Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of December 6, 2021

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.

3 Ways to Move From Customer Service to Customer Care by Patrick McCullough

(Destination CRM) What’s the difference between customer service and customer care? Think of it using a medical analogy: Service fixes the underlying problem—such as a broken arm—in the most practical, affordable, and speedy way. Yet service without care is like a doctor without a soothing bedside manner. Yes, the patient receives the necessary treatment, but the success of the treatment is devalued by the frustration of the interaction.

My Comment: I’ve been preaching for years (since my first book over 30 years ago) that customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy to be embraced by every employee from the CEO to the most recently hired. It’s baked in the culture. So, if customer service isn’t a department, what do you call it? How about “customer care?” While the article focuses on more of the differences between service and care, the first thing I thought about when I saw the title was a better name to describe the type of service we deliver.

8 Ways to Build an Effective Marketing Campaign on a Tight Budget by Lyle Solomon

(Ad Age) The promotion of a business is an integral part of driving its revenue. But problems might arise when you need to create a marketing campaign that fits into a slim budget.

My Comment: Some may refer to this as a marketing article, but I’ll argue that marketing is part of the customer experience – and vice versa. Consider that the first strategy is about content marketing, which when done well, is a wonderful customer experience. And, there’s the strategy of customer loyalty programs. And promoting exclusive offers to loyal customers. This is customer experience intersecting with marketing.

The Customer Experience Is a Content Experience by Andrew Wheeler

(Skyword) Digital experiences were thrown into the spotlight, and all the trillions spent on digital transformation (DT) initiatives over the years didn’t keep brands from being caught on the back foot.

My Comment: The opening few lines in this article sum up what I mentioned about content marketing in the second article on our Top Five list. “Let’s talk about the convergence of content marketing and the customer experience (CX). Two years ago—and 23 years since Bill Gates declared “content is king”—few brands had truly made content the cornerstone of their customer experience. That changed with the pandemic.” This excellent article will show you how marketing and CX belong together, and specifically, how content marketing is part of CX.

How to Improve Employee Retention by Zoe Leibling

(The Instant Group) After the unprecedented challenges of the past two years, around 9 in 10 British employees are on the hunt for a new job in 2021. And as we head into 2022, more than half of employees worldwide (54%) say they will leave their job if not offered post-pandemic flexibility on when and how they work.

My Comment: It’s been hard for businesses to keep their good employees. “The Great Resignation” (TGR) is reality. If you want to keep delivering a great customer experience, you need the people – good people – to do so. Here are nine ways to improve employee retention that will help put an end to any impact you’re organization has felt from TGR.

How To Create Shareable Customer Experiences by Dan Gingiss

(Dan Gingiss) How do you create a Shareable customer experience? It doesn’t happen by accident. Shareable experiences are carefully and strategically crafted so that customers can’t help themselves but pull out their phones and capture the moment for posterity.

My Comment: It should be every organization’s goal to create a customer experience that people want to share. The author shares a brief overview of a concept from his latest book, “The Experience Maker: How to Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can’t Wait to Share.” Sharable means customers talk about you and recommend you, and who doesn’t want that?

BONUS

23 Experts Share How Chatbots Will Transform Customer Experience in 2022 by Gina Shaw

(BotCore.AI) In order to adapt to the sudden shift towards interacting with customers on digital channels, organizations across the globe have swiftly implemented chatbots to improve customer self-service, provide information, deliver continuous and cost-effective support, and delight customers with personalized experiences.

My Comment: Our friends at BotCore asked 23 experts to share their insights on chatbots and how they will “transform” custom experience in the next year. That’s a pretty heavy word, “transform,” and I’ll let you decide if you agree with these thought leaders (myself included.) Yes, the technology has improved. For the right opportunity, chatbots are a great self-service/digital solution. Read the expert commentary, and you can decide for yourself.