Shep Hyken's Blog, page 219

Guest Blog: Why Every Manager is a Customer Service Manager

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Graham Frost writes about how every manager in every company is responsible for customer service. I especially like the Sam Walton quote he shares.  - Shep Hyken

I once knew a manager who had been promoted to a senior position within his company. We were having a chat about customer service standards, and he interrupted me with the line

‘Well, I don’t really have any responsibility for customer service now I am in head office…’

I told him that in my view, everyone in every organisation has a responsibility for customer service. A former CEO that I worked under used the Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart) quote a lot: ‘If you are not serving a customer, you need to be serving someone who is’.

So, head office managers, are you putting standards and behaviours in place that facilitate great customer service at the front end of your business, or are you destroying your customer experience by introducing ridiculous corporate rules to make your own life easier?

I once worked with a manager who was fond of setting unachievable service standards. His response, when I challenged him on the effect his ideas would have on the front line people and customers was ‘They’ll get used to it’. Well, on this particular occasion the introduction of an unachievable standard led to the loss of several experienced people and to a reduction in customer satisfaction. The decision was eventually reversed, but not until after the damage was done.

On another occasion I was visiting a colleague in the I.T. support tem when his phone rang. It was a member of the front line team at one of our retail stores who was having problems with the cash till. All that my colleague needed to do was log in to the machine remotely and solve the problem. However, he had just had a call from a senior manager who had a problem with his laptop, and he decided to fix that first. That company had a core value ‘Great Customer Service’, but this was not translated into real actions. If my colleague had really been a ‘Customer Service Manager’ he would have focused on the problem that was nearest to the customer first.

So, when you are confronted by a situation at work, do you think ‘customer’ first? When I worked for a railway company in the U.K. during the 1990s and early 2000s, we had some great role models. Our CEO was totally customer focused. One day a busy train with over 600 passengers on board broke down on York station and the customers and their luggage had to be transferred to another train on a different platform. The CEO was in a meeting in the headquarters building a few hundred yards away when the situation was brought to his attention. He adjourned the meeting and brought his fellow Directors and senior managers to the station to help the front line team to transfer the customers to the new train. This set the standard very high. I was working as a trainer, and immediately recognised that if the CEO of the company and his team put such a great emphasis on customer service, everyone else would do so too.

How much of a gap is there in your organisation between what you say and what you do? How aligned are your support functions? Do people in Finance, Marketing. H.R. and I.T. teams understand how they fit in to your customer service vision?

Graham Frost is a Customer Service and Employee Engagement Specialist based in the U.K. He spent over twenty years in the front line as a team member and leader before moving into training during the 1990s. Graham believes that the role of a manager is to provide the practical and emotional resources to enable their team to be the best that they can be. His new book ‘How To Be A Great Customer Service Manager’ will be available soon.

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

 

The post Guest Blog: Why Every Manager is a Customer Service Manager appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Future of Customer Service: Robots and Apps Enhance Customer Experience

New Technology

It’s been in the news. Lowe’s, the chain home improvement store, is experimenting with robots that help with customer service. I have seen an amazing video of a customer holding an item in front of the robot, and then that robot actually leading the customer through the store to the exact location of the item.

At first I thought, “How cool is this!” Then I started thinking about what was great – and not so great – about this new technology.

What’s great about it is that it really is cool. It’s a novelty at this point. The robot is built and programmed for accuracy. I show or tell the robot what I want, and it leads me to the exact location of where that item is in the store. For the retailer, there is the benefit of efficiency. While the robots aren’t inexpensive, they aren’t as expensive as typical labor costs. Over time, the robots pay for themselves.

Now, what’s not so great? To start with, it’s hard to create a bond with a robot. The relationship can be lost. How can a robot make a customer feel appreciated? Smart retailers will recognize that the robot, at least for now, is an enhancement versus a replacement for a good employee forging a relationship with the customer. There is also the helpful factor. No doubt that showing a customer where to find their item is good, but what if the customer has questions about how to use the item? And, at least at this time, the robot most likely isn’t capable of making recommendations to up-sell or cross-sell at the appropriate times.

So you probably think I’m against the robot. On the contrary, I’m excited about robots. This is just the first generation. Think about what’s to come. I anticipate that the concerns I’ve mentioned about the relationship and lost sales opportunities will be a moot point in the somewhat near future. Once the public accepts the concept of a machine helping them, the robot manufacturers and programmers will go to work to make sure they take this experience to the next level.

So, here’s another crazy idea. Why do we even need robots? Don’t our mobile phones do just about everything? If a phone can give me directions, and lead me, step by step, to an address a mile away, surely an app can be built to help me find a hammer a couple of aisles over. This app can be programmed to monitor my shopping patterns and make appropriate suggestions about what else I should buy. And, the app allows the retailer to communicate with me during and after the shopping experience by offering special customized promotions and coupons. It might even send an email or text me a gift certificate for my next visit, thanking me for my loyalty.

The robot is super cool. But, what’s in my pocket – my mobile phone – is super cool, too. When I started my business in the early 1980’s helping people deliver better customer service, I would never have dreamed that robots and mobile phones could actually enhance the customer experience. We live in some exciting and interesting times, and I’m looking forward to what lies ahead!

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

(Copyright ©MMXIV, Shep Hyken)

 

The post Future of Customer Service: Robots and Apps Enhance Customer Experience appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 27, 2014

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

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

5 Ways To Avoid The Epic Fail — Guarantees, Expectation Setting & Accountability In Customer Service by Bryan Stolle

(Forbes) Not only are happy customers your best advertising, but also, happy customers are far less expensive to maintain as customers than new customers are to source, educate, convince, and convert.

My Comment: If you want to create loyalty, it starts, at a minimum, with meeting expectations. Even if you can exceed expectations ever so slightly, you have an opportunity to create great confidence, which leads to loyalty. The key is it has to be consistent. The ideas in this article will help any company avoid the letdown that comes with missed expectations.

17 Social Customer Service Reports You Can’t Live Without by Chad Schaeffer 

(Marketing Cloud) I have the best job in the world. I get to do what I truly love which is help clients improve their social customer service programs. I’ve been fortunate to be in this small but growing niche for almost 5 years now after spending 9 years helping some of the largest global contact centers provide a world-class customer experience to their customers. After all these years the questions I get asked most are very similar across all the industries I’m fortunate to work in.

My Comment: So many of my clients ask for ways to measure social engagement, especially as it applies to customer service. Here are some great ideas on what to measure and how to go about doing it.

Real Life Customer Service DOs and DON’Ts by Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center

(The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center)  We asked our colleagues and friends for real life customer service examples, and we’re sharing their stories below in order to learn from their experiences.

My Comment: Anytime I can gleam wisdom from the fine people at the Ritz Carlton I pay attention. These are great stories with the Ritz perspective. Yes, they are common sense, but sometimes common sense isn’t always so common.

What is customer experience and how do you measure it? Christopher Ratcliff

(Econsultancy) Can you even measure it? Taken at face value, customer experience (CX) seems like a rather intangible term, one that you’d think could only be referred to anecdotally.

My Comment: I am a fan of the Net Promoter Score. I love the one word follow-up question many surveys include: Why? That said, I think there is a great opportunity in considering the question that this article suggests: Have you recommended us? And, if you did, how did you describe us? Brilliant!

Outside-In Customer Experience Is The Best Offensive Strategy by Christine Crandell

(Forbes) B2B companies are realizing that the real rockbed of building enduring customer relationships lies in the perception customers hold of value.  Value is increasingly not in the product but in the services – paid and free – that sellers provide.

My Comment: There is a lot of great information in this article. First and foremost, it is important to realize that the company can attempt to create value, but in the end, the customer defines the value. And, I love the focus on the internal customer. Taking care of employees really does set the stage for how they treat the customer.

This is a bonus – a 6, if you will…

What Does Customer Experience Mean for Your Social Business Sponsored by Social Media Today

The following is a podcast for “What Does Customer Experience Mean for Your Social Business.” This webinar originally aired on October 21st, 2014. Listen the podcast to learn more.

My Comment: It’s not really an article, but if social customer experience and service is important, you will enjoy this webinar recording hosted by Social Media Today. I had the opportunity to join Jeofrey Bean, customer experience consultant, and Dave Hauke of IBM as we talked about Social CX and answered many questions from webinar attendees.

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

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 27, 2014 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: Can your customer hear your smile through the phone?

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Lisa Iadicicco writes about how important it is to smile when talking with customers over the phone. I agree, a smile can go a long way, and is contagious.  - Shep Hyken

Do you hear what I hear…Is that a Smile I hear through the phone?

Much of the time being in a Customer Service role either feels like you are in line for a good tongue lashing or holding the hand of a person crossing a busy street. Whichever scenario you find yourself in, your job is to Serve and Protect… To Serve the person on the phone or on-line and to Protect the reputation of the company you represent.

It’s a fact that people can hear a smile through the telephone. When your smile can be heard, chances are you convey the right image…the one your customers expect and appreciate…the one that helps you establish a rapport.

Psychologists have written countless articles about the benefits of smiling. Smiling makes us feel good which also increases our attentional flexibility and our ability to think more holistically. This idea was tested by Johnson et al. (2010), and the results showed that participants who smiled performed better on attentional tasks which required seeing the whole forest rather than just the trees. In other words, the big picture!

According to an article on Discovery, human beings can differentiate vocal intonation not only between a smile and a non-smile but among different types of smiles. “Smiling affects how we speak, to the point that listeners can actually identify the type of smile based on sound alone…”

Even when you end up speaking to someone from Bangalore and you are at your wits end with the language barrier, a smile resonating half way across the world can be heard, and can help diffuse a negative situation.

My mom would always say to me “Put that Smile on” before I walked into my office…it would get me into a more positive frame of mind.  Same goes with the telephone.  SMILE prior to picking up the phone as you want to be in “pleasant mode” before you know who is calling, rather than afterwards. Smiling after the call has commenced changes the tone of your voice. Your tone of voice is a key factor, 85% of the message, when dealing with disenchanted customers/clients.  Smiling adds warmth to your voice and is a critical factor to the success of a customer service representatives’ call.

Other things to remember as you are smiling into the phone…

Be present and pleasant in your conversation with the customer or client – being on the phone or on-line with a disgruntled client shouldn’t give you the opportunity to multi-task.  Focus on your goal of resolving the issue and use that smile as you go.
 Get others to trust you. In a world where everyone seems out for themselves, who should we trust?  One signal, psychologists say, that suggests we are trustworthy, is a smile.
Be authentic… a smile can help, but most people can tell when you are being insincere.
Follow up with an email or handwritten note if possible thanking the customer for their patience and that you are happy that the issue was resolved.

Several companies, like Nestles USA, have adopted the idea of putting mirrors on each work station for employees to see how smiling makes a difference on every call.  What would your mirror say?

So, next time you have an interaction over the phone, remember “Put that SMILE on”!

Tell us about your experiences about a pleasant customer service representative and what it meant to you.

Lisa Iadicicco is Co-Founder Mother, May I – Etiquette Experts www.mothermayimanners.com

Sources: Psychology Today, Discovery, boston.com, my Mom

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

The post Guest Blog: Can your customer hear your smile through the phone? appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Do You Know the Lifetime Value of Your Customer?

Customer Interactions

Four in ten senior executives in larger companies don’t know the lifetime value of their customers. That’s according to MarketingCharts who quoted a Forbes and Sitecore study that surveyed 312 senior executives in North American companies. Not only did 40% of the leadership surveyed not know the financial value of their customers, over half of them don’t plan to. In other words, they don’t care or see the merit in this important number.

This absolutely surprises me. If the leaders of these organizations don’t know, then you can expect that the employees don’t know either. Yet when employees know and have clarity about the lifetime value of the customer, they can make better customer-focused decisions.

Let’s look at a simple example that most of us can understand. We’ve all gone grocery shopping. Several studies indicate that an average customer of a grocery store spends from $80 to $200 each week. Let’s make this easy. Let’s say that the average customer spends $100 each week. Assuming he or she takes a couple of weeks off for vacation, that’s 50 weeks they buy groceries, which comes out to $5,000 each year. But, it’s even more than that. Because we’re talking about the lifetime value – not the annual value.

The average family moves about every seven years. Assuming they move out of the neighborhood, that means that the average customer or family is worth about $35,000 in business over those seven years. So, the next time they complain about a carton of spoiled milk, give them their money back! Is it worth upsetting a customer over a few dollars, when they are worth $35,000? Of course not!

Once you know the lifetime value, you must know what to do with it. Here is a five step solution:

Calculate: Determine the lifetime value of the customer. How much the average customer spends each time they buy, how often they buy in a year, and how many years do they buy? This is a bit of a simplification, but a good start.
Communicate: Share this information with employees so they can make better decisions.
Demonstrate: Give them examples of the kinds of decisions they can make; refunds, exchanges, upgrades, and more.
Recognition: Recognize when employees make good decisions. Encourage them to do more of the same.
Teach: Conversely, if an employee makes a bad decision, help the employee feel good about trying to make the right decision and confident about what to the next time.
Share: Tell the story. Share the good – and even the bad – examples that demonstrate how employees are making decisions based on the lifetime value of the customer. It’s part of their ongoing training. In short, knowing the value of a customer makes sense. Here is a simple guideline: Manage the interactions you have with your customers with the lifetime value in mind, with each and every interaction.

In short, knowing the value of a customer makes sense. Here is a simple guideline: Manage the interactions you have with your customers with the lifetime value in mind, with each and every interaction.

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

(Copyright ©MMXIV, Shep Hyken)

 

The post Do You Know the Lifetime Value of Your Customer? appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 20, 2014

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

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

Mercedes Benz CEO: Customer Experience is the New Marketing by Jim Tierney

(Loyalty 360) “Customer Experience is the new marketing,” Cannon said. “If you don’t have a passionate, committed executive leadership team … you won’t get out of the gate unless you have that. It’s the most important thing we do. We have the most demanding customers on the planet. Customer Experience better be at the top of your list when it comes to priorities in your organization.”

My Comment: Customer service and experience is the new marketing. Nice to see that a major luxury brand with stiff competition understands it. Furthermore, the comment is made more than once that it all starts at the top with a dedicated leadership team that can help put the words into action.

How to say no to customers without making them angry by Olga Kołodyńska

(Live Chat) When clients need to contact a company’s support, they always want to hear the yes answer to all their requests. But that’s not always possible, is it?

My Comment: It’s never easy to say “no” to a customer. This article has some great ways to deal with the never-easy task of having to give the customers the bad news.

Customer Service: A Market Differentiator For Small Business by Brandon Knight

(Huffington Post) As a small business owner competing against the likes of Amazon, no one has to tell you it’s a jungle out there. You live it every day. So it’s no surprise that customer service is a key — if not the — market differentiator.

My Comment: Small business or large business, there is some good information and plenty of tips to get any company’s customer service strategy headed in the right direction. Some good reminders along with some fresh ideas.

5 Steps To A Winning Service Recovery by Jeremy Watkin

(Communicate Better Blog) I am delighted to say that my bank listened!  I received a call last week from Thomas, the customer service manager and when it comes to service recovery, he scored a perfect 10!  Here are the steps he followed.

My Comment: Sometimes the problem isn’t our fault, but it doesn’t mean we can’t seize it as an opportunity to show how good we are. And whatever the problem, fixing it may be important, but just as important is restoring confidence.

Does your customer service strategy scare customers away? by Neldi Rautenbach

(Synthetix Blog) Chillingly, figures show that response rates and times to questions sent via e-mail or posted on social channels are proving disappointing, having a significant effect on customer satisfaction levels.

My Comment: These statistics are frightening! And, with Halloween just around the corner this is a perfect blog post to remind all of us that if we don’t properly respond to our customers, we won’t hear “boo” from them in the future.

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

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 20, 2014 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: What Makes a Great Social Customer Service Agent?

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Flavio Martins writes a great article about how businesses perceive their own social customer service. He gives some suggestions for you to use as a checkup on your level of service.  - Shep Hyken

Here’s an interesting figure: 80% of companies believe that they provide a superior customer service… but only 8% of their customers believe they actually provide a superior customer service.

There’s a great disconnect today between the customer service providers deliver and the expectations of their customers.

Is your business one of the few that actually lives up to what it believes? If so, then it’s very likely you’re using some form of social media to enhance your customer relationships.

There’s a reason it’s called customer “service”. To do all that you can to serve your customers is going to enhance that connection you share with them tremendously, and as we’ve touched on so many times before, your bottom line is going to be the reflection of how good your customer service actually is.

Be Personable, Be Social

When people have a negative experience with a business, one of the first things they do is sign into their Facebook and Twitter accounts and proceed to complain.

If people feel cheated, they want to let the whole world know how bad they thought your business was – how they feel you cheated them. This is actually an opportunity in disguise.

You know what customers hate? “Company Policies”. Nobody wants to read through a list of policies or frequently asked questions. They will have a question or complaint, and they want it answered directly, immediately, from a happy and helpful company representative.

So when your customers go on Facebook and start complaining to the world, you can have staff members in place to find these people and to immediately go to these disgruntled customers and address them directly. This isn’t about confronting them, it’s about resolving their problems professionally. When you do this, allowing this person’s social media following to witness how your business takes care if its customers, you’re going to win over more business while making the disgruntled customer happy at the same time. It’s win-win for you.

Always Exceed Expectations

More than 55% of customers don’t expect any of their complaints or inquires to be responded to in less than one hour. What would happen if you were to exceed these expectations? What if you had a social media customer service agent respond to a person in less than 15 minutes, and did everything they could to resolve the customer’s concern? I guarantee one thing – it will dramatically improve the relationship between your business and that customer.

In many cases, providing good customer services doesn’t involve paying a single dime in company expenses. It often only includes making a customer happy, making them feel like they matter, and handling their concerns with concern and empathy. In short, they’re human, and they want to be treated as such.

Is this difficult? Not at all, though it may take some discipline and experience. For the most part it’s simply about being personable, sincere, professional, and making sure things are as convenient as possible for the customer in question.

Making Things Convenient

If a customer poses a question to your business, or even a complaint about how your business handled their problems, then your social media customer service agents should respond to them through the same platform. So when a customer makes a statement on Facebook, don’t send that person a message through their email – respond to them directly through Facebook!

Perception is key. It doesn’t matter how good you treat a customer if they don’t PERCEIVE that you’re treating them well. The intentions of your business may be good, but your customer has to perceive they’re being treated well before they will respond positively.

Here are the four primary things that cause a customer to abandon a brand:

Rude customer service agents
Being passed around to different representatives without resolution
Being forced to follow up on an issue repeatedly
Having to wait too long for an issue to be resolved

Make sure your social media customer service agents avoid these major pitfalls while delivering outstanding positive service. Do so and you’ll expand your business reach (online and offline) and customers will eagerly return to your business again and again.

F lavio Martins is the VP of Operations at DigiCert, Inc. He’s a Marketing and Customer Service leader and strategist. Flavio has been named by Huffington Post as a Top Customer Experience Pro and by ICMI as a Top 50 Contact Center Leader. Follow him on Twitter  @flavmartins – http://wintheustomer.com

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

The post Guest Blog: What Makes a Great Social Customer Service Agent? appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Consistent and Predictable Experience Creates Customer Confidence

Customer Expectations

You can have outstanding customer service, but it only takes one mistake to erode the customer’s confidence, thus diminishing the chance you’ll have at gaining the customer’s loyalty. This mistake can be summed up in one simple sentence:

Don’t do what you say you’re going to do.

Don’t follow through. Miss a deadline. Show up late. Don’t call back when you promised. The list can go on and on. All of these are examples of how many people – and many companies – destroy a customer’s confidence, thereby destroying the customer’s loyalty.

The American Management Association and Institute for Corporate Productivity surveyed more than 1,300 business leaders and found that 33% of companies admit they don’t keep promises made to customers.  (You can get a copy of the full study here.) So, what can we do about it?

Woody Allen once said, “80% of life is just showing up.”

I highly doubt that Woody Allen took a formal survey, so let’s just go with the spirit of his comment, not the validity. That being the case, let’s put it into business terms.  Perhaps 80% of creating customer loyalty is just doing what you say you will do. In other words, meet the established expectation. If you say you’ll ship within 24 hours, do it. If you say you’ll call someone back within the hour, don’t be late. If you promise good customer service, you had better deliver. It starts by just meeting the customer’s expectations.  In other words, just show up.  That’s what expected.

Let’s add one more thought to this. The experience should match the customer’s expectations. For example, a customer’s expectations will be different for a roadside hotel versus a full-service luxury hotel like the Four Seasons. That smaller, roadside hotel may have a brand promise that includes a clean room and friendly service.  The Four Seasons promises much more with a luxury experience.  Both of them are making a commitment to you in the form of their brand promise.  By keeping the brand promise, they meet the expectation. 

But there is more. Each and every employee of these brands must also keep their promise.  If the bellman promises to bring the luggage to the room in a few minutes, and doesn’t show up until an hour later, he’s broken his promise.

So, let’s go back to Woody Allen’s numbers. If 80% of success is just showing up – or keeping your promise – what about the other 20%? Well, perhaps it’s about exceeding the basic expectation. Let’s substitute the word basic for average. So, maybe the other 20% is about being better than average. Show up, keep your promise and you meet the customer’s expectations. Bump the experience up just a little above average, and you start to have a shot at creating amazement. And, when that experience is consistent and predictable, you’ll create confidence.

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

(Copyright ©MMXIV, Shep Hyken)

 

The post Consistent and Predictable Experience Creates Customer Confidence appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 13, 2014

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

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

Customer Service – Which Comes First – the Customer or Your Staff? by Kristina Evey 

(Kristina Evey) We try to give customers everything they want… and more.  We try to please them to keep them not only satisfied, but loyal.  Yes, without the customer, you wouldn’t be in business. But there is another factor in this equation… your staff.

My Comment: This article is spot on. You can’t focus on customers without also focusing on your employees.  Even though a company typically starts a business with the customer in mind, at some point the emphasis has to shift to the employees.  And, that should be sooner than later.  They are the ones that drive the customer experience.  It’s really simple: What’s happening on the inside of a company is felt on the outside by the customer.

Keys To Being Social: Loyalty by Bridget Willard

(You, Too, Can Be A Guru) What is it in us that drives us to value relationships?

My Comment: True loyalty doesn’t come because of an app. It doesn’t come because you have a punch card where after ten punches you get a free sandwich. It is about the relationship. Take away those “perks” and would the customer still be loyal? Many factors play into loyalty, as mentioned in the article, but here is something to consider. If satisfaction is a rating, then loyalty is an emotion. There are plenty of ideas in this great article to trigger the emotional side of loyalty.

Ask The Experts: What should I know before introducing a loyalty program that rewards customers at my business? by Business Vancouver

(Business Vancouver) Loyalty program should reward both customers and business.  

My Comment: Too many times companies confuse a loyalty program with a marketing program. There is some sage advice (pun intended) in this article about what true loyalty programs do. They not only reward a customer for doing business with you, they engage and endear the customer to you.

15 essential best practice tips for social customer service by Luke Brynley-Jones

(Econsultancy) Here are 15 of the most useful best practice tips I’ve learned from some of the world’s leading brands.

My Comment: These 15 tips are actually make a nice process for handling customer complaints, not just through social channels, but traditional channels (phone, email and even in person) as well. 1

10 Quintessential Quotes for National Customer Service Week by Tricia Morris

(Parature) Here is a quote-a-day sampling to share with your customer service team – or, if you’re a brand or organization focusing on customer-centricity, share these with every department.

My Comment: Customer Service Week was last week, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t focus on customer service the following week – or even the entire year. (HA!)  Seriously, this article has ten great customer service quotes that are great conversation starters for your next meeting.

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

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 13, 2014 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog: National Customer Service Week is Nearly Over…Now What?

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Bill Gessert writes about National Customer Service Week and shares ideas to continue the celebration next week and beyond. I especially like his comment: A customer experience IS NOT an “event.” - Shep Hyken

It’s Friday of National Customer Service Week, 2014 edition….the last day of this great week.  Hopefully your organization has had a week full of Celebrating Customer Connections, the theme of this year’s NCSW.

But now what?  What happens after this week is complete and the celebrations are done?  To answer that question I want to go back to the roots of National Customer Service Week, initially launched in 1984 by the International Customer Service Association (ICSA).

The ICSA leaders understood the vital role that customer service plays in business.  They already knew that the customer experience was something that could be measured and directly linked to revenue and profits.  Their decision to launch National Customer Service Week was an effort to bring well-deserved recognition to service providers, but not just during the first week of every October.  Listen to what past ICSA President, John Kressaty said about the purpose of NCSW:

“National Customer Service Week activities have far-reaching effects in October and throughout the year. “There are two main purposes of National Customer Service Week,” said Kressaty.  “It lets you recognize the job that your customer service professionals do 52 weeks a year. The other purpose is to get the message across a wide range of business, government and industry that customer service is very important along with bottom line profit in running a business,” explained Kressaty.

So, just because this week is nearing a completion, recognition of the contributions of your service providers should not stop!  In fact, it should be a year long, strategic element of your business planning.

A customer experience IS NOT an “event.”  It should be a carefully crafted strategic contact between two of the most important people to your business or organization – your customer, and the individuals who connect with them!  All this said, here are my suggestions for Monday, October 13th, and beyond!

Get your top executives involved in the customer experience. I once had a client tell me that his customer service operation was “broken.” An analysis of the situation revealed that among other issues, the customer service providers in the organization felt like no one understood how challenging their job actually was.  Least of all upper management.  My suggestion was that every senior executive, including the President, spend a minimum of one hour per month sitting with their service providers and actually taking calls.  The impact of this strategy was enormous.  Eyes were opened at the executive level and they now understood how important their customer service providers really were to the organization.  And the reps now felt like upper management cared.  This led to all sorts of positive and strategic changes.  Service improved dramatically.
Create and implement professional development plans for your customer service providers. These are the people that have the most interaction with your customers on a regular basis.  That core experience prepares them well for other roles in your organization, but they will need further development.  Invest in them!  Show your entire organization that one of the best paths to promotion is through the customer service department!
Use your social media channels to share the great experiences your customer service reps provide to your customers. This can be a very powerful means of providing recognition throughout the year.  Some companies encourage their customers to give “shout outs” to any customer service provider that creates an exceptional experience for them.  Think about that!  The customer actually becomes your brand ambassador!  You can’t buy better PR!  And it provides meaningful recognition to your customer experience reps throughout the year.

There are lots of other ways to keep the energy around National Customer Service Week going all year.  I would encourage you to consider the three that I’ve provided.  Trust me, if you do, the ROI will be measurable and meaningful to your business.

Happy National Customer Service Week!  Now, make it last!

has served as President of the ICSA and has for the past seven years. Bill is now Director of Business Development for Fernley & Fernley Inc. Based in Philadelphia, Fernley & Fernley provides professional management services to non-profit trade associations and professional societies.

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

 

 

The post Guest Blog: National Customer Service Week is Nearly Over…Now What? appeared first on Shep Hyken.