5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 31, 2020

Each week I read a number of 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.

How to Prevent Customer Churn with Retention Marketing by Lauren Pope

(Learning Hub) Attracting new customers is cool and all, but do you know how to keep them around?

My Comment: Some of our readers may know that I’m writing another book about getting customers to come back. The more formal name for that is “customer retention.” As I have been doing my research, I found this article and felt this was a perfect way to start this week’s Top Five roundup. The focus on retention starts early in the relationship with the customer. I’ll argue that the goal of getting the customer to come back starts at the very beginning, the first time the customer buys.

5 Steps to Delivering Exceptional Customer Service While Working from Home by Molly Ambrogi Yanson

(Smarter CX) This article shares 5 steps to help develop a successful and productive telework strategy.

My Comment: Working from home is a hot topic these days. I’ve read a lot of articles about this. Some people have even managed to fast-track publishing books on this topic. Here’s a very nice piece that is not only about working remotely, but also is focusing on customer service.

Don’t stop at customer service when you can deliver customer experience improvements by Paul Selby

(CustomerThink) Beyond just engaging with customers, customer service can affect actual improvements in the customer experience.

My Comment: Many people see the customer service people are there to react to problems, fix them and make customers happy. While that description is an over-simplification, most would agree that agents respond and react. But, what if all of these people reacting and resolving issues became an opportunity for improvements in the customer experience. That’s what our friend Paul Selby from ServiceNow has written about in this short, but excellent article. And, if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll like the opening quote.

The altered nature of telephone customer service by Parker Software

(Who’s On) Here, we explore how the nature of telephone customer service has changed.

My Comment: The phone is not dead! Yes, there are many other ways (channels) that customers can reach out to a company, but the original customer service technology that has been used for decades still has life and a lot of it. Our own research shows that even though many use alternative channels, such as social media, email, chat and more, the phone is still the most popular way customers connect with businesses. This article covers that and much more.

7 Ways to Ensure Your Social Presence Improves Your Customer Experience by Scott Clark

(CMSWire) Social media can be used to share interesting and relevant content, provide advertisements and discounts, showcase news about a business, engage customers, and as this article will show, enhance the customer experience.

My Comment: Social media and customer experience go hand-in-hand. If you aren’t exploiting the social media opportunity for a better experience, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Even if you are, read this article. You might find something new. Here are seven strategies, and I believe that any company from any industry will find one or more that will work for them.

BONUSES

Had A Customer Service Fail? Loyal Customers 6X More Likely To Forgive Mistakes by Tech.co

(Retail TouchPoints) No matter how hard they try, retailers sometimes make customer service mistakes. However, brands that have cultivated customer loyalty can mitigate the harm — loyal shoppers are 6X more likely to forgive a mishap than the average customer.

My Comment: Here’s an infographic that shows some stats and facts on how loyal customers are more forgiving of mistakes and problems than your average customer. I might add that you have to be good at dealing with problems, which may be one of the reasons that the customers become loyal in the first place. Because they know they can count on you.

The Ultimate Guide to Online Learning Courses For Customer Service by Sunny Dhami

(RingCentral) In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at online customer service courses including some free courses, what their potential benefits might be, the different types of training available, and the kind of skills needed for outstanding customer service.

My Comment: When I read the title of this article, I thought for sure that our online customer service training would be mentioned as a resource. Well, there were a few shared in the article, more as examples than anything, and unfortunately, we weren’t listed. Still, I liked this article a lot. There’s plenty of great information about how to use online customer service training.

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.