Shep Hyken's Blog, page 208

Keep Your Customer Experience in Tune

Business Policies & Rules

Not that long ago I wrote about how some companies create bad rules that are based on a very small percentage of customers taking advantage of the company. Sometimes this creates a negative and un-friendly policy that can erode good relationships that the company might have with their customers.

I was recently visiting one of my favorite stores, Guitar Center, when I learned about a major change they made to their stores. And this change was for the better. Furthermore, the change came from what some might consider a “bad rule.”

Up until recently, whenever I walked into the Guitar Center, I had to “check in” at a central kiosk. If I was bringing in a piece of equipment to be repaired or an item to be returned, I would have to show it to an employee at a “security desk” who was there to document what was coming in and checking all that was going out. Apparently, they implemented this policy to combat shoplifting at the stores. When I talked to a manager of one of the stores, he said shoplifting was problem plaguing the company to the tune of about $2 million a year. That’s a lot of guitars!

Now, I never really cared one way or the other about the security desk. It was a relatively minor inconvenience. I realized why it was there and just accepted it. There might be other ways to help prevent theft. Then, one day I noticed it wasn’t there. So, being the inquisitive person I am, I had to ask why.

Apparently, they figured out the cost to operate the security desk and protect themselves from shoplifters was more than the cost of merchandise being stolen. So Guitar Center decided to do away with the security desk altogether. And the decision was beneficial for the company and their customers.

I believe the concept of having someone at the front to check customers coming in and going out, if handled well, can be a neutral experience at best. In reality, the process designed by Guitar Center to thwart dishonesty was a minor inconvenience to most of their customers, and more importantly, a major cost to the company.

By getting rid of the security desk, Guitar Center was able to undo a bad policy. They were able to cut costs and improve the customer experience. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish.

What if a hotel tried to cut costs by getting rid of their bellhops and concierge staff? Customers might be unhappy as they hauled their heavy bags up to their rooms, or had to wait in long lines to check in or out. In this situation, and many cost-cutting cases, the customer experience suffers.

There used to be a restaurant that I enjoyed on a somewhat regular basis. On my last visit, and I mean final visit, not most recent, I noticed the food tasted different – and the difference was worse, not better. I made a comment to the owner who informed me that he was trying to cut costs. One of the ways he did that was to change the recipes to save money. While I appreciated the honest explanation he fell into the trap of cutting costs at the expense of the customer’s experience. In this case, it was the taste and quality of the food, and it was bad enough I didn’t want to go back.

So, why did Guitar Center’s decision strike such a positive chord? (Pun intended. Get it? Guitar. Chord.) Easy. They eliminated a process that was all about them, which was attempting to thwart shoplifters. In doing so they saved money and at the same time enhanced the customer experience. That’s a winning combination that is not all that easy to achieve.

The big lesson here is that when many companies try to cut costs, they do so at the expense of the customer experience. The goal is to find a way to cut costs that aren’t noticed by the customer.

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

(Copyright © MMXV, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of July 13, 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.

10 Ways Amazon Has Changed Customer Service in 20 Years by Maria Minsker

(Smart Customer Service) Here are 10 ways that Amazon has transformed customer service.

My Comment: Amazon has become one of the customer service legends. Even though they are an online business, there are many lessons that any type of business can learn from them. This article highlights just ten of those lessons.

NEW REPORT: 98% of U.S. Consumers Say Customer Service is Important in Choice of, Loyalty to Brands by Tricia Morris

(Parature) As customer service and the overall customer experience become key differentiators for brands and organizations across all industries, it has never been more important to know as much as you can about your customers and their expectations for service and engagement across channels.

My Comment: This short article highlights some of the findings in the recent customer service study published by Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Parature. The report addresses the customers’ top frustrations, what channels they are using to connect with a company and much more.  Download the report today. A definite “must read.”

Millennials skip traditional customer service for online troubleshooting by Lauren Brousell

(CIO) Waiting on hold for customer service is mostly a thing of the past. Millennials are increasingly looking to online searches, live chat and social media to troubleshoot technical issues, and both Gen X-ers and Boomers are following suit.

My Comment: Online and social customer service is thriving. It’s not that traditional customer service from a call center is dead. It’s not. There should always (at least at this point in time) be a fallback to connect with a human.  But more and more customers, especially millennials like alternative channels – and self-help solutions. Great article on how some of our customers’ support “habits” are changing.

United Airlines: Great Customer Service in the Midst of A Crisis by Dan Gingiss

(Social Media Today) For anyone who works in social media, it’s the biggest nightmare imaginable: computer systems are down, service is disrupted, and customers are angry. Yet that’s exactly what happened to United Airlines on July 8 when a “router issue” affected “network connectivity,” according to a company statement.

My Comment: Another excellent case study about how to properly handle a customer service crisis. It’s nice to see it handled so well, especially by an airline.  While I’m sure many of the passengers were upset and angry, they still provided a text book example reminds us what to do in these types of situations. Acknowledge the problem immediately. Apologize for it.  Tell us how it will be fixed.  And do it fast. And through it all, (Bluenose) communicate! Keep the customers/passengers in the know!

10 Customer Experience Mistakes You Need to Avoid by Catherine Blackmore

(Bluenose) it can’t be just one team that secures customers for life…it is the entire company. It’s the overall experience that matters most.

My Comment: Sometimes knowing what not to do is the best lesson in knowing what you should be doing. In this outstanding article Catherine Blackmore shares some of the top mistakes companies make in their quest to provide a better customer experience.

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

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Guest Blog: Do You Deserve Good Service?

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Warwick Merry shares a customer service story about how the customer should be taken care of and of equal importance, how well the customer treats employees. – Shep Hyken 

This is Rachael and Erin at the Virgin Australia lounge in Sydney.

As someone who does a lot of traveling, I have earned access to the lounge. Recently, when I was traveling home from Sydney to Melbourne, I asked if it would be possible to get on an earlier flight. Rachael and Erin found a flight leaving two hours earlier and were able to reserve a seat for me. Naturally when I asked, I was pleasant, cracked a few silly jokes and was even a bit playful. I figured they have a busy job – being nice was the least I could do.

They said to me, “If only all of our customers were like you.” I asked how “other” customers acted and I was amazed at their response.

Some customers demand (not ask for) an earlier flight. If they’re able to get the earlier flight and are allocated a middle seat, they refuse to take it and get huffy.
Others in this situation tell (again, tell not ask) them to move someone else out of an aisle seat so they can have it
Some customers will demand an upgrade to business class because they are Gold, Platinum, tired – whatever excuse they think will get one
Some customers grab a couple of mints out of courtesy bowl without even making eye contact (ok so that’s not too bad)
Then they told me that on several occasions customers will walk past and empty the entire content of the mint bowl into their bag (and the bowl is pretty big)

While flying I have also witnessed some pretty atrocious behavior from my fellow passengers toward flight attendants. By no means is this poor behaviour confined to the airline industry. Most of us have stories of very poor behaviours from people who are looking for customer service.

Do you deserve good customer service?

Personally, I do not believe the customer is always right, but they are always the customer. But do customers really think they are helping the situation by being rude and obnoxious? In many situations the person giving service is paid a fairly low amount, is fairly young (so they may not have the experience or the resilience to deal with highly emotional situations) and deals with issues all day long.

So here are some guidelines on how to get far better customer service by acting in a way that deserves it:

Smile – it makes a huge difference
Be pleasant – sometimes you won’t get your way and it is not due to the person you are dealing with. That is no reason to not be pleasant.
Express dissatisfaction with a situation – NOT with a person – once you make it a personal attack, it becomes much harder to get a mutually satisfying solution. And it frequently takes much longer to resolve due to what you said.
Know there are more customers other than you – really, taking ALL THE MINTS is not considerate of others, it is the same with demanding the attention of the customer service person when your situation will not progress and there are others to serve.
Have a healthy perspective. Is it REALLY that important? If I hadn’t gotten an earlier flight, I still would have gotten home, just two hours later. Is that really worth flipping out over?
Ask for more, but be ok if you don’t get it – I will frequently ask for an upgrade whether I am flying or renting a car. Often I get a better car, sometimes I get an exit row, twice I have been bumped up to Business Class or Premium. I usually ask in a friendly, joking kind of way. But I feel for the person behind the counter when people “demand” an upgrade because “Don’t you know who I am?” Intimidation is not a good strategy for service.
Have fun. Customer service people are human too. Typically their job is repetitive, a little dull and they tune out. If you use their name (no doubt they have a name badge), have some fun with them then it makes everyone feel better and you never know how they may look after you.
Smile – I know I mentioned it to start with but it is too important not to mention again. So many people forget to do this. They get so swept up in their own importance, their own problems and their own thoughts that they forget to smile. If you do nothing else, smile and I am certain it will make a difference.

If you can do these things, you will be far more deserving of good customer service – and are much more likely to receive it. It is not rocket science. In many cases it is simple courtesy and expressing your humanity. But it is forgotten far too often.

So do YOU deserve good customer service?

With a warm, witty and wonderfully entertaining style, Warwick Merry brings creative energy to events. Every presentation is an opportunity to share his enthusiasm for Getting More Success in our professional and personal lives.   A strong corporate background blended with his wide ranging talents in a broad spectrum of genre, enables Warwick to bring real value to his audience.

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

 

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The Difference Between Customer Service and Customer Success

Customer Service Culture

In the past year or so we’ve seen the word customer success used by a number of forward thinking companies. Is this just another fancy name for customer service? Maybe it’s an updated way of a company saying, “We’re here for you when you need us. We want you to be successful.” While those loose definitions sound great, the official meaning of the term, in today’s business environment, is quite different from what we think of as traditional customer service.

First, let’s go back to the basics. If you’ve been following me, you know that I believe customer service is not a department, but a philosophy to be embraced by everyone in an organization. It’s part of the culture of a company. But, in a more traditional sense, customer service is seen as a department. It’s where you connect with a company to get more information about a question or problem – whether that’s over the phone, on instant chat, social media, or any other channel.

Customer success should also be part of the culture. If a company is truly customer-focused, then the idea of customer success is ingrained in the culture. But, here is the big difference between the customer service department and the customer success department:

The traditional customer service department resolves problems and answers questions. They react to customer needs and requests. The customer success department, however, works with customers to ensure success and avoid problems before the customer even knows an issue might exist. In other words, the customer success department is proactive. Let me share with you some examples to make this crystal clear.

Our company uses a CRM solution known as InfusionSoft. This is a fairly robust program and requires a good amount of knowledge to use it to its full potential. There are excellent resources to help get a new user started, such as books, manuals and training videos on YouTube. But Infusionsoft takes the “onboarding” process to a higher level by assigning a coach to work with their clients. This helps to ensure a quick and successful start and eliminates many questions that a new client might have to just get started with the basics.

Another way to create customer success is with a self-service solution, a process that allows customers to effortlessly resolve issues on their own. For example, WalkMe is a platform that provides guided learning through interactive, on-screen tutorials. These tutorials appear as “balloons” directly on the site and feature step-by-step instructions to help walk users through any online task. It’s a proactive solution that helps eliminate support calls and creates customer success.

By monitoring your customers’ questions and complaints, you can start to see trends where one question leads to another. It works the same way with phone calls, or any communication you receive through other channels. When the customer connects to you with one of those types of questions or problems, work with them to eliminate the predictable follow up call. Even better, like InfusionSoft does in the example just mentioned, teach the customer how to eliminate the problem from ever happening at all.

Customer success builds confidence. The more success a customer has without having to contact support for questions or complaints, the more confident the customer will be with your company, your products and whatever services you offer.

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

(Copyright © MMXV, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of July 6, 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 3 Steps to Retaining Customers by Fuse Machines

(Fuse Machines) According to White House Office of Consumer Affairs, “It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.” Companies need to treat customers well and solve their problems quickly if they want to retain customers. The Blockbuster case among many others illustrates the importance of customer satisfaction and retention. Below we have come up with a list of ways to mitigate these problems and help you retain customers.

My Comment: Some great reminders about why delivering a good customer service experience is important, and a few ways to do so. I especially appreciate the focus on the concept of “automating” the process. For me, automating the customer service process isn’t about software. It’s about a system that people follow when certain “opportunities” arise. It can be what to do or who to go to. Overall this article reminds us of a few ways we can keep our happy customers.

The Top Complaints from Employees About Their Leaders Lou Solomon

(Harvard Business Review) In the survey, employees called out the kind of management offenses that point to a striking lack of emotional intelligence among business leaders, including micromanaging, bullying, narcissism, indecisiveness, and more. In rank order, the following were the top communication issues people said were preventing business leaders from being effective.

My Comment: So much of the focus of complaints is about the customer. Well, employees have complaints too. And, if more companies treated employees like internal customers, rather than just employees, the companies would be better off.  In short, dealing with employee complaints is every bit as important as dealing with customer complaints. The truly customer-focused companies (with customer-focused cultures) get this.  Resolve employee complaints, especially as they apply to leadership. The result is a more fulfilled and engaged team of employees.

The Customer Experience Portfolio by Jennifer Rice

(Forbes) Who are your priority customers and how do you serve them? Classic brand and customer experience theory says to focus on the “best fit customer” to drive relevance, yet it is rare to find a case where pleasing only one customer type can help achieve your goals.

My Comment: This article makes an important point that companies must always remember. While you need to treat your loyal customers with the respect and appreciation they deserve, don’t forget the other customers. Some of them may become your most loyal customers in the future, but only if treated right from the beginning! (Of course there is much more to this excellent article, but this was my favorite takeaway.)

51 Resources for Learning About Customer Service by Jeff Toister

(Toister Solutions) Here are 51 terrific resources you can use to deepen your customer service knowledge. Most are low-cost or no-cost. Your biggest investment will be your time.

My Comment: This is an amazing list of people to follow, blogs to subscribe to, books to read, groups to read and more.  Yes, that author included me on the list, but I would have still HIGHLY recommended this. There is something here for everyone interested in customer service and experience.

14 experts on the biggest customer service challenges faced by businesses today by Bryan Collins

(Sage CRM) I asked 14 customer service and customer experience experts this question: What’s the biggest customer service challenges today’s companies are facing and how can they overcome it?

My Comment: This is a brilliant article. 14 experts weighing in on a simple questions: What are the biggest customer service challenges facing companies today? I bet you find an answer or two that you and your company can relate to.

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

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Guest Blog: The Contact Center is Dead

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Christian Gondek writes about contact centers and what they need to do to be seen as customer service centers. It is key to create a consistent positive experience, which creates confidence, that ultimately can lead to customer loyalty. – Shep Hyken 

During one of my recent business trips, I started a conversation with one of my colleagues – we came to the conclusion that contact centers are dead. Many authors have shared that conclusion, and yet we still see contact centers all over the world.

So how did we come to that conclusion, and is it a fair assessment in today’s business world?

First of all, classic call centers are based on transactional-based contracts to customers using in- and outbound technology. This, however, is in contrast to every single academic assessment of the customer’s lifecycle.

As we know today, the customer experience is based on a variety of touchpoints that need to deliver amazing service during every single transaction. In order to achieve that, all touchpoints need to be collectively combined. Consequently there is no room for isolated transactional customer care.

Moreover, current studies have proven that many of our global customers – especially those from Generation Y – demand a single point of contact during their whole customer lifecycle. Take a car, for example. Modern customers want to talk to their relationship manager about their sales, service and repurchase experience. Thus, there is no room for isolated transactional customer care based on a random selection of contact partners for our customers.

Classic call centers are often – but not necessarily – outsourced and based on cheap, offshore solutions. This in itself is no problem if this important part of your organization has been integrated and aligned with the overall strategy and communication of your company. Most researchers have come to the conclusion that without satisfied and loyal employees, you will never achieve satisfied and loyal customers. Even worse, you will never realize that isolated employees represent your brand – and there is no room for isolated and strategically neglected transactional customer care.

In addition, classic call centers are often paid by the amount of contacts they make. This in itself is a transactional concept and leads to a focus on volume performance and time instead of training and adding customer value. Therefore, there is no room for isolated and fast-paced customer care.

If all those assumptions are true, why do we still have so many transactional call centers all over the world?

First of all, customer experience consultants (including myself) often tend to forget that companies base their decisions around customer care on short-term financial assessments. Why do we forget that? Because most of us know that customer experience will pay off in the mid- to long-term. It is a strategic approach, not a short-term fix. We also know that your current customers (in addition to their friends, families and colleagues) are your potential future customers. So you should deliver the highest added value by delightful customer experiences every time.

Finally, most of the classic transactional call centers have realized that an isolated focus on transactions does not create a competitive advantage. Instead, they want to be seen as customer service centers.

In that sense, contact centers are long dead, and have reached the next step of customer experience.

Christian Gondek is a German Customer Loyalty Expert and Keynote Speaker consulting a variety of national and international companies and helping them to design their customer experience. Christian is the co-founder of the consulting company Strategy Nerds, a lecturer for Marketing and Strategy and Managing Director of an international customer service provider.

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

Two Keys To Keeping Your Organization Well Aligned

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Customer Service Lessons from Walt Disney

Customer Service Role Model

Disney is one of my favorite companies on the planet. I’ve been to Disneyland and Disney World more than 75 times. And, Disney is one of the ultimate customer service role models, which is why whenever I hear about a new book or an article about Disney, I read it. Many lessons can be learned by understanding how Walt Disney approached leadership, culture and the guest experience.

I recently read an article by Peter Economy in Inc. Magazine. In honor of Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, he compiled 37 inspiring quotes from Walt Disney and some of his movie characters. I chose a few of my favorites and tied them to customer service lessons we can all use.

If you can dream it you can do it. –Walt Disney – One of the most famous Disney quotes, and great advice for anyone getting into business – and anyone who is trying to solve a customer’s problem. Sometimes it takes creativity to make a customer happy.


Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it. –Rapunzel (Tangled) – The best companies empower their employees to make good customer-focused decisions. Unfortunately, there are many that are afraid to do so, mostly because they are worried that their employees might make bad decisions. For those companies, it’s time to venture out of your comfort zone and empower your employees. Start by training employees to make good decisions, and if they make a bad judgement call, use it as a training opportunity. With the right training and management, you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll create the empowered workforce – and feel comfortable about what used to make you feel uncomfortable.


Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it. –Rafiki (The Lion King) – This is a perfect follow-up quote to the last one. No doubt our employees will make mistakes. And some of them, while painful, will be learning opportunities in disguise. Embrace the past to help you and your employees grow in the future.


A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference. –Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh) – Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Show empathy, sympathy and consideration. It goes a long way to building a relationship with your customer.


The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. –Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) – Attitude is everything. At work, and in life, we’re faced with problems every day. And, it’s the same for our customers. Our attitudes about our customers’ problems can turn angry customers into loyal evangelists.


Just because it’s what’s done, doesn’t mean it’s what should be done. –Cinderella (Cinderella) – Perhaps this is one of the earliest quotes about innovative thinking, and it came from Cinderella! You don’t always have to do things just because they’ve always been done that way. Once again I’m using that word, “empowerment.” If you empower employees to come up with creative solutions to problems, you’ll be amazed at the results.


Always let your conscience be your guide. –The Blue Fairy, although many think it was Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio) – Okay, this really isn’t about customer service, but it is one of my favorite Disney quotes. It’s a rule to live by, and the message is simple: Do the right thing.

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

(Copyright © MMXV, Shep Hyken)

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

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

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

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

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

Let your personality shine through your business by Anna Tomalik

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 customer service fails that will make you squirm by James Thornton

(GetApp) There have been countless tales of customer service calamities over the last few years, and we’ve picked out some of our favorites below. What’s more, we brought in the experts to examine why things went so horribly wrong and to offer some words of wisdom to highlight how your company can avoid the negative PR that comes with the feverish social media backlash of such cringeworthy customer service practices.

My Comment: This article is fun to read. Five examples of failed customer service just might, as the title of the article says, make you squirm. Worse, you will wonder how employees who are supposed to support customers can think like this. But, there aren’t just stories here. There are lessons. Read, enjoy and learn.

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

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Guest Blog: How to Build a Customer Experience that Resonates with Millennials

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Tamar Frumkin writes about Generation Y and what we need to do to provide a positive customer experience for millennials. This is a huge population and we had better be prepared.  – Shep Hyken

The Generation Y hype is reaching almost a frenzied state, but there is a good reason why. This is a new breed of consumer. This group of our society (the biggest generation in world history), is comprised of a varied group of tech junkies. The elder ones came to age during the cusp of the internet’s inception and the rest have existed in a social media/smartphone world. They are taking their rightful position as decision makers and market definers, saturating their will and expectations into our customer experience maps.

Here is my five-point starter plan for you to create an impactful experience for your millennial customers.

Don’t Keep Them Waiting

The raw truth is that speed and efficiency are what all of your customers are seeking. This is basic. For example, 73% of millennials, ages 18-24, say that “valuing my time” is the most important thing in providing good customer service. Dealing with issues and answering questions should be only a small slice of your clients’ already overbooked life and bursting social calendars.

What to do: Understand their time. Use your site logs to establish a comprehensive picture of the time shoppers spend with you then clear out any clutter on the pages to get them where they need to go fast.

Be Everywhere

Millennials are hardwired to adapt to every new technological advance and expect nothing less of the brands they engage with. When millennials need answers, they are going to define which channel is most comfortable for them. Perhaps that means sending out a quick tweet, scanning your site for self-service with their tablet or seeking answers via forums.

What to do: Have a foolproof social plan in place to respond to issues posed on social media, employ a self-service solution and ensure that every part of their journey is mobile-friendly.

Be Accessible All the Time

Your millennial customers are plugged in all the time. In fact, eight in 10 say that they sleep with a cell phone glowing by the bed (Pew Research Center). They are always on, multi-tasking and dealing with their needs in between managing their lush social media lives and mass consumption of endless content online. If the experience you are offering millennials has limited availability, their loyalty to you will fizzle as fast as they can click to the competition.

What to do: Start off by analyzing which hours you receive the biggest “rushes” in queries and support activity. Employ a digital customer assistant to deflect the repetitive issues so that any personnel increases can be minimal. Read how Airbnb did it here.

Personalize When it Matters

Brands that combine technology with innovative personalization techniques across the customer experience will win Gen Y’s loyalty. Millennials like to serve themselves but they also seek meaningful interactions with your organization. By delivering answers based on geo-location, past order history, account status and more, you will meet millennials’ personalization expectations – and possibly even exceed them.

What to do: Take a cue from some brands doing right by Gen Y, such as Eat24, Sephora, Waze and StitchFix to name a few. Offer personalized online perks, end-to-end knowledge sharing about their queries at every touch point and smart algorithms offering relevant content and products via a recommendation engine.

Nurture a Diverse Environment

Millennials view diversity as a representation of equality and protection to all, regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. According to studies conducted by Pew, Generation Y is the most racially tolerant generation in history. Also, nearly seven in 10 millennials back same-sex marriage, more than 10 points higher than any other generation. (Pew Research) Your company culture, branding and ethics should support diversity.

What to do: You should create a collaborative environment where open participation is fostered by allowing feedback, keeping your company’s protocols as transparent as possible and allowing your customers to have meaningful engagements on social media.

Tamar Frumkin is the Head of Inbound Marketing at nanorep, a cloud-based digital customer assistant that provides actionable answers relevant to each individual. Tamar’s expertise in content marketing has developed during her past 8 years in the technology sector. Her experience spans fashion tech, ad tech, and B2B SaaS with a focus on strategy, content, and branding. Enjoy some of her latest pieces about the Age of the Customer in nanorep’s blog.

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

Are You Managing Your Company’s Great Expectations?

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Is the Company’s Loyalty to the Customer Temporary?

This article might be perceived as a rant, but stay with me because I think you will agree there is a very valid point and lesson at the end. I’m frustrated that a customer may show intense loyalty to a business, and that business may reciprocate with appreciation, until there is a change of circumstances that causes the customer’s buying habits to change – none of which have to do with doing business elsewhere. The airlines offer a perfect example of the point I’m trying to make.

My friends who travel a lot tend to fly on one particular airline. Many of us qualify year after year for the highest elite status. I would venture to say that if these airlines couldn’t give away the perks of free upgrades and their mileage programs, they would be forced to offer value in other ways. Maybe it would be more comfortable seats and free entertainment options. Maybe it would be free luggage. By the way, these are offered today by certain airlines to all of their passengers. No loyalty needed. But, these airlines do have the perks and the mileage programs, and my friends – including myself – are loyal to the airline that takes care of us best … because we fly on them the most and reach their highest level.

Since the mid-1980’s I’ve been flying on my preferred airline, and I’ve only missed their highest level one time, the year after 9/11 when my business slowed a bit. I’m anticipating keeping this level of travel up for at least a few more years, hopefully more. That’s at least 25 years, so far, of hitting their highest status. They take great care of me (usually). The perks are nice. The special phone number they give me to reach top level support for reservations, flight changes and more is really the ultimate perk. But what happens if or when I decide to retire? What happens to all of the loyalty that I’ve given them?

Back to my friends. Some of them have decided to retire. And when they do, all of their perks come to a screeching halt. No longer do they get complementary upgrades. No longer do they have access to the special phone number for help. No longer do they get taken care of like the VIP they were for so many years. My friends didn’t defect to another airline. They are still loyal, but just don’t fly as much.

One of my friends was sick and had to stop flying for several months. In that time, he lost his elite status due to the infrequency of him taking a trip. He never lost his loyalty toward his preferred airline, but even after pleading his case, they abandoned their loyalty toward him.

I’m not picking on a particular airline. To my knowledge, this is the way it is with most airlines.

So, here’s the lesson we can take away from all of this. Most, if not all, of us have customers who have been doing business with us for many years. We treat them with the loyalty and respect they deserve. But what happens when they retire, move on, or have some change in circumstances that causes them to reduce the amount of business they do with you? What do you do with them? Do you abandon them?

Our neighborhood grocery store loves us. Our three kids are now grown up and we’re empty nesters. Does that grocery store resent us because our weekly purchases have dropped dramatically? I doubt it.

Does the restaurant that used to see us on a somewhat regular basis with our kids resent us because we now only show up as a couple versus a family of five? I don’t think so.

No, the grocery store and the restaurant still love us, and have never made us feel any less loved because we don’t spend as much with them. We are still loyal to them and they treat us just as well as they always have.

Maybe the airlines and other businesses can learn from this. I hope so!

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