Shep Hyken's Blog, page 175

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 23, 2017

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.

Are You Taking Your Customers For Granted? by Mindi Rosser

(CustomerThink) What does your B2B marketing program have to do with your customer retention strategy? Should they be two separate initiatives, or can they overlap? Let’s look at three ways you can use marketing and customer experience to engage your customers.

My Comment: This excellent article has three powerful tips. I especially love number three… that prospective customers watch how you treat current customers. And, tip number two features the concept of “The Five Love Languages” applied to customer service and marketing.

Driving Revenue With Great Customer Experience by Maxie Schmidt-Subramanian

(Forbes) We know great CX drives revenue. But to make the case, you need a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding.

My Comment: Focusing on CX doesn’t cost. It pays. Yet, according to a recent Forrester survey, 50% of CX leaders have not yet “modeled how CX quality influences customer behavior.” In other words, they can’t prove financial success. This article shares three questions to consider to help quantify CX success.

Personal touch for customer service drives retention, loyalty by Helen Leggatt

(BizReport) Despite more service providers moving towards digital interaction, a more personal touch in customer service helps drive loyalty and retention, according to a global study from Verint Systems.

My Comment: Many businesses are figuring out alternative ways to deliver customers service, such as self-service options, chatbots, etc. However, there is an argument for the old-fashioned personal touch via the telephone. The phone used to be the main way customers connected with companies, but not anymore. Yet that doesn’t mean you should abandon the phone all together. This article makes the case for how the personal touch, as in the telephone, drives loyalty and retention.

The Future Will Be Defined by Choice – Part II: The Role of Self-Service in Customer Experience by Sharpen

(Sharpen) Here’s part II in our series about the future of customer experience. We’re taking a look at how progressive companies are successfully integrating self-service into their customer service strategy.

My Comment: Self-service customer service is becoming more popular, to the point that some customers expect the companies they do business with to offer up the self-help solution. This excellent article is actually part two of an in-depth look into a number of self-service solutions – and more.

Why You Should Invest in Social Customer Service by Kristina Koller

(SparkCentral) Social media isn’t just for marketing anymore. In fact, once customers are engaged with your Facebook page or your Twitter feed, the real work begins. New research shows that social media is becoming the preferred method of resolving customer service issues.

My Comment: This short article is an introduction as to why investing in social media customer service is worthwhile. Consider this stat from the article: “…only 33 percent of consumers are using a company’s social media sites for social marketing compared to the 67 percent of consumers that are using a company’s social media site for servicing.” If you like the article, then be sure to download the full report.

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

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 23, 2017 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: Why Knowledge Base Integration with Live Chat Is Important for Better Customer Support

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Jason Grills, writes about the importance of good customer support and the impact it can have on your business. Customer support agents must understand just how important their roles and responsibilities are to the customer experience. – Shep Hyken

Your customers are the core of your business and, as such, they need to be provided with the best possible customer support when they need it, which is the key factor that can significantly improve your overall business. What’s more? Consumers today expect to receive high-quality service when doing business with various brands, so meeting their customer needs should be one of your top priorities.

How exactly can good customer service improve your business? By providing your customers with excellent customer service, you will improve their experience with your brand, which will help you build strong customer relationships and, consequently, good reputation and a strong brand. You will engage your customers in your brand and inspire customer loyalty, which means that they will always come back to do business with you.

Therefore, you will manage to increase your sales and generate more revenue, thus improve your bottom line. That is how great of an impact great customer support can have on your business, which is why you must do everything in your power to improve it and satisfy your customers.

If you provide your target customers with a centralized web-based knowledge base of information, helping them find the solutions to their pain points on their own, without the hassle of phone calls to your contact center, you need to make sure they receive the best customer support within your knowledge base. You can effectively accomplish that by integrating your knowledge base with live chat software.

Of course, they your customers can contact your customer support agents if they have any questions regarding your products or services, but providing them with live chat will be of much greater help, because not every consumer wants to talk to a customer support agent or even has the time to wait in queues for someone to take their call.

Integrating live chat software with your knowledge base can provide both your customers and your business with a number of benefits, but take a closer look at why it is important for the customer support you offer.

Your Customers Can Receive Instant Answers

Who likes being put on hold, really? If every customer has to wait forever for an agent to take their calls and resolve their customer problems, they will eventually get tired of waiting and simply try and find the answers they need someplace else.

In the fast-paced world we live in, consumers expect to receive instant answers when they need some help, which is exactly the main idea behind live chat, since it enables real-time communication. Therefore, you should really use live chat to its full potential and integrate it with your knowledge base as soon as possible.

That way, your live chat agents can provide your customers with instant answers to their questions, especially when each and every answer will be right at your agents’ fingertips – in the centralized knowledge base. When every person engaging in your brand can get immediate solutions to their customer pain points, they will be much more satisfied with your brand and, thus, they will be more likely to become your loyal customers.

Improved Customer Experience

This goes hand in hand with the previous benefit of live chat integration with your knowledge base, but there are a few more factors that can contribute to your customers’ experience with your brand. Apart from receiving instant answers, your customers can be provided with consistent answers, which is just as important.

This means that whether they decide to call your contact center or engage in live chat conversation with your agents, they will get the same consistent answers – the same high-quality customer support. This is due to the fact that your live chat agents can access your knowledge base instantly and give the best solutions to your every single customer, thus greatly improving their customer experience.

What can also highly influence customer experience is the way customer support agents actually communicate with them. While you can improve your agents’ communication skills by providing them with the proper training, you can also improve the way they handle your customers’ issues by integrating live chat with your knowledge base.

How exactly does this help? Since your agents will be able to easily communicate with multiple customers via live chat, without putting them on hold and stressing over searching for the right solutions, they will become more efficient and productive and, thus, more satisfied with their jobs. When someone loves their job, it reflects on their work and people around them. Hence, your customers will recognize the emotional investment of your agents and they will feel cared for.

Therefore, their customer experience will be considerably improved, which will make them more engaged in your brand. Ultimately, you will raise brand awareness and enlarge your customer base, succeeding in attracting more quality leads and converting them into customers, eventually increasing your sales and ROI.

Great Cost-Effectiveness

If you integrate your knowledge base with live chat software, not only will you help your customer support agents save a lot of time, but you will also save quite a lot of money. There would be fewer phone calls to handle, thus, you will greatly reduce your costs.

Moreover, you will enable your customers to save a lot of money as well, since they will not need to pay phone call tolls, as they would be able to easily communicate with your customer support agents for free via live chat. What would make your customers more satisfied with your brand than reduced costs on their side?

These are the most important benefits that your knowledge base integration with live chat can provide you with when it comes to better customer support, so be sure to take them into account. If you still don’t have a knowledge base, make sure you check out the ProProfs Knowledge Base Software, as it is one of the best types of enterprise wiki software you can choose and it offers excellent customer support 24/7. It easily integrates with live chat software and many other tools and can help you grow your business in no time.

Jason Grills is a writer and a technical support executive currently associated with ProProfs Knowledgebase Software. He enjoys writing about emerging software products, new designs and trends in content marketing. He lives in Los Angeles, California. In his spare time, Jason enjoys pampering his pet dogs, shopping, and doing all things creative.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Higher Minimum Wages Will Not Guarantee Better Customer Service

Save

Save

The post Guest Blog: Why Knowledge Base Integration with Live Chat Is Important for Better Customer Support appeared first on Shep Hyken.

The Traits That Make for Good Customer Service

Recently one of our subscribers asked me, what traits a person must possess to deliver a good customer service experience. I asked if this was for a customer support rep, and he said no. He was hiring for his IT department. We went back and forth via email, and I thought that a summary of my answer might be worth sharing.

First, as you think of traits, you should consider both attitudes and skills. Skills are obvious. If you’re hiring someone that is going to do a lot of written correspondence with customers you need someone with good communication skills – a command of the English language, as in punctuation, spelling and grammar. That’s a skill. Attitude is the way you would describe someone. For example, he or she is funny, outgoing and helpful.

There is an exercise we occasionally do in our workshops. We have a large whiteboard or flipchart in front of the audience. We ask the audience to shout out the traits of someone who would be good at customer service. As you can imagine, we get lots of answers. A few of them are:

Friendly, outgoing, funny, engaging, poised, empathetic, sympathetic, helpful, knowledgeable, good communicator, happy, confident, kind, good people skills, responsive, positive, passionate, nice, honest, polite – and the list went on.

What’s interesting about the list is that most of the traits are attitudes versus just a few being skills. A “good communicator” and “good people skills” are obviously skills. You can argue that “knowledgeable” is also a skill. So, out of the nineteen traits mentioned, only three of them are skills. Yes, we could add a few more skills to the list but for every skill you add, there are probably three or four more attitudinal traits you can add as well.

I’m not suggesting that skills aren’t important. They absolutely are. If a medical center needs to hire a skilled nurse, they are going to be looking at more than just an attitude. Nurses have to go to school, pass exams, get a degree and be licensed. Without that, all of the attitude in the world won’t land someone a job as a nurse.

This isn’t meant to be about the old saying that advocates hiring for attitude and training to skill. That may work for some jobs, but for many jobs, a person needs skills to get the job, such as that of a nurse. And, those peeps in IT are uber smart. They understand things the average human doesn’t easily comprehend. However, regardless of how strong someone’s skills are, without the right personality, as in many of the aforementioned attitudes, one employee can potentially bring down a customer-focused culture.

So what are the traits of a good employee, capable of delivering a good customer service experience? All of the above and more. My suggestion is to have a group of employees go through the exercise of listing all of the traits they can think of, both attitudes and skills. Hone the list down to the top ten core traits needed to be customer-focused for your organization. Then add to the list the specific skills needed for the specific job. The accountant needs accounting skills. The doctor needs doctor skills. And, of course the IT department needs people with IT skills. And, when you add the ten traits to the needed skills, you may have found that next AMAZING person to work with!

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright © MMXVII, Shep Hyken)

Save

Save

The post The Traits That Make for Good Customer Service appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Amazing Business Radio: Chad Keck

Chad Keck Discusses How to Design a Customer Survey Your Customers Will Actually Complete

Some companies follow up a transaction by sending you a lengthy survey that may take five or ten minutes or even longer to complete. In other words, after you have given the company money, it rewards you with a “homework assignment.” There has to be a better way!

Shep talks with Chad Keck, CEO and co-founder of Promoter.io, about a simple but scientifically proven method of measuring customer satisfaction – the Net Promoter Score.

 

Word of mouth is the best form of marketing for your business, but how do we actually put that into practice? Customers can feel strongly, either positively or negatively about your brand, which impacts referrals and recommendations. Capitalizing on positive word of mouth is the key to driving long-term sustainable growth.

The unique feature of the Net Promoter Score is that it gives you a consistent, method-drive approach to determine if customers are satisfied or dissatisfied. Net Promoter Score asks, “How likely are you on a scale of 0 to 10 to recommend this company?” So how does the customer feel about your brand? Are they willing to put their name and reputation on the line to recommend you?

Consumers tend to pause as they think about the question. This causes them to be more critical, which drives out more candid responses. Along with the follow-up, open-ended question of “‘What is the most important reason for your score?” this ultimately gives you the best kind of data to use to understand what you are doing well, or what you are not doing well and thus where you need to improve.

Part of the beauty of the Net Promoter Score is the very short and concise format of the survey.

The completion rate of the typical customer survey (the “homework assignment” mentioned above) is typically 3 to 5 percent. On the other hand, the Net Promoter Score, implemented properly, will usually generate a response rate of between 30 to 40 percent!

With the Net Promoter Score, we can identify which customers are likely to recommend us. We can then begin to strategically engage them individually, which is a critical (but often neglected) part of the process.

We are also more likely to identify which customers will churn or spread negative information, and deal with them appropriately. Without the Net Promoter Score, it would be very difficult to take those actions, especially if we received a very low survey response rate.

The Net Promoter Score helps us to break down customers into three groups: promoters, passives and detractors.  We then need to engage customers based on the patterns they fall into. Finally, the Net Promoter Score represents a single score or metric we can easily trend over time.

Chad Keck is the CEO and Co-Founder, Promoter.io, which helps companies measure the true ‘voice of the customer’ by allowing them to easily build Net Promoter Score campaigns.

 

“There is not better use of your time than cultivating customer relationships, and continually learning from customers, ideally on a daily basis. Every aspect of customer loyalty comes from how strong the relationship is with the customer.” – Chad Keck

 What questions will this episode answer?

What is a Net Promoter Score?
When should you administer the Net Promoter Score survey?
Why is a Net Promoter Score such a good measure of customer satisfaction?
How do you turn Net Promoter Score into a profit center?
Why is it critical to follow up with customers who respond to a survey, either positively or negatively?

Save

Save

The post Amazing Business Radio: Chad Keck appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 16, 2017

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.

5 Stages to Building Customer Loyalty by Melissa Gonzalez

(IBM) As a digital marketer, it’s important to remember that a long-lasting customer relationship takes time and trust; and trust takes a lifetime to build and a second to break.

My Comment: Customer loyalty doesn’t happen immediately. There are various “stages” that the customer goes through before he or she says, “I want to come back.” This article presents the case that customers go through five specific stages that lead them to loyalty. And, while the article focuses on B2C, the stages can be found in any business relationship.

4 Ways to Increase Customer Loyalty Now and for the Long Haul by Heike Young

(Salesforce) Lasting businesses are built on customer retention. But today, consumers are more connected, distracted, and informed than ever before. So the margin for error for crafting long-term customer relationships is razor-thin. Want evidence? Consider these stats from new research.

My Comment: Here is another list (short – just four ideas) about customer loyalty. Number two jumped out at me: “Think like a movie director and plan for the ending.” What do you want your customer to experience? At the end of their experience, you want your customers to say, “I want to come back for the sequel.”

5 Key Customer Experience Trends for 2017 by Donna Peeples

(Huffington Post) In the spirit of the New Year, here are my top 5 customer experience predictions and trends for 2017.

My Comment: Here is a list of five powerful trends impacting customer experience. From chatbots to staying with the basics, there is something on this list that is relevant to any business in any industry.

How Dwyer Group Leveraged Values to Build a Billion-Dollar Company by Kevin Daum

(Inc.) Lots of companies post values. This one turned them into more than $1.4 billion in sales.

My Comment: If you’ve been following me you know I believe that what is happening on the inside of an organization is felt on the outside by the customer. The way employees (internal customers) are treated and respected has a direct impact on their job satisfaction, how they engage with each other and how they engage with the customer. It starts with creating values that everyone can align with. The Dwyer Group, led by Dina Dwyer, is a case study on how to build a culture that positively impacts both employees and customers – and the success it can bring to a company.

5 Customer Retention Marketing Tips with an Artificial Intelligence Twist by Tara Thomas

(Boomtrain) Building a great product and making it easy to use seems like the recipe for happy, loyal customers. Sadly, that isn’t always the case. Apart from these two essential factors, you need to delight customers, monitor their issues and be aware of problems before they appear.

My Comment: Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic. As it is becoming a popular tool for customer service I’m always interested in reading articles that are easy to understand and show how and why it is an effective tool This article does just that, sharing five tips on how AI can help build customer retention and loyalty.

BONUS

Experts Share Their Top Choice for 2017 Contact Center Technology by Hagai Shaham

(TechSee) To help you figure out what path to take when investing in the future of customer support, we’ve rounded up nine top experts in Customer Service and asked them each the same question.

My Comment: If you run a support center you’ll want to read this article. Hagai Shaham has put together a list of experts (Myself included – thank you Hagai!) that answers the question: If you had a limited budget and could introduce only one new disruptive CS technology into your contact center what would that solution be, and why?

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

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 16, 2017 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: 6 Signs You Are Ready to Outsource Customer Service

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Bryan Peterson, shares signs that may indicate it’s time to outsource your customer service. Outsourcing can be a viable alternative but it must be something your customers trust and have confidence in. – Shep Hyken

Managing a business can be quite demanding, especially when that business is growing at a rate faster than you can keep up with. When the demands of customer service become too much for your staff to handle, it may be time to consider outsourcing your customer service needs. Here are 6 signs your company may benefit from customer service outsourcing.

1. You’d Like to Save Money

When you’re in need of extra customer service help, it’s likely your first thought is to hire more customer service representatives. Hiring new permanent employees will only cost you more money in the long run, and why pay more when you can save yourself some money? Outsourcing your customer service needs is much less expensive than hiring new employees.

2. You Need to Lessen the Workload

If you don’t already have a customer service department, your customer service needs are probably being managed by employees whose responsibilities have nothing to do with customer service. Outsourcing allows employees to focus on their primary tasks, which helps save you time and money in the long run.

3. You’d Benefit from Flexibility

For most businesses, customer service needs tend to fluctuate from day to day and season to season. Outsourcing your customer service prevents you from hiring full time employees that you’ll then have to pay even during the slow season.

4. You’re Looking for Customer Service Experts

If your current customer service needs are being handled by regular employees in your office, they’re probably not experts in the field of customer service. When you outsource your customer service needs, you can rest assured the people answering phone calls for your company are experts in their field, well-versed in your company, and fully capable to helping with any customer service situation that may arise. And good customer service is everything.

5. You Want Top of the Line Equipment

Good equipment costs money, and if you’re looking for the best, expect to invest a lot of money. Companies specializing in customer service outsourcing have access to not only the best equipment, but also the most top-of-the-line technology, so you can be sure your customers are being well taken care of and having the best experience possible.

6. You Need 24/7 Coverage

The money and resources necessary to keep your office open and employees working every day around the clock add up quickly. Customer service outsourcing centers are already handling other client needs, which means the cost to have your customer service needs managed by one 24/7 is significantly less. Why pay more for your own call center when you can hire professionals for so much less?

Start Outsourcing Today

Are you ready to outsource your customer service needs? Spread the word and share this post on social media.

Bryan Peterson is a Community Outreach Specialist at ROI Call Center Solutions. Bryan’s focus includes writing about technology, business management and anything that interests him. Bryan is committed to helping individuals discover new ideas and expand their horizons.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Ten Customer Service And Customer Experience Trends For 2017

Save

Save

Save

Save

The post Guest Blog: 6 Signs You Are Ready to Outsource Customer Service appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Four Reasons Why Remembering Your Customers Is Important

A few weeks ago I had breakfast at one of my favorite places, First Watch. On that particular day I wasn’t that hungry so I ordered just one pancake. Typically, when I add a pancake they charge a dollar. When the server left the check on the table I noticed they charged me five dollars for the pancake. I asked about the high-priced pancake and learned there was as difference between adding a pancake and ordering just one for breakfast. He was very nice about it, and I was happy to accept the reason. He then jokingly told me the next time I came in he was going to give me a pancake for a dollar. I thanked him and left him a nice tip for his great service and his outstanding attitude.

Two weeks later we went back to First Watch for breakfast. That day we had a different server. I ordered my usual big breakfast. A few minutes later the server came back with a pancake. She said that it was compliments of Tomas, the gentleman who took care of us the last time we were in for breakfast. I looked over and he gave me a wave and a smile.

I was impressed. First, you should know why I like First Watch. They consistently have great food and great service. Nobody is perfect, but they have their system down and they seldom miss. The servers are always friendly. That’s why I’ve been a customer of theirs since they opened their stores in St. Louis more than a dozen years ago. I always know what I’m going to get.

But, now I have another reason. They remember me. Actually, they didn’t remember. Tomas remembered me. But, for me Tomas, represents the restaurant and all of the other employees. Remembering your customers is huge. Why? Here are four good reasons.

It makes your customers feel special. Who doesn’t like to be remembered and appreciated?
It makes the experience personal. I was remembered, but more important, I was given a special experience based on Tomas remembering the pancake.
It creates a connection with your customers. People like being around people they feel they know. Recognizing and remembering someone is the first step toward that.
It increases the likelihood of a return visit. Remember the show Cheers? It was a popular sitcom that first ran in 1982 and was popular for over ten years. The theme song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” was also the theme of the entire show. People like going to – and like going back to – places where they are remembered. It’s simply part of good customer service.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright © MMXVII, Shep Hyken)

Save

Save

Save

The post Four Reasons Why Remembering Your Customers Is Important appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Amazing Business Radio: Brian Solis

Brian Solis Discusses the Role of

Customer Experience Design

What will brands and businesses need to do in the future to be successful?

Shep Hyken speaks with Brian Solis, who asserts that all thinking needs to start with the customer experience design. Design what your customers are supposed to feel at all parts of their customer journey. Think beyond the products and services that you sell. Think about the entire customer experience.

The customer experience is defined as the sum of all engagements the customer has with your company throughout their lifecycle. Go through your customer’s journey and map the entire process so that you can improve their overall journey. In fact, you will find there may be more than a single journey you will need to map.

This is exactly what Airbnb did when they needed to reinvent themselves four years into their existence, and just as Walt Disney did decades earlier when planning the movie Snow White. Disney had success with shorter cartoons, but he wanted to create a feature-length film with enough depth that told a complete, detailed story. So Disney used storyboarding to plan the entire journey. Similarly, Airbnb created a storyboard; a list of the emotional moments that comprise an Airbnb stay.

If any one part of your customer journey fails, you can never have a 100% great experience. So we must focus on the sum of the customer engagement, and the parts of the engagement that equal that sum. This philosophy breaks down the silos of disparate business units throughout the organization and forces a single-minded focus on the customer, from beginning to end. Apple, Disney and Tesla are prime examples of companies that create a holistic customer experience design.

For a fresh perspective, take a look at other popular products and services from industries outside of your own. What insights can you gain from that customer experience that you want to design into yours? For example, in writing (and then rewriting) his book, Brian looked at apps and other technology to redesign his book, rather than looking at and comparing his book to other books.

Brian challenged the convention of what a book should be. He did research into how our brains process long-form content, given the short attention spans of today. After all of his research, Brian determined how the reader could have a very different kind of book experience. Besides creating a book that is rich with content, he also built in experiences with joys and pleasures, resulting in a book that you not only want to read, but also experience. As a result, Shep Hyken places X: The Experience when Business Meets Design on his list of the all-time top 10 business books.

Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders, keynote speakers, and best-selling authors in innovation and digital transformation. His book X: The Experience When Business Meets Design explores the importance of experiences and how to design them for customers and employees. As Principal Analyst at Altimeter, a Prophet Company, he humanizes technology.

“Many businesses look at customer service as a cost center rather than as an investment.  But what do we do with cost centers?  We try to minimize or eliminate them.” – Brian Solis

 

 What questions will this episode answer?

What are companies getting right and wrong when it comes to customer experience?
What is holistic customer design?
How would you define customer experience?
Why is it necessary for companies to be thinking about the customer experience?
How can you get a fresh perspective in planning your customer journey?

Save

Save

The post Amazing Business Radio: Brian Solis appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 9, 2017

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.

High-Performing Customer Service Teams Use Predictive Analytics by Vala Afshar

(Huffington Post) The reality of today’s business landscape is that customers are more connected than ever. Fifty-eight percent of consumers and 77% of business buyers say tech has significantly changed their expectations of how companies should interact with them.

My Comment: If you’ve been following this weekly roundup, then the name Vala Afshar is not unfamiliar. He’s one of the smartest people I know and this article is a perfect example why that is true. Data and predictive analytics are playing a stronger roll than ever in the customer service world. The best companies know what data helps them get the answers and info they need to help their customers.

Building Long Term Customer Loyalty in Disposable Times by Deborah Shane

(Small Business Trends) Building relationships takes time but growing and maintaining them long term takes perseverance, energy and purpose.

My Comment: Loyalty is about long term relationships. It starts with getting the customer to come back next time. This short article has a number of tips that will drive the “next time customer.” Handled properly, that customer will turn into a loyal, long term relationship.

3 Areas to Focus your Customer Experience in 2017 by Adam Toporek

(Customers That Stick) To start off 2017, instead of looking at new technologies or predicting the next “big thing,” I thought it would be useful take a different tack — to help identify those areas in customer experience that tend to be overlooked, those areas where organizations can reap huge benefits from directing their focus but often do not.

My Comment: This short article by Adam Toporek has three simple, yet powerful, concepts that will help any company build a better CX that fosters repeat business and, ultimately, customer loyalty. Pay close attention to the third concept, which is to “Focus on Follow Up.” This is a step that is missed by many organizations.

45 Ways to Create Better Customer Experiences With Emotion by Michael Becker

(Jeff Bullas) Recent research by the Temkin Group showed that how a customer feels about an interaction with a company is the most powerful indicator – and driver – of customer loyalty.

My Comment: Michael Becker has compiled a nice group of tips, ideas, resources and more related to creating a better customer experience. There is definitely something here for everyone and every company.

2017 Customer Experience Resolutions by Lynn Hunsaker

(ClearAction) Let’s take a look at 5 ways to accelerate results that your customers and investors will both reward.

My Comment: One of the nice things about the beginning of the year is that many articles focus on what we need to be successful for the new year. Here is another list with some excellent customer experience “resolutions.” Lynn Hunsaker shares five concepts that every company should “resolve” to do. (Happy New Year!)

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

Save

Save

Save

Save

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 9, 2017 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: Debunking Five Artificial Intelligence Myths – Real Tales of AI in Customer Experience

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Vince Jeffs, examines the hot topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and it’s impact on the customer experience. I am reading articles every week about AI and find it’s impact fascinating. – Shep Hyken

If you’ve read or seen any media lately, you know that the Artificial Intelligence hype is off the charts. Recently, even 60 Minutes Overtime did a segment on robot research at Carnegie Mellon, further fueling the hysteria. The imagination runs wild as to what this all will bring to our future.

And sure, I too enjoy dreaming about AI as well. But the reality is we receive paychecks because our employers expect us to deliver commercial value.  How can we take this out of the realm of science fiction and into reality?

So rather than falling into a trance that AI will radically transform the world, let’s unpack what is commercially real in how this translates to delivering better customer experiences.

Below, I’ll debunk five myths and contrast with actual examples of AI in use.

Myth #1: AI can think and operate like humans today

Machine intelligence can’t match the human brain. Most experts agree that the “Turing Test” and other methods for gauging AI progress show we aren’t there quite yet.

In CX and CRM, however, we benefit from machine learning algorithms and robotics because software can access and traverse massive data sources and find patterns we’ll never see.

Subsequently, brands from telecommunication companies to retailers have seen impressive results. AI-powered product suggestions for consumers regularly improve response rates by 300 percent or more. I love when brands find helpful items that I never considered, such as an accessory with my new iPhone, or a shirt with the shorts I just carted. This not only drives increased revenue but also provides unexpected value to the customer.

Of course, none of this replaces human thinking. Instead, these technologies assist us and make our work and experiences more productive.

Myth #2: The rise of AI means machines will completely overtake the workforce

Successful companies rarely destroy jobs. Instead, like the laws of matter – they morph into new forms.  For 30 years, businesses have improved efficiency by streamlining redundant tasks to free employees to do more meaningful work. I expect brands to use technology in a similar fashion in the next 30. In many cases, AI technology works hand and hand with people to do work better, smarter and faster. As firms reengineer outdated processes, they transform them – removing some roles, but creating brand new ones.

AI can pinpoint waste and repetitious patterns, enabling managers to make solid defensible cases for new projects, tearing apart dysfunction and rebuilding it. For example, robotics software installed on desktops helps isolate and automate wasteful and repetitive tasks. Employees become productive and happier, focusing on providing better customer experience.

Myth #3: I need to hire a gaggle of Data Scientists

Make no mistake – you need data experts and employees that get AI science, but you don’t need dozens of PhDs to accomplish your AI goals. Instead, concentrate on hiring and assembling a small team with the right mix of talent – those who understand machine learning technologies, applied statistics, your business, content management, and project management.

Make sure the team has clear objectives and milestones and give workers incentives to turn their ideas into profits. At a large bank, I’ve witnessed a slim four-person team build high performing propensity and learning models for all business lines.

Myth #4: I should save all my data because AI will need it

Data is a cost. Like old stuff in an attic, it just ends up occupying space and is useless until you pull it out and use it.

You need to store data that might one day pay off. But how do you know what data is gold and which can be set to the curb? Consider these tips:

Use common sense, business intuition, and convenience when deciding which customer attributes to store.
Keep purchase data (first-party data) for up to three years or longer for infrequent purchases. Summarize for quarterly and annual trend spotting and forecasting.
Tag key digital interactions and keep this behavior data longer than preference and survey data, which goes stale.
Overwrite old demographic profiles and modeled data (third-party data), which yields little value.

Myth #5: AI is some super new science that I’ll never understand and use

AI is a broad area and encompasses some steadfast, road-tested science, such as regression models, decision trees, and emerging techniques like deep learning.

If you aren’t applying any of these methods, start with simple and low risk approaches. Use technologies that employ Bayesian algorithms to identify next best action based on response data, or find compatible products to offer based on collaborative filtering.

Once you achieve quick wins, work toward using models that calculate Customer Lifetime Value and Churn Propensity.

Final Thoughts:

Sure, Artificial Intelligence sounds like the stuff of tech fantasyland. To stay competitive, hunt for vendors and technology that can demonstrate real value to the business today. If you can cut through all the hype, you can find AI that turns customer data into actionable insights that return significant value for your customers.

Vince Jeffs is the Director of Strategy & Product Marketing for Pegasystems.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: ‘National Returns Day’ Is A Lesson For All Businesses

The post Guest Blog: Debunking Five Artificial Intelligence Myths – Real Tales of AI in Customer Experience appeared first on Shep Hyken.