5 Top Customer Service Articles for the Week of September 18, 2017

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.

3 Techniques to Help you Really Understand your Customers by Shay Namdarian

My Comment: Let’s start this week’s top five with a short article that has three simple tips to help you better understand your customer. The tips are simple: listen, watch and experience. I’m partial to the third one, experience. Not enough executives experience what it’s really like to do business with their own company. Every employee – and that includes top executives – should experience what every customer experiences.

25 Reasons Why Hospitality People Are So Resilient by Rupesh Patel

(LinkedIn) Hotel people like yourself are the reason why others can take their mind off troubles and get a comfortable night’s sleep (even though their house is under water or completely destroyed). You are a successful rare breed.

My Comment: I have always believed that the best customer service people have a “hospitality mentality.” This article has 25 reasons why people employed in this industry are so resilient and deliver outstanding service, even in tough times. Important: This information goes beyond the hospitality industry. Everyone from any type of business will find great information in this article.

Finding A Company You Love Regardless Of Product: Lessons In Customer Service by Murph Krajewski

(Forbes) As I pass through an organization, there are hundreds of touch points where a brand can either solidify our relationship or prove to me that I’m not important to them beyond the transaction.

My Comment: How can you love a company, but not love their products or services? This article from Murph Krajewski at Sharpen (featured in Forbes) tells the story of how an executive perfectly responded to a complaint letter. This is how it’s done!

My Comment: This article is about the importance of a customer-centric culture. Great service just doesn’t happen because of the front line. It happens because the entire company is focused on service. Taking care of the customer is part of everyone’s job. It’s inside the company and ingrained in their culture.

CX measurement: 5 critical mistakes you must avoid by Colin Shaw

(MyCustomer) CX improvement measurement often misses a few other areas. Five, in fact. To that end, here are five critical mistakes you can’t make in CX measurement.

My Commenrt: It often surprises me when companies don’t measure their customer experience (CX). How do you know what’s working (or not) if you don’t know your numbers? This article will help you create or refine your measurement strategy. Remember what Peter Drucker said: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

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.