5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 29, 2015

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.

Internal Customer Service Helps Businesses Run Like Well-Oiled Machines by Rieva Lesonsky

(Small Business Trends) Internal customer service is important because if it isn’t up to par, your business will function less efficiently and professionally, and your external customer service will suffer. Here are 4 steps to improving your internal customer service.

My Comment: I’ve always said that what’s happening on the inside of an organization is felt on the outside. Internal customer service is so important. If you aren’t dealing directly with a customer, you probably support someone who does. Bottom line is that if you don’t take care of the people you work with, they won’t be able to take care of the people who depend on them – either an outside customer or another internal customer.

Let your personality shine through your business by Anna Tomalik

(LiveChat) There are other businesses, the brave ones, where people behind the brand show themselves up and tell personal stories. They are engaging, dip into our minds and a magnetic force of their personalities drags us to buy their products and use their services.

My Comment: While this isn’t really customer service, it’s about making a connection with the customer. Some might call this branding or even marketing. I think it’s contributing to the customer experience. It’s about creating a personality for your brand.  You’ll love the examples.

‘Shut Up’ and 5 Other Tips for Effectively Handling Customer Complaints by Steve Nicastro

(nerdwallet) Here are six tips for handling customer complaints effectively.

My Comment: This is an excellent list of simple ways to turn that “Moment of Misery™” into a “Moment of Magic®.” The title grabbed me. Yes, sometimes the best thing we can do is when our customer is upset is to just “shut up and listen!”

Virgin Shows Links Between Employee Experience and Customer Experience by Colin Shaw

(Beyond Philosophy) I have written before of the link between a company’s employee experience and the Customer Experience they deliver on a company’s behalf.  Despite much evidence that points to this link, many organizations continue to keep the two areas separate in their efforts. However, the separate area strategy is not the direct path to success for either.

My Comment: This is an outstanding article that proves the point that if you take care of customers, they will take care of the business. And, that’s exactly what Sir Richard Branson believes. Whenever someone writes about Branson or Virgin, I listen. He/they get it. So much we can learn from this business rock star!

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.