t just a department. It’s a philosophy.” I’ve also been an advocate for leadership, management and others that aren’t exposed to the front line customer service, to spend some time there. This article takes it a step further, suggesting that every employee spend a little time on the front line. The benefits are many, as pointed out in this outstanding article.

Is Your Brand’s Personalization Really Customer-Centric? by Daniel Toubian

(CMSWire) True personalization gives brands the opportunity to be wholly customer-centric at every point of engagement. Rather than just increasing conversion rates, personalization involves a continuous effort to improve your customer experience so that visitors will return, purchase and become loyal.

My Comment: At first the title and the picture of this article/blog post caught my eye. I’m a frustrated musician and always wanted to be a rock star. While the suggestions and advice in this article won’t make you a rock star on stage, they will garner you applause in the form of happier customers, which means more repeat business, increased revenue and more. 

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