Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of July 14, 2014

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.

Why discounting can put your customers’ loyalty at risk by Jan-Pieter Lips

(Marketing Magazine) As supermarkets and retailers fight to offer the lowest prices, Jan-Pieter Lips, EMEA president at Aimia – the company behind Nectar – discusses the history of loyalty schemes and what loyalty might mean in the future.

My Comment: Discounting prices will create loyalty for those looking for just low price. Which means these customers won’t stay with the company if they can buy something at a lower price. In other words, the customer is loyal to the price, not the company. The key to loyalty is more than a low price or a fantastic product. It takes an attention to customer service. The companies that are customer focused have loyal customers that are less focused on the price and more focused on their experiences.

 5 Ways to Retain Customers and Grow Your Customer Base by Alex Hisaka

(LinkedIn)  Here are five things I learned about how businesses can retain customers and grow its customer base.

My Comment: Great list about how to create customer loyalty and grow your business. Everybody should pay attention to these as they aren’t quite the usual suggestions. Great information!

Facebook is the top tool for customer service, consumers say by Eileen Brown 

(ZDNet) If brands want to succeed with their social media strategy they need to have a comprehensive cross channel customer engagement plan according to a new report from Accent.

My Comment: After reading this article, I can’t see how any company, of any size, wouldn’t want to deliver customer service via social channels. Even if the numbers don’t quite correlate to every industry, the concept does. Social Service should be an important part of just about every company – at least the ones that are serious about their customer service.

10 Heartwarming Stories of Remarkable Customer Service You Have to Read Today (Slideshare) by Adel Zsurzsan

(Merlin) If we are to define the real principle of customer service, it all boils down to one single and simple word – CARE. In order to provide customer satisfaction, deep understanding of what customers want and need is important.

My Comment: The next time I’m having a rough day I’m going to pull this article out and read some of these amazing customer service stories. Great to use the following as a conversation starter, ask “How can we do something like that in our business?”

Customer Loyalty Is Declining: How Companies Can Respond by Steven Van Belleghem

(Social Media Today) Various studies point in the same direction: customer loyalty is disappearing in a hurry. Consumers put less trust in brands and tend to switch brands a lot faster.

My Comment: Some people say that customer service is getting worse. That’s an excuse for eroding loyalty. However I recently heard Barak Eliam, the CEO of NICE, a company that is focused on customer support centers, and he believes that customer service is just getting harder. The stats and facts in this article make that point. The bar is raised. Customers are smarter and expect more than ever.

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