Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of June 9, 2014

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 challenges of customer lifetime value by Marketing Week

(Marketing Week) Working in silos and managing multichannel are stopping brands from realising the full value of a customer over time.

My Comment: There is a lot of great information here. It’s easy for smaller companies to determine the CLV (Customer Lifetime Value). However, larger companies have a difficult time because of multiple locations, different divisions, etc. The secret is to integrate as if the company is one. Simple in concept, but difficult to achieve. This can be done through the IT department, the way data is collected, handled and shared and other tactics to break down silos. I found this to be an interesting read.

Nursing Customer Service Initiative by Daniel Budusan

(Advance Healthcare) The Customer Service Initiative (or CSI) is a program devised by ED nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital, an urban, safety-net academic facility in Atlanta that sees in excess of 10,000 patients every month come through the doors of their department.

My Comment: Even though this article appears to be written for nurses at a hospital, as I read through it I couldn’t help thinking that these exercises in this training program would apply to other employees in the hospital – and even other business not related to the medical industry. Then toward the end it was revealed that other departments and employees were invited to participate, even referred to as “Universal and Adaptable.” These ideas are worthy of consideration of all types of businesses.

Mark Cuban is Right: Never Listen to Your Customers by Art Turock 

(Art Turock) Cuban contends that asking customers what they want doesn’t improve a company’s competitive positioning. Customers make comparisons with existing products and service. They rarely offer insights for conceiving innovative solutions to compromises that everyone reluctantly tolerates. There’s an enormous gap between comparing what exists and inventing one-of-a-kind innovations.

My Comment: While I’m not sure if you should “never” listen to your customers, Art’s comments make some sense. And, the “Pretend I’m Mark Cuban” exercise is definitely worthy of consideration. We want our customers to have an amazing experience. We want our employees to function like an elite team – be it the sport of business.

6 Ways Social Media Can Drive Customer Experience by Daniel Newman

(Millennial CEO) So for those 75 percent that of businesses that did NOT rank social media as the most effective channel for customer retention, here are six reasons to get on board.

My Comment: You can’t ignore social customer service. The six ways social media drives customer service that are mentioned in this article remind us that it is a powerful two-way communication channel. Sure, customers can complain, but the company can also use social channels to communicate great value to their customers.

Customer Anger Management, Do’s and Don’ts by Marta Wadsworth

(Userlike) Angry customers. Aggressive, hysterical, unreasonable, angry customers. Everyone with experience in customer service knows that dealing with these people is an inherent part of the job, yet so few know how to respond in the right way! What are the best practices to deal with angry customers? We’ve asked the experts.

My Comment: It’s not a matter of if you’ll ever have an angry customer.  It’s when.  Here are some great ideas that are worthy of sharing with all employees about dealing with angry customers.  (Works for internal customers too!)

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or  www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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