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Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 5, 2013

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. The employee’s guide to complaining by Catherine Milward-Bridges (Bizcommunity.com) […]

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.

The employee’s guide to complaining by Catherine Milward-Bridges

(Bizcommunity.com) Employee complaints have a legitimate place in business, with some tempering needed – in some cases more than others. A key role player in the engagement equation, employees need a voice and a platform that are both taken seriously. This voice should be allowed to speak freely but constructively, in the interest of business-building.
Consider these questions to help you think twice before complaining.

My Comment: A truly customer-focused company is also an employee-focused company. Complaints from customers are acknowledged and dealt with, so why shouldn’t employee complaints. However, employee complaints will always be viewed differently. These five questions (and probably others) should always be considered by an employee before he/she complains.

7 Ways Bad Customer Experience Teaches Business Growth by Stefanie Amini

(360 Connext) Here are 7 tips to help you grow from each bad customer experience situation and retain your customers.

My Comment: The old expression is: “Complaints are opportunities to show how good you are.”  Turning a complaint around isn’t that complicated, as this article shows.  And, it is not just about resolving a complaint.  It’s about restoring confidence.  If the complaint is resolved correctly, the customer should have the confidence to continue to do business with the company – maybe even more confidence than if the problem had never taken place at all.

Why Improving The Customer Experience Matters: A Love Story by Mike Maddock

(Forbes) Customer experience experts understand that a “love affair” with your consumers is the ultimate brand advantage because in life and business, love conquers all.

My Comment: Great version of the “circle of life” for a customer. Well worth considering as the various stages and touch-points through the customer lifecycle. I also like the concept of the company having a “love affair” with the customer. We want our customers to love us. When they do, they enjoy doing business with us, they give us more business, they spend more money… and everybody is happy!

It’s How They Want to Buy… Not How You Want to Sell by Ernan Roman

(Huffington Post) Companies that focus on what they want to sell — not how customers want to engage — miss the boat on opportunities to drive initial and ongoing sales.

My Comment: When a company builds a strong relationship with their customer, making a sale is easier.  We want our customers to buy from us, rather than us having to sell them.  If a company has a product or service that works, and their customer relationship skills are strong – and note that the customer service they provide is a very important part of that relationship – then the customer will buy with much less sales effort.

The Chief Executive of Customer Experience Management is You by Laura Bassett

(Business2Community) When organizations first start looking into Customer Experience Management they soon discover it’s not just a new twist on traditional customer service delivered by a contact center. It’s a paradigm shift in which the contact center becomes a key player in a broader strategy.

My Comment: It is very important to remember the internal customer concept, and this article does a good job of giving us a brief refresher. Everyone has a customer that they serve; internal or external. If you’re not serving the outside customer directly, you are probably servicing someone who is. You are a supporting cast,  who regardless of job or responsibility, is supposed to do what is necessary to ensure that the customer is taken care of.

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.

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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