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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of November 30, 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.

Satisfaction Isn’t Enough: Strategies For Creating Customer Excitement by Larry Alton

(CustomerThink) It’s time to reconsider the language of customer satisfaction and make a shift towards something better – customer excitement. How can we motivate customers to form attachments to our businesses, recommend them, and look forward to their shopping experience? That will take more than just a friendly staff and good selection – it will take ingenuity and commitment.

My Comment: There is a big difference between satisfied customers and loyal customers. This article focuses on going beyond satisfying your customers by getting them “excited” about doing business with you.

Four Critical Touch Points – Your Opportunity For Experience Reliability that Differentiates You by Jeanne Bliss

(Customer Bliss) In most companies, a deeply rooted one-company approach to caring about (and improving) customer experiences and customer lives does not exist.

My Comment: I enjoy anything Jeanne Bliss has to say or write about. Here she shares a quick tip about four opportunities we have to grow the relationship – and the business – we have with our customers.

Your Guide to Digital Customer Experience Strategy for 2016 by Infinit Contact

(Infinit Contact) By the start of the 20th Century, corporations have become prolific in producing items quickly and efficiently—a key differentiator that led to affordable products for the masses.

My Comment: The digital experience may be as simple as a customer connecting with us through their computer or smart phone. There is no way around it.  Every company must have a “usable” digital presence. According to the article, 50% of customer service interactions will be digital in nature. Here are some excellent tips and strategies that virtually any company can use.

Great Customer Experiences Start With Sales by Christopher J. Bucholtz 

(CRM Buyer) The term “customer experience” flows from the lips of business people so smoothly these days. It’s very clearly the business jargon du jour; its importance has been trending upward for the last decade, and according to Gartner, by 2018 more than half of all businesses will implement significant business model changes in their efforts to improve customer experience.

My Comment: For years I’ve said/believed that customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy. That means that customer service starts long before a complaint or a question. It starts at the very beginning of the customer’s journey. Even more than a great product and knowledgeable sales people (and a system/CRM solution), customer service may be what actually makes the sale.

4 Shareable Customer Service Stats for the Holiday Season by Devon McGinnis

(Salesforce) The rules of customer service have changed, and that’s never more evident than now, in the midst of the busiest shopping season of the year.

My Comment: The future of customer service is in this article! Companies must embrace the stats and facts in this article or be left behind. While not all customer service is going “digital,” there is very little time to catch up when you lag others who are connecting via the new channels that customers want to connect on.

Shep Hyken is a customer serv ice 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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Amazing Business Radio: Deepak Advani

December 3: Deepak Advani Speaks on Deepening Your Connection to Your Customers.

Shep Hyken talks with Deepak Advani, General Manager of IBM Commerce, which focuses on leveraging data, analytics and cloud; to build deeper more valuable engagements with their customers, partners and suppliers. The discussion focuses on analytics and how to use them to market to your customers to keep them engaged and have an exceptional experience. This is powerful information for anyone involved in marketing, sales and customer retention.

Click here to listen.

“We’ve really moved into a world where experience trumps everything else” – Deepak Advani

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Never Compromise the Consistency of the Customer Experience

Inconsistent Experience

The other night my wife and I went out to dinner. The customer service was quite good and the food was excellent. However, we might hesitate before going back.

As we were seated, I noticed one of the other guests had a delicious looking entrée. I asked the server about it and he said it was jambalaya, which is a Cajun rice dish with sausage, shrimp, and several other savory ingredients. So, I ordered it. When it came out, it was less about rice and more about sauce. And, there was a large amount of seafood, chicken, and sausage. It looked different that the other guest’s entrée, but it was delicious.

The owner came over and I commented how delicious it was. I also mentioned that it had more sauce than expected. I wasn’t complaining. I was complementing the chef, so I thought.

Her response was appreciative. She then went on to tell me that the kitchen staff was a bit over-worked that day, as there was a special event that was causing them a little stress in the kitchen. The jambalaya I saw at the other table was more typical than what I was served – more rice and less seafood.

So, here is the point. There was great food and great service, but I got a peek behind the curtain when the owner revealed that she was willing to let a meal come out of the kitchen that was inconsistent from what was typically served. My food was good and had more seafood than usual because the kitchen staff was moving too fast and not paying attention to detail. What would have happened if the meal was prepared with less seafood than usual? Would the owner have turned her head to that as well?

More importantly, what will happen when I come back next time and order the same dish, and it comes out the way it is supposed to be prepared? I’ll probably notice the difference. I might wonder why there isn’t as much of that delicious seafood they gave me the last time I ordered this dish. I might say something to the server or owner. Or not. I might just wonder what I will get when I come back the next time – if I ever come back at all.

Essentially the restaurant, by accident, has created a false expectation. The sure way to confuse your customers and make them lose confidence in you and your business is to deliver an inconsistent experience. I can’t stress enough how important consistency is to any business. There must be consistency in your product, your customer service – the entire customer experience.

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 © MMXV, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of November 30, 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.

Satisfaction Isn’t Enough: Strategies For Creating Customer Excitement by Larry Alton

(CustomerThink) It’s time to reconsider the language of customer satisfaction and make a shift towards something better – customer excitement. How can we motivate customers to form attachments to our businesses, recommend them, and look forward to their shopping experience? That will take more than just a friendly staff and good selection – it will take ingenuity and commitment.

My Comment: There is a big difference between satisfied customers and loyal customers. This article focuses on going beyond satisfying your customers by getting them “excited” about doing business with you.

Four Critical Touch Points – Your Opportunity For Experience Reliability that Differentiates You by Jeanne Bliss

(Customer Bliss) In most companies, a deeply rooted one-company approach to caring about (and improving) customer experiences and customer lives does not exist.

My Comment: I enjoy anything Jeanne Bliss has to say or write about. Here she shares a quick tip about four opportunities we have to grow the relationship – and the business – we have with our customers.

Your Guide to Digital Customer Experience Strategy for 2016 by Infinit Contact

(Infinit Contact) By the start of the 20th Century, corporations have become prolific in producing items quickly and efficiently—a key differentiator that led to affordable products for the masses.

My Comment: The digital experience may be as simple as a customer connecting with us through their computer or smart phone. There is no way around it.  Every company must have a “usable” digital presence. According to the article, 50% of customer service interactions will be digital in nature. Here are some excellent tips and strategies that virtually any company can use.

Great Customer Experiences Start With Sales by Christopher J. Bucholtz 

(CRM Buyer) The term “customer experience” flows from the lips of business people so smoothly these days. It’s very clearly the business jargon du jour; its importance has been trending upward for the last decade, and according to Gartner, by 2018 more than half of all businesses will implement significant business model changes in their efforts to improve customer experience.

My Comment: For years I’ve said/believed that customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy. That means that customer service starts long before a complaint or a question. It starts at the very beginning of the customer’s journey. Even more than a great product and knowledgeable sales people (and a system/CRM solution), customer service may be what actually makes the sale.

4 Shareable Customer Service Stats for the Holiday Season by Devon McGinnis

(Salesforce) The rules of customer service have changed, and that’s never more evident than now, in the midst of the busiest shopping season of the year.

My Comment: The future of customer service is in this article! Companies must embrace the stats and facts in this article or be left behind. While not all customer service is going “digital,” there is very little time to catch up when you lag others who are connecting via the new channels that customers want to connect on.

Shep Hyken is a customer serv ice 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: Stop Making These 4 Mistakes with Your Customer Experience

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Colin Shaw shares common mistakes we all make when it comes to the customer experience. I believe the best thing about mistakes is learning from them. – Shep Hyken

There is a hidden experience every Customer has with you. If you haven’t uncovered what it is, then you are probably making a huge mistake with your Customer Experience. Chances are, you are making more than one.

Don’t feel bad. When it comes to having a great Customer Experience, all organizations have made mistakes. It’s normal for this to happen. After all, everyone makes mistakes. Even great inventors make mistakes. Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

I don’t have the time (and you don’t have the attention span) for 10,000 mistakes, so, let’s take a look at the following four mistakes organizations make with Customer Experience.

Mistake #1:

Believing that Customer Experience improvements are an expense, not an investment.

Why? Customer Experience drives value ($$$) for your bottom line.

Keeping the Customers you have is less expensive than getting those new ones. When you invest in the Customer Experience, you do a better job with Customers, creating a better memory of their interaction with you. This better memory is what Customers think of the next time they need something you offer, and it is what brings them back. Not only does an investment in the experience improve the Customer Loyalty, but it also reduces the costs associated with your Customer Service channels. We know this because we put it into practice for many organizations all over the world—and have the results to prove it.

Mistake #2:

Ignoring how your present experience makes Customers feel.

Why? Emotions account for over half of the outcome of a Customer Experience.

Too many organizations don’t realize how important the emotions evoked during the experience are, choosing instead to concentrate on the process or mechanics and processes of an experience. However, when you leave the emotional parts untouched, you also leave them unpredictable. Leaving the emotions of an experience up to chance is a risky way to gamble with the loyalty of your Customers—particularly when competition is fiercer than ever. You must look at the emotional cues you send Customers in every moment of your experience, both consciously and subconsciously.

Mistake #3:

Focusing on the What and not addressing the How.

Why? Experiences encompass the “what” AND the “how.”

In this case, “how” refers to how they feel at every moment of your experience. On the other hand, “what” is the process and the part of an experience one judges rationally. So the What could be hours of operation and the How is whether the Customer feels like you have reasonable consideration for their ability to operate in those hours. Or the What could be having the call center available but the How is how quickly the phone is answered and their problem resolved. We often say an experience is a blend of an organization’s rational performance, the senses stimulated, and the emotions evoked that are intuitively measured against Customer expectations across all moments of contact.

Mistake #4:

Not getting the employees on board with your Customer Experience improvement program.

Why? You only design the Customer Experience; your team delivers it.

Let’s face it: Getting employees to buy-in is vital to your success. It is essential to convert employees to invest personally in your brand promise and give them proper training on how to live up to it. If you can achieve both of these, you have the foundation for success to present a Customer Experience that surprises and delights people. My eBook examines these concepts and shares real-world examples of these principles in action.  And it shows what happens when these principles are ignored, too.

We all make mistakes. I do. You do. Even our pets do (or should I say do-do).  It’s a natural part of our human condition. However, we also must learn from them. Too many organizations today continue to make mistakes with their Customer Experience.

Are you one of them?

Colin Shaw has been recognized by LinkedIn as one of the world’s top 150 business influencers and one of the ‘Top Marketing Thought Leaders over 50’.  As a result he has over 212,000 ‘followers’ on LinkedIn. Colin has written five bestselling books on Customer Experience. He is Founder & CEO of Beyond Philosophy, a consultancy, training and research company that helps organizations move their Customer Experience to the next level. 

 

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com. Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article:

IBM Watson Eliminates Holiday Stress

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Amazing Business Radio: Juliet Funt

November 26: Juliet Funt on WhiteSpace, Avoiding The Age of Overload.

Shep Hyken speaks with Juliet Funt, CEO of WhiteSpace at Work, a training and consulting firm that helps flip the norms of business in order to reclaim their creativity, productivity, and engagement. Juliet explains that WhiteSpace is a necessity and how to use it to help you excel at work.

Click here to listen.

“You just can’t put people in the output mode every single second of the day, and expect them to have anything left” – Juliet Funt

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The Customer Service Hostage Situation

Customer Service Experience

Some of my clients have mentioned to me that social media gives customers such an upper hand. One even mentioned that he felt that his customers are holding his company hostage. These clients are concerned that if they don’t give their customers the service or experience that they think they deserve, they will turn to Twitter, share the experience on Facebook, post a negative review on Yelp, and more.

You know what I think? I think that it simply means our customers are holding the company to a higher standard.

Customer service is different than in the past. One of the biggest differences is that today our customers are smarter than ever. They know what good customer service is. They hear their friends talking about it, they see it on TV. They don’t just compare you to the service they receive from your competitor, they compare it to the amazing experience they received at the restaurant they dined at last night, or the hotel they stayed at on vacation. They compare you to Nordstrom, Zappos, and all of the other brands that are known for customer service.

When customers don’t get the customer service they think they deserve – the service that they know a company is capable of providing – they no longer just complain to a few friends, or simply stop doing business with you. They want to tell the world about it. And, can you blame them?

I think this is good. Hold us to a higher standard. For some of us, stepping up will feel forced. For others, it will mean simply playing the game we are best known for. The bottom line is that it will be good for business.

So, how do you keep the customer from holding you hostage to a social media blitzkrieg? To start, meet the customer’s expectations. Do what you’re supposed to do, and do it with a positive attitude. And if you hear the customer complain, fix it. And do it fast. Don’t let the situation get out of hand. If the complaint is not taken care of to the customer’s minimal satisfaction, you risk them complaining to others; which means their friends at a party, family members around the dinner table, and their connections on social media.

Now, if you can exceed your customers’ expectations, especially in contentious or tenuous situations; you create, as business guru Ken Blanchard calls them, “raving fans.” They will quickly learn that they can count on you, even when there is a problem. And the best part of that is that these fans will come back; and they are likely to talk about you to those same friends, family members, and social connections.

So, are our customers really holding us hostage? Or, are we just not willing to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played today. If you’re not already doing so, step up and deliver the customer service experience that your customers know they deserve.

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 © MMXV, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of November 23, 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.

The customer is paying for his experience, not yours. by Bill Quiseng

(LinkedIn) How do you create an experience that will retain your customers and attract new ones? Here’s how in just three steps.

My Comment: Sometimes we (or at least some of our employees) have to be reminded that the customer is paying for our services. So, treat them as if they are! It amazes that some employees either don’t remember – or are acting like they don’t remember!

Customer Service: The Face of New Marketing by Infinit Contact

(Infinit Contact) Customer service has always been one of the most important factors that contribute to the success of a brand or company. However, this concept had been lost for a time to many entrepreneurs and was only brought back to light at the height of digital marketing and the value that social media brings.

My Comment: A short, but excellent, article. A great reminder that customer service is more than just customer service. It’s our brand promise. It’s our best advertisement (when people talk about us). It’s our best marketing!

Why Smart Companies Are Making Customer Experience a C-Suite Job by Len Devanna

(Entrepreneur) A chief experience officer (CXO) is an emerging role tasked with looking at that bigger picture. They are uniquely positioned to advocate for your audience(s), ensuring a smooth, seamless experience throughout the customer journey. Given that experience optimization is a key contributor in financial performance, expect to see more and more demand for this critical function

My Comment: The CXO (Chief Experience Officer) is a title that has been growing in popularity over the last few years. I believe that every organization needs a CXO – Even small ones. While a small company may not have the official place or title for a CXO, someone in the company needs to be assigned the same responsibilities.

3 Really Difficult Ways to Create Great Customer Experience by Jay Baer

(Convince & Convert) There may be more, but I believe there are three primary areas where you can exceed expectations, on the road to delivering great customer experiences.

My Comment: Jay Baer is a really smart guy. In this excellent article he shares three really good ways (He calls them difficult ways.) to not just meet, but exceed expectations.

How to Best Use Twitter for Customer Service When Traveling by Jessica Festa

(Road Warrior Voices) It’s great to know that travelers can use Twitter for customer service , but there are always ways to improve your approach and to better ensure that you’ll receive an answer. Here are a few best practices.

My Comment: This article is for the consumer who wants to get Twitter to get customer support. Yet it is an important read from the company perspective. This is how our customers will communicate with us via Twitter. Are we set up to respond and give our customers the service they deserve?

Shep Hyken is a customer serv ice 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: 6 Reasons An Email Template Delighted Me

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Jeremy Watkin shares an experience that reinforces the importance of internal customer service. As I always say, what’s happening on the inside of the company is felt on the outside by the customer. – Shep Hyken

Do you ever have a moment where an interaction with a company strikes a chord with you on a seemingly subconscious level and you’re not sure why?  That just happened to me and I feel inclined to take a moment to break it down.

I’m working with one of our clients on a project that requires me to have access to some of their systems. I received an email from the IT department regarding my access, and for whatever reason, I was almost instantly delighted by the email.  And it was most definitely a template no less.  Here are the elements that made this such a great email:

The Subject

The subject of the email was “Welcome!”  No more, no less.  A simple subject line of “Welcome Email” would have told me what the email was about, but this felt more like a statement that I was a guest at a party and they were happy I was there.

The Personal Introduction

The very first line in the email gave me the names of two gentlemen in IT and let me know that they will be my IT support personnel.  How great is that?  I have my very own IT people to work with.  That is so much better and less daunting than trying to work with an entire IT department.  People connect with people, not departments or companies.

The Tone

The next line said, “Just wanted to give you a little information to get you started.”  The tone of the email was conversational, friendly, and informal.  That’s a whole lot better than a bunch of tech speak for me to decode.

The Information

The email had all of the important links and information I needed to get started, as well as a phone number and email address to reach my IT personnel if I needed help.  The follow up contact information conveys an attitude of, “I think I’ve provided you all of the necessary information, but if questions arise, I’m owning this situation until it’s resolved and you are happy.”

The Follow Up

So yeah, I’m a little embarrassed that an email template got that kind of reaction out of me.  Just remember that the best of email templates isn’t worth a whole lot if the company can’t back it up.  I ended up calling my IT personnel to ask a question and he assisted me quickly and efficiently.  I think I made him a little uncomfortable when I told him how much I loved the email he sent.

Internal Customer Service

My favorite part about this exchange is that it was from IT to an employee.  That my friends is called Internal Customer Service.  If that little email put me into this frame of mind, how much more likely will I be to pass that along to the next customer or colleague I speak with?

It’s no wonder that this particular client has a stellar reputation for delighting their customers.  They focus on great internal customer service first.

If you’re not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is. ~Jan Carlzon

Jeremy Watkin is the Head of Quality at FCR , the most respected outsourcing provider. He has more than 15 years of experience as a customer service professional.  He is also the co-founder and regular contributor on Communicate Better Blog .  Jeremy has been recognized many times for his thought leadership.  Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn for more awesome customer service and experience insights.

 

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com. Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article:

Bypass Traditional Holiday Gift Cards, Try The Gift That Keeps On Giving

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Amazing Business Radio Interview: Tariq Farid

Novemebr 19: Tariq Farid Discusses Wowing the Customer

Shep Hyken interviews Tariq Farid, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Edible Arrangements International. Tariq is a customer service “fanatic” that has created his success by building a customer service organization. He started the first Edible Arrangements store in 1999 and has grown into more than 1,200 stores worldwide. Listen as Tariq describes how to build a world-class customer service company and how you can too!

Click here to listen.

“Don’t run after money it runs really fast. You’ll never catch it.” – Tariq Farid

 

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