Shep Hyken's Blog, page 176

The One Thing We Must Do to Create a Customer Focused Culture

To kick off the start of 2017 I could share my “Top Seventeen Ways to Deliver Great Customer Service in 2017.” I’ve done something like that most years. Instead, I’d like to kick off with something a bit more manageable. Not seventeen ideas, but just one. Not only is the focus on one idea, but really it’s just one word. And, that word is… alignment. 

One of the most important ways to improve customer service is to make sure that everyone in an organization (company) is in alignment with the customer service and/or experience vision. While the concept is just one word, there are several steps to achieving alignment.

The first step is to define that vision in simple and memorable terms. So, if you’ve been following my work, go back a few weeks to the concept of creating your customer service mantra, which is my fancy word to describe a customer service vision statement. Before you can get everyone into alignment, you must give them something to align with. I like a vision statement or mantra that is short and to the point. So, if you don’t already have a vision for everyone to align to, you’re going to need one.

Assuming you have the customer service vision statement – or mantra, as I like to call it – the next step is to prove how everyone in the organization impacts that vision. And, I mean everyone!  Start with your basic customer journey map that shows all of the typical interactions – or touchpoints – that the customer has when doing business with you. And you may need more than one map.  A customer’s sales journey is different than a service or support journey. The interactions a customer has on your company’s website will be different than over the phone or in person.

There is a second part of the journey map exercise, to show underneath each touchpoint how different departments and roles within those departments impact those touchpoints. If done correctly, you will eventually be able to show how each and every department – in other words, everyone – impacts the customer’s experience.

I know I’m sounding redundant, but if you haven’t already done the crucial steps of creating a vision and journey map – and I’m surprised at the number of organizations who haven’t yet done so – you have extra work to do before you can think about getting your employees into alignment.

And, now it’s time to get everyone into alignment. By getting everyone to know and understand your customer service vision, and showing on a journey map how everyone, even as individuals, impact the customer’s experience, you can begin to train everyone to your vision. This is simple in concept, but not always easy to do. You must have an effective communication strategy. It can start with an announcement. It must be articulated as not just a vision, but also an expectation that everyone must keep in mind, regardless of their role and responsibility in the organization.

And just announcing and communicating it is not enough. Each and every employee must be properly trained. It must constantly be reinforced. It must be obvious and almost overt. For employees to be in alignment, they must know it, understand it, and be able to execute it.

Customer service isn’t just for the customer service department or the front line. It’s everyone’s job. So, if there is one thing that will make a difference in your customer service for 2017 (and every year thereafter), it is to get everyone in the organization in alignment with your customer service mantra.

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)

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Amazing Business Radio: Thomas A. Stewart & Patricia O’Connell

Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O’Connell on

How to Deliver an Exceptional Customer Experience

– By Design

Is your business equipped to deliver exceptional customer experiences? Shep Hyken speaks with Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O’Connell, authors of the new book “Woo, Wow and Win: Service Design, Strategy and the Art of Customer Delight,” who assert that a customer’s experience should be designed just as thoughtfully as your product was designed.  A successful customer experience will not happen by accident.

O’Connell says that service design, which has its roots in Europe, is a fairly new discipline in the United States.  The real crux of service design is for a business to think, reimagine and engineer the customer experience – from start to finish.Stewart states that every part of a service should be designed to create a set of expectations, and then deliver on them in a way that maps to your strategy.  For example, Starbucks wants to create a different experience from a deli, Dunkin Donuts or McDonald’s.  How you design your experience is part of your strategy.

Stewart asserts that some moments matter more than others.  These are known as the critical customer interactions, those moments when you either make it or break it with a customer.  For instance, the time of an automobile insurance claim is that moment when a customer will decide to either love you or hate you.  You’ve got to deliver an “aha” moment.

O’Connell describes the Five Principles of Service Design:

The customer is always right, provided it is the right customer for you.
Don’t surprise and delight customers, just delight them.
Great service should not require heroic efforts.
Anywhere you play, you need to play well (across all platforms or channels)
You’re never done.

Stewart discusses the importance of aligning yourself with one of the Nine Archetypical Service Designs, including these three:

Bargain – Are you the Walmart of your industry?
Trend setter – Are you the Apple of your industry?
Safe choice – Are you the CVS or Macy’s of your industry?

Which is your archetype?

Do not study others in the same archetype in the same industry as yours, as you’ll just be copying them.  Instead, study others in the same archetype as you, but in different industries.  What can you learn about delivering an extraordinary customer experience from them?

Thomas A. Stewart, the executive director of the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM), shows executives how to design, manage and run organizations that keep pace with innovation and achieve sustainable growth. Before joining NCMM, Stewart served as the chief marketing and knowledge officer for the international consulting firm Booz & Company (now Strategy&). Prior to that, for six years, he was the editor and managing director of Harvard Business Review.

Patricia O’Connell, president of Aerten Consulting, works with companies to devise content strategies, and develop thought leadership.  For 12 years, O’Connell served as news editor and then as the management editor of BloombergBusinessweek.com.

“Customer experience is about all of the things you need to do to make sure that all of your customers have a terrific experience from start to finish, with you, your brand, your services, what you are selling, and your employees.” – Patricia O’Connell

“Good service and great customer experiences need to be built into a company, just like performance is designed into a BMW or intuitiveness is designed into a Mac.” – Thomas A. Stewart

 What questions will this episode answer?

What is the difference between a customer experience and customer service?
What is the difference between the “ahh” moment and an “aha” moment?
What is a customer journey map and how can you use it?
Why is it important to design the customer experience as carefully as you designed the product that you are selling?

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 2, 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.

Kick-Ass Customer Service by Matthew Dixon, Lara Ponomareff, Scott Turner, and Rick DeLisi

(Harvard Business Review) Think about the last time you flew. When you checked in, did you use a self-service option—like the airline’s website, app, or airport kiosk—to check your bags, choose your seat, and print out your boarding pass? Or did you instead wait in line at the airport to speak with a human being? If you’re like most people, you used the self-service option. Indeed, our data show an overwhelming preference for self-service: Across industries, fully 81% of all customers attempt to take care of matters themselves before reaching out to a live representative

My Comment: This article had me a the title: “Kick Ass Customer Service.” And, then I was surprised that the article started off with the concept of Self-Service. Can you really have “Kick-Ass” customer service with self-service customer service? The answer is a resounding YES! The authors start with a compelling stat that “across all industries fully 81% of all customers attempt to take matters themselves before reaching out to a live representative.” They also share some excellent information about seven different types of customer service reps – and much more.

How AI and Messaging by Mikhail Naumov and Davy Kestens

(VentureBeat) The past few months were full of exciting announcements regarding: artificial intelligence and mobile messaging. Both had made significant leaps in progress, and together will make a very exciting year ahead for businesses.

My Comment: What’s even better than getting your customers’ email addresses? Getting their mobile phone numbers, which gives you the ability to message them with a much higher “open” rate (for lack of a better term). And, what can make that message even better? When AI (artificial intelligence) kicks in and delivers personalized and relevant messages to the customers – the kind they want and when they want them. This article presents a perspective on what happens when AI meets messaging. Very cool information, and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this concept.

Customer Feedback: How To Ask For And Implement It by Lauren Dowdle

(Fieldbloom) Running a small business can seem like a never-ending guessing game, especially when it comes to figuring out what your clients are thinking. You’re an entrepreneur, not a mind reader.

My Comment: Customer feedback, both good and bad, is a gift. Relish it, embrace it, and most important, make an effort to get it. This excellent article has a number of ideas that will help you create a better system for getting feedback as well as doing something with it once you have it.

3 Important Lessons of Social Customer Service on Twitter From 2016 by Lauren Kamp

(Salesforce) Every year, companies must put customers first, and this year was no exception. Here are a few lessons from 2016 to help you prepare and improve your customer service on Twitter for 2017.

My Comment: Social media customer care is something that too many companies ignore – or don’t pay close enough attention to. When a customer posts a message on any social channel, the company must respond. This excellent article from Salesforce has three important customer service tips on Twitter. However, any of this will work on most social channels.

It’s Time to Change How Companies Perceive Customer Experience (CX) – Part 1 by Brian Solis

(Brian Solis) Last year, I spent time with Mark Johnson, CEO and CMO of Loyalty360, to discuss all things Customer Experience (CX). The conversation was so rich, it resulted into a two-part series exclusively for the Loyalty360 community. Now however, I’ve been given the green light to share the conversation (parts 1 and 2) with you here.

My Comment: I’m a big Brian Solis fan, so when he shares his wisdom, I listen and take notes. Loyalty360 interviewed Brian about his thoughts and insights regarding customer experience. This is Part One of a two part article, and I’m very much looking forward to Part Two.

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

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Guest Blog: Reasons Why Eco-entrepreneurs Succeed in Winning Customer Loyalty

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Erich Lawson, writes about the importance of being an eco-friendly business and how it can encourage loyalty among consumers. This is a great example of  finding out what is important to your customer and making it a priority. – Shep Hyken

Studies have found that businesses are bound to reap numerous benefits from the implementation of social and environmental initiatives most of which require minimal capital. For instance, a study conducted by Nielsen in 2014 indicated that 55 percent of customers are more likely to pay more for services and goods from companies that have a positive environmental and social impact. This was 10 percentage points higher as compared to a similar survey conducted in 2011.

Although most entrepreneurs mainly consider benefits that are associated with cost, there is so much more. If you are seeking to gain more customers who are loyal, then you will do well to place more emphasis on the impact your business leaves on the surrounding environment.

Notably, there is increased awareness on the implementation of environmentally friendly policies from more people across the world that are seen as detrimental by consumers before making purchases from not only eco-friendly but also ethical minded businesses.

Customers Consider Eco-Friendly Minded Businesses before Purchasing

The 2013 findings of a Green Gap Trend Tracker research conducted by Cone Communications found that at least 71 percent of shoppers in America think about the environment when shopping. Another 7 percent have the environment in mind when they shop even as 20 percent are constantly thinking about the environment.

What this means is that consumers have prioritized thinking green with most of them holding the belief that it is their responsibility to not only use but also dispose of products properly. Even then, only a paltry 30 percent that uses products in a manner that benefits the environment as is intended. On the other hand, another 42 percent dispose products in a manner that fulfills the desired environmental benefits.

Although there is no consistency in following the policies, consumers have demonstrated the desire to gain more knowledge on environmentally friendly practices. Consequently, the number of consumers that take into account eco-friendly minded businesses when shopping has significantly gone up. In fact, another survey found that consumers are increasing their spending based on organic foods as opposed to merely looking at the ingredients. Consumers are bound to punish those companies that mislead them. Thus, the degree to which a company is honest on the green philosophy matters is important.

What Message Are You Conveying?

It is critical to emphasize on the message you want to convey about your business before setting out. That is, what would you like besides attaining the freedom of being self-employed and making money? Is your business’ philanthropy as much as you are making from the business? Is your business making positive contributions to the environment or society?

It is important to bear in mind that your business is not only interacting with but also representing the community. That is, as an individual your visibility is greatly increased. Consequently, what you say and do is significant albeit on different scales. Thus, when you convey messages that show your business promotes eco-friendly policies then you are more likely to attract a wider clientele. Besides, there are people that need to be enlightened on sustainability processes thus the messages you convey could be the only thing that changes the perspective of customers to switch to eco-friendly products.

Today, getting consumers to exercise their good intentions is a major challenge hence the need to communicate about your sustainable brand more effectively in order to resonate with the customers. Consequently, customers who are of the degree of a company’s social and environmental consciousness will more likely want to try your company’s services and products with an even higher percentage becoming repeat customers. Always remember that a majority of customers are more concerned about the impact of a product on the environment than the price.

Examples of Green Businesses that are Successful

More and more businesses have gone green by embracing eco-friendly policies. Some of the green businesses that have been successful in their quest to be green include the following:

Businesses that use recycled materials
Recycled packaging
Businesses that use ethically and locally sourced materials
Business that use natural materials
Businesses that operate on a zero waste policy
Businesses that are keen on reducing carbon footprint
Businesses that work for a cause/charity
Businesses that promote transparency by making their eco-friendly efforts and mission known.

Green Practices to Follow

Every business has the capability of saving energy costs and making a positive impact on natural resources through simple acts as using recyclable products or changing a light bulb. Here are some green practices that you can follow:

Embrace energy efficiency through saving tips on energy costs
Adopt business practices that are environmentally sound
Enhance your systems of waste management
Consider investing in renewable energy

Consumers are fast shifting their focus from the composition of products to the degree to which the company embraces eco-friendly policies. Therefore, entrepreneurs will do well to consider incorporating green policies in their businesses.

Erich Lawson is passionate about saving environment by effective recycling. He has written a wide array of articles on how modern recycling equipment can be used by industries to reduce monthly garbage bills and increase recycling revenue. You can learn more about environment savings techniques by visiting Northern California Compactors, Inc blog

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

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Here Is The Key To Improving The Customer Service Experience

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Higher Profits or More Customers

As an organization gets larger, there is a tendency to start to focus more on overhead and profit and less on customer acquisition, and even more important, retention. My friend and customer service colleague, Steve Digioia brought this up and asked the question, “What are the causes of this change and how do you keep this from happening?”

My first response was that yes, this does happen, and then there’s a realization that the company has to get back to focusing on the customer, playing catch up to replacing defecting customers and making up for lower sales as a result. This is the opposite of what they wanted to achieve.

And, and sometimes it’s even purposeful. Leadership may decide to purposely change their mindset – and even their company culture – from being customer-focused to bottom line focused. That may look good on paper for a short while, but long term it is a mistake.

So how does a company prevent this from happening? First and foremost, if the company has a culture and vision in place, every move they make should always bring up the question, “Is this in keeping with our vision?” Assuming the answer is yes, then the focus needs to move toward employees.

For those that are interested in staying focused on the customer, it is more important than ever to hire the right people that fit into your customer-focused culture. Training is also essential. And, as the company grows, it is important for leadership to be aware if any part of the company (departments within the company, people within the company, etc.) is going out of cultural alignment.

So, how can this be prevented? Here is a simple answer to a complicated question: Keep focused on the people. Constant reinforcement of the importance of customer service is key to sustaining the culture.

A good example of this is Amazon.com. As they grew and added different areas to their business, they always put the customer first. The first question they always asked when rolling out a new program was whether or not was this was going to be right for the customer. The second question they asked was if it was going to be right for Amazon.

Remember what Dr. Ted Levitt of Harvard business school said: “The function of a business is to get and keep customers.” The goal is to make money. If you don’t focus on the function, you might not reach your goal.

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 © MMXVI, Shep Hyken)

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Amazing Business Radio: Bill Aston

Bill Aston Shares the Roles (and Challenges)

of Using Technology to Provide Amazing Customer Service

Have you thought about how you and your organization can use technology to enhance the customer service experience? Shep Hyken speaks with Bill Aston about how the pace of change is increasing in the customer care environment. They discuss how companies must now rely on technology to deliver a satisfactory customer experience due to increased demands placed on them. Yet, the ability to get all of the technologies to work in synchronicity is becoming more and more of a challenge.

If your customer calls in and then later comes in via chat, your customer believes that, as part of that experience, your company should have a record of the prior contact. There needs to be a seamless flow in your company from one channel to another.  Multiple channels and multiple technologies need to come together to deliver a seamless customer experience.
For instance, one support rep can have 20,000 or more customers. Support reps can also be located in different geographical locations.  As a result, getting everything to work together to deliver a satisfactory customer experience can be a very challenging (but necessary) exercise.
Since it can take months to rectify a problem once technology has been rolled out, it is important that any new technology be thoroughly tested before rolling it out to your customers.

Adding to the complexity is the fact that video will be the foundation of a successful customer experience within the next one to three years.  By using video, organizations can create a better connection with their customers, allowing them to notice facial expressions and to share information that they wouldn’t normally be able to gather. If you are not planning to use video as part of your customer experience, and a competitor is, you could lose business to that competitor.

Bill Aston is the General Manager for the Americas for Cyara, the market leader and the world’s fastest growing provider of an automated customer experience platform.  Cyara’s technology enables you to mimic your customer behaviors, proactively monitor your customer experience, and keep pace with your customers’ expectations.

“The customer experience is the last remaining differentiator for a lot of industries, particularly the banking and insurance industries.” – Bill Aston

 What questions will this episode answer?

How can companies improve the customer experience using technology?
Why is it so hard for companies to get the technology right?  (Why do I have to tell my story to multiple people or why do I have to tell the agent a number that I just entered?)
What is the next big thing coming in technology to help create a better customer experience?

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of December 26, 2016

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 Hidden Costs of Poor Internal Customer Service By Joanne Wortman

(Integrify) Of course, every business understands the need to maintain a high commitment to providing excellent customer service. Oddly enough, some businesses still ignore the hidden costs of poor internal customer service. The reason is simple. Management doesn’t even realize or acknowledge that internal customers exist.

My Comment: The internal customer is just as important (if not even more so) as an outside customer. Many successful leaders have created a culture that focuses on the belief that if you take care of employees first, they will better engage with customers and give them even better service. This article looks at the internal customer and the process behind delivering better internal service. As I always say, what’s happening on the inside of an organization is felt on the outside by the customer.

10 ways Volkswagen’s first chief customer officer is driving a new experience agenda by Nadia Cameron

(CMO) CMO catches up with Volkswagen Group Australia’s inaugural director of customer experience to find out how he’s ensuring customers are front and centre of decision making

My Comment: Volkswagen is one of the world’s recognized brands. I love getting an inside view of how any major brand delivers a stellar service experience. Jason Bradshaw has been brought in to raise the bar on VW’s service. Here is a glimpse into the way he’s going about it. There is plenty of good ideas here that any organization can take advantage of.

5 ways to build customer loyalty by Laura Loughran

(IBM) Customers are dynamic and involve continuous effort. Customer analytics allow brands to deeply understand their customers and how they are changing, so they can adapt to evolving customer demands. Building lasting customer loyalty requires a multifaceted analytical approach.

My Comment: How do you turn the average customer into a lifetime customer? Pay attention to the five points that Laura Loughran makes in this excellent article – especially point one, which is about attrition. Before you can start to work on loyalty, it’s a good idea to know why customers aren’t loyal.

The Magic of Customer Experience: Lessons from Disney on How to Improve the Customer Journey by Justyna Polaczyk

(LiveChat) I’m going to show you lessons from Disney, the king of customer experience, on how to improve your customer journey so people also fall in love with your brand.

My Comment: How does Disney manage the customer journey? Read this article to find out how. It is filled with nuggets of wisdom about how Disney designed their customer journey – and much more. And, it also includes some fun and fascinating Disney trivia that will make you smile.

Brian Solis: 2017 is the Year of Customer Experience (CX) Derek Handova

(Talkin’ Cloud) When you speak to Brian Solis, the acclaimed digital analyst and anthropologist and author of books such as X: The Experience Where Business Meets Design, you get the impression of a student of life. While many follow his professional outputs and utilize them as best practices in business innovation, digital transformation, experience design and other initiatives, he does not spend much time burnishing his credentials. He’s too busy looking for the next opportunity to engage customers, employees and potential stakeholders.

My Comment: Brian Solis is one smart dude, especially when it comes to customer experience (CX). I’m a huge fan of his work, and his recent book, “X: The Experience Where Business Meets Design,” is one of my favorites. So, when Brian has something to share, I listen. Here are five lessons to consider as you work on your CX strategy.

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

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Guest Blog: Surviving Poor Customer Service: 10 Lessons Learned

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my colleague, Dianna Booher, shares 10 lessons learned from a poor customer service experience. As Dianna says, changing any of these dynamics can help elevate your customer service. – Shep Hyken

A recent renovation in our home due to a water leak became almost a 4-month, full-time job for my husband.  Sharing some of the customer-service snafus with friends and colleagues, we’ve discovered that these happenings are all too common for the construction industry.

Reflecting on our experiences and hearing the tales of woe from others, I’ve put together “10 Lessons Learned” to help you survive your next customer-service nightmare.

On the other hand, if you own a business in ANY industry, changing even one or two of these service delivery dynamics could make a dramatic difference in distinguishing you in the marketplace as an outstanding organization:

Lesson #1:  Expect no communication between the departments or people who work for the same organization. They will not know what their colleagues have agreed, scheduled, done, or planned to do.  You, as customer, will become their main source of information.

Lesson #2: If the vendor says that they will arrive at 8:00 am, expect 10:00 am.  If they give you a 10:00 am arrival time, expect them at your door at 8:00 am.

Lesson #3: If they promise to get a quote or proposal to you within a certain time period, double it.

Lesson #4:  If they set a firm time for a meeting or phone call, to minimize frustration, get a watch that doesn’t work.

Lesson #5:  Vendor A will mess up the work of Vendor B.  Vendor B will mess up the work of Vendor C. No vendor will own responsibility for any of the foul-ups and will continue to blame the others.

Lesson #6:   If vendors give you a completion date of 30 days, expect 60 days. Whatever the estimated project time, double it.

Lesson #7:  Whatever the estimated cost, increase it by at least 50 percent.  If you agree on the cost upfront in writing, expect the vendor to run into an unknown problem and the total project to require additional “scope” and fee.

Lesson #8:  If paperwork is involved in the transaction (order form, invoice, receipt), expect errors and several iterations of the same.

Lesson #9:  If you’re assigned a liaison or project manager, expect to have to manage the project manager because he or she will be overwhelmed with far too many jobs for one person to handle.

Lesson #10:  When finished, expect the vendor to ask for a referral for their work.

Dianna Booher is the bestselling author of 47 books, published in 60 foreign language editions. She works with organizations to help them communicate clearly and with leaders to expand their influence by a strong executive presence. Her personal development topics include communication, leadership, executive presence, productivity, life balance, and faith. Her most popular books include What MORE Can I Say?, Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader and Communicate With Confidence.

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

Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article: Top Ten Business Books Of 2016

 

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Year Round Holiday Season Customer Service

The holiday season is almost over. Christmas and Chanukah overlap and are just a few days away. Kwanzaa starts the day after Christmas. And, for those who enjoy Seinfeld humor, Festivus, the “airing of grievances and feats of strength” is on December 23. (And by the way, if you haven’t seen the hilarious Seinfeld episode with the holiday dinner at George’s home, put it on your must-see list. But only if you want to laugh!)

I bring up the holidays as an example when many companies ramp up their customer service. In malls you’ve most likely found your favorite stores were staffed with extra salespeople during the holiday season. Last year Walmart recognized a big “friction point” with customers was waiting in long lines to check out, so they made a public statement that they would staff all checkout lanes to help make the wait shorter. Customer support departments ramp up with extra people over the holidays, anticipating an influx of support issues due to higher sales throughout the month. The goal being to give the same level of customer service they give in less busy times – as in the rest of the year.

So, just think of the holidays as a busier than usual time. It could be any time that a business, not just a retailer, experiences more sales or service support volume than usual. But, what about other types of businesses. Even manufacturing companies, who may actually slow down during the holidays, can have a holiday-like rush. Their version of a holiday rush might be after a major industry trade show when sales spike and support questions come in. Or it could come during and after a major sale. Or a product launch. You see, every company and every industry has their version of a holiday rush.

So, here is my point. A customer should never experience longer than usual wait times due to heavy volume. That’s for both sales and service. We must give our customers the same level of service year round, regardless of how busy or slow it is. The best organizations are always trying to be at least a little bit better than the norm or what’s expected. That comes in the form of a fast response to an email or social post, a fast return phone call or a short hold time. And, that happens year round.

One of the most powerful trust and confidence builders you can give your customer is to create a consistent and predictable experience. So, be it the holiday sales frenzy, the after-tradeshow rush or some other event that triggers higher than usual customer engagement, always give your customers the same level of service they expect any time and all of the time.

Wishing you a Happy Customer Service Holiday – 365 days a year!

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 © MMXVI, Shep Hyken)

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Amazing Business Radio: Scott Friedman

Scott Friedman Discusses the Power of Surprise in Creating Customer Engagement

Would you like to learn how your organization can stand out, create customer experiences and use celebration as a strategic tool?  Shep Hyken speaks with Scott Friedman, Certified Speaking Professional, and past president of the National Speakers Association (NSA) about his book, Celebrate!  Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations.

Scott says that your organization must be characterized by four factors:

Inclusivity – Make sure that everybody in your organization feels like they are part of the team. Happy employees create happy customers.
Gratitude – Your employees and customers feel cared for, and not just because they have an economic impact on the organization.
Play – How to put your employees and customers in a state of flow.
Surprise – Nothing creates an emotional connection with your employees and customers like surprise! While generic surprises (a bowl of fruit or a box of candy) are nice, customization and personalization can make a tremendous impact.  Scott and Shep give many examples of how this can be done simply, cheaply and easily – by using Facebook.

Scott Friedman discusses how to turn on your GPS (gratitude, play and surprise) for your employees and customers.

Scott Friedman, Certified Speaking Professional, and former President of the National Speakers Association (NSA), is the author of Celebrate! Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations, Happily Ever Laughter, Using Humor for A Change, and A Celebration a Day – 365 ways to a Happier, Healthier Workplace.  For over 30 years Scott has traveled the globe speaking on employee innovation, customer experience and using humor/celebration as a strategic tool.

“If your employees feel dignified and respected, they’re going to pass it on to the customers.” – Scott Friedman

 What questions will this episode answer?

How can you get your employees to be authentic and engaging?
How can I create surprises for my customers and employees?
How do I create an authentic customer experience?

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