Shep Hyken's Blog, page 240
June 24, 2013
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 24, 2013
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 Definition of Employee Engagement by Sharlyn Lauby
(HR Bartender) We all know what employee engagement means, right? The term is tossed around like salad dressing. There are numerous articles and infographics on the subject. But if someone asked you to describe employee engagement in a single sentence, what would you say?
My Comment: Nice definition of employee engagement – short, simple and accurate. And, great video to support the definition. The start of employee engagement is at the hiring process; getting the right people. Once you have good people, they must be aligned with your definition of success. Once they create or experience that success, they should be recognized and appreciated. That is what starts and continues the employee engagement process.
Your Brand Promise Can Create Or Destroy Customer Loyalty by Sree Hameed
(Forbes) I was frustrated; my colleagues under-appreciated the value of Marketing. They also had a point. So I stepped away from Marketing and into the operational world of Supply Chain to get a different perspective. I learned three valuable lessons that Marketing and Sales need to take to heart.
My Comment: While the marketing people may run the marketing department, I believe everyone in a company impacts the marketing of the company. The end result of marketing is the brand, which is a promise (hopefully kept) to the customer. This article is an excellent short reminder of the importance that marketing and everyone else in the company plays in the customer service and loyalty strategy.
Research: Customer Service on Twitter Sees 63 Percent Increase in Brands Sending 50+ Tweets Per Day by Geeks News Desk
(Broadway World) As consumer demand for customer service on Twitter continues to grow, a study bySimply Measured shows that top brands are responding by increasing their investment to serve more customers, and diversify how they provide support. Thirty-two percent of brands now have dedicated customer support handles, with a 63 percent increase quarter over quarter in the number of brands that send 50+ customer services tweets per day.
My Comment: Anywhere a company has a social media presence will allow more customers to interact with them. That is why the companies who take advantage of multiple channels are getting more feedback, data and opportunities to engage and build better relationships with their customers.
6 Ways To Create A Culture Of Innovation by Soren Kaplan
(Fast Company) Reward employees with time to think, while providing them with the structure they need.
My Comment: A culture that promotes innovation based on the six tactics outlined in this article is a culture that fosters empowerment and better customer relations. Innovation potentially impacts a company internally with better systems, products, etc., while it also impacts the customer with a better experience. Companies that have a formal program that encourages their employees to come up with ideas to improve are typically better places to work – and better places to do business.
Make a Mediocre Experience Awesome: 3 Steps by Kevin Daum
(Inc) Good or great is acceptable for some, but consistently striving for awesome with this formula will prevent you from regretting your business or your life.
My Comment: Mediocre to awesome seems like a big jump, but I don’t think it is. Sometimes moving to awesome is just being a little better than average – or mediocre. It’s not that big of a gap. These three steps are great to increase the customer’s experience.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)
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June 19, 2013
Customer Service Must Be Deeply Rooted in Company’s Culture
Secret to Delivering Customer ServiceThis was a great month for Ace Hardware. J.D. Power and Associates ranked Ace Hardware “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores” for the seventh straight year!
I love Ace Hardware for several reasons. When it comes to customer service, they are solid as a rock. Lots of companies considered rock stars in customer service win awards and accolades – companies like Amazon.com, Southwest Airlines, Zappos.com and others. Deservedly so, by the way. They really are great companies. However Ace Hardware is a different kind of success story. They are a David versus Goliath story, as they compete against Home Depot, Lowes and other “Big Box” companies who have larger stores, more inventory and bigger advertising budgets. Ace uses customer service, and specifically helpful customer service to compete and prosper in their market. But that’s not so much a secret. After all, the JD Power award is very public recognition for a job well done. Their secret starts with their culture.
The bottom line is that to be the best place to buy you must be the best place to work. Here is your best tactic:
Treat your employees the way you want your customers to be treated—maybe even better!
If you have followed my work, you know that I’ve shared this line for many years. It’s the Employee Golden rule. This is the focal point of a company that is customer focused. The employees must be aware and in alignment with leadership’s vision and mission. Ace has simplified their vision and it can be summed up in one word: Helpful. They have operationalized the word helpful and every employee understands it. Ace wants to have the most helpful hardware stores on the planet. They hire for helpful, they train for helpful and they basically live and breathe helpful. To do this, they can’t just tell their employees. They have to demonstrate it. Not only must the customers experience it, the employees must experience it as well. It’s in their DNA, which for a company is their culture.
When it comes to amazing customer service, it starts on the inside and works its way out, and everyone in the company has to step up and become a leader in that effort. Amazing from the inside out means not saying one thing and doing something else. It means being genuine, and making sure that what people see and hear from you is what they actually get from you. At Ace, associates experience helpful before they are expected to generate helpful.
As Mark Schulein, one of the Ace retailers told me, “We focus on engaging with our own people first, knowing what they’re going through at home, finding out what’s going on in their lives, learning what we can do to support them, because that’s exactly what we want them to do for the customer once the customer walks through the door. We believe that in order to be the best place to shop, you have to be the best place to work first.
Whatever gets rewarded and reinforced becomes part of the company’s culture—and whatever doesn’t get rewarded and reinforced affects the culture too.
The internal culture is the secret to delivering customer service. You can have all of the tools, techniques and more, but if customer service isn’t deeply rooted in the company’s culture, it won’t work.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)
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June 17, 2013
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 17, 2013
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 Rackspace Customer Experience Secret Sauce: An Interview with Rackspace COO Mark Roenigk by Pete Abilla
(Shmula) In this interview, we’ll learn about how Rackspace has placed the customer at the center of their activities and the role the Rackspace employees play in making the organization focused on the customer. We’ll also learn the role of Process Improvement within the context of their internal NPS program, which is also very respected and known for its rigor and effectiveness in helping the firm remain focused on the customer.
My Comment: Rackspace is one of today’s customer service rock stars. When Mark Roenigk, COO of Rackspace, talks about their customer service strategies, I listen – and so should you. They seem to do everything right. They have an amazing customer-focused culture and a measurement system (NPS) in place to track their success. I love the last line of the interview: “Rackspace is committed to helping our customers change the world- and we will do anything to make sure of it.”
5 Key Words of Advice from the World’s Most Famous Customer Service Representative by Tricia Morris
(Parature) Here are five key words of advice for any customer-focused organization from The World’s Most Famous Customer Service Representative.
My Comment: Richard Branson is perhaps the “poster child” of customer service. He uses it as his secret weapon to take on the giants in the industries he competes with. (I guess it’s not a secret anymore.) It is always worth taking the time to listen or read anything that Richard Branson is willing to share.
An Oasis in a Desert of Customer Service by David Segal
(NY Times) What is Quicken Loans doing to earn such accolades? It boils down to culture.
My Comment: The lesson in this article is simple. Quicken Loans is recognized for its excellent customer service. It all comes down to the culture. This NY Times article does a nice job of reminding us of how important culture is – from the moment an employee is hired.
How to Provide Online Customer Service for Ecommerce by Desk.com
(Desk.com) Now more than ever, it’s essential for retailers to provide a consistent customer service experience. Here are seven ways to manage customer service for ecommerce.
My Comment: This is a great infographic about ways to provide exceptional customer service for eCommerce. After looking this over, the tactics and strategies provided are great for every business – not just eCommerce. Great information worth considering.
Free eBook: The Definitive Guide to Social Customer Service 2nd Edition by Rachel Tran
(Conversocial) A lot has changed in the world of Social Customer Service in the past year, and so we’ve created a second edition of The Definitive Guide to Social Customer Service.
My Comment: Many think that companies who are implementing social service strategies are early adopters. I believe if a company hasn’t adapted a social service strategy they are late to the party. This is a great guide that is worth downloading and reading. Thanks to Conversocial for sharing this eBook.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)
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June 12, 2013
Personalize Customer Service to Create Amazing Customer Experiences
Personalize the Customer Experience
There is one thing that you can do that almost guarantees that your customer will want to come back and do business with you. It’s more than just delivering amazing customer service. It’s delivering amazing personalized customer service.
The goal is to create the personal touch. This is engagement at a higher level. In its simplest form it may be just using the customer’s name. However, some companies – and industries – have seen such value in personalizing customer service that they’ve taken this concept to higher levels.
What prompted me to write about this topic was an article I read in the May 28, 2013 issue of USA Today, which was about how some hotels are personalizing their guests’ wake-up calls. Most hotels have a wake-up call system that once set, will automatically phone the guest’s room at the appointed time. When the guest answers they typically hear a recorded message. I’ve always appreciated the extra effort a hotel goes to when, instead of a recorded message, there is a live person who calls you and starts your day off with something pleasant like, “Good Morning Mr. Hyken. Thanks for staying at our hotel, and we wish you a great day.”
Some hotels are taking this to a higher level. For example, I’ve answered the phone for an early wake-up call and the employee not only wishes me a great day, but also offers to send up a complementary cup of coffee to get my day started.
While traveling for business to New York City, I stayed at the Kimpton Muse hotel, who has taken the personal touch to an even higher level. Upon check in, the front desk team built some rapport with me. I say “team” because there were three people behind the front desk, and since I was the only guest checking in, they all three interacted with me. They engaged me with simple questions about any dinner reservations I might want to make, my favorite foods and more. They also noticed that while the meeting I was attending was only three days long, I was staying for five days. I told them my wife was joining me.
Was I ever surprised on Friday night, after my wife arrived, that the hotel sent up a bottle of wine, some fruit and chocolate. How nice was that! The staff paid attention and picked up on a piece of knowledge that allowed them to personalize my experience. But that is not all they did. There was something else on the tray, and it absolutely blew my mind. There was a small picture frame, and the picture was of my wife and me!
I was… Amazed! They had obviously gone on a website or my Facebook page and somehow found a picture of us, printed it out and put it in a frame.
The Kimpton Muse delivered personalized service. The staff engaged in conversation, paid attention to what was said, and then took action. Regardless of the type of business you are in, there is always an opportunity to personalize the customer experience.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)
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June 10, 2013
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 10, 2013
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 Experience Management: Art vs. Science by Deb Miller
(CMS Wire) There is a long-standing debate as to how much of customer experience management is science and how much is art. As you decide where you weigh in on the question, here are two customer experiences for your consideration. While one experience is a customer satisfaction triumph and a pleasure to share, the other tells a cautionary tale. They both illustrate the critically important role technology can play, blending science and art to create positive impressions and continuing customer loyalty.
My Comment: It used to be that customer experience was just the customer service that the customer received. Today it has transcended to marketing, providing us with data that helps ups bring the customers into the business. However it is the “art” of the experience, not the data, that will keep them coming back.
12 Effective Ways to Increase Employee Engagement by Stan Phelps
(9″ Marketing) After studying 1,001 examples of companies that give little unexpected extras to employees, here are a dozen ways to drive engagement and reinforce culture from the book, What’s Your Green Goldfish.
My Comment: Employee engagement is key to creating a better experience for both customers and employees. The best companies recognize how important it is to create an environment that fulfills employees and gets them engaged. The result is a loyal workforce that wants to create loyal customers.
Reader Question: Keeping the Personal Touch Online by Very Bad Business Bureau
(Very Bad Business Bureau) I believe my business is successful because we offer extremely personal service. I can never hope to technologically compete with a national company, so why should I invest in expanding my business online? Anyone who shops online is going to go with the big name.
My Comment: This is a great question for an entrepreneur wanting to compete with the big global company and their online customer service strategy, but here’s my take. While the answer for the small business/entrepreneur is an excellent answer, bigger businesses should take note. Customers like doing business with people and companies they have a connection with. That is why so many national and international brands are trying to create a more local or community presence. But sometimes it’s not just about being local. It’s just to connect. Every company, big, small and in between, should try to make a personal connection.
7 Lessons You Can Learn from Jeff Bezos About Serving the Customer by Kevin Baldacci
(Desk.com) The latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index reveals Amazon.com as the reining and undisputed champ in both Internet retailing and across the entire department in overall customer satisfaction. Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos perhaps more than any business leader has taken the philosophy of truly caring for the customer and ushered it into the digital era. Bezos has built a company from the ground up purely based off of the unbending, unyielding philosophy of serving the customer across all departments. With a 164 million Amazon customers, few would argue Bezos as the key architect of building an authentic, customer-centric company.
My Comment: Jeff Bezos once again shares his ideas on what makes Amazon.com an amazing customer service and customer focused company. The seven lessons he shares in this article are spot on to the customer service practices of any company, of any size, in any industry.
Gallup’s Workplace Jedi On How To Fix Our Employee Engagement Problem by Mark C. Crowley
(Fast Company) More than half of America’s workforce is disengaged. In an exclusive conversation with Dr. Jim Harter–who initiated the first “State of the American Workplace” study in 1997–we dig into the latest report, due out this month.
My Comment: I firmly believe that what is happening inside a company is felt by the customer on the outside. Employee engagement is crucial to this. It seems the most engaged employees are fulfilled employees who are “exploited” and then appreciated for the talent they bring to their job. This article is a fascinating look at why so many companies may not be successful in creating an engaged workforce.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)
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June 5, 2013
Five Customer Service Tactics to Increase Sales
It’s All About Customer EngagementAs you read this, you may think this article could fall under the heading of sales tactics. I respectfully disagree. This is all about customer service, as it focuses on the way you engage your customers to make them feel comfortable about wanting to do more business with you. And, while the examples I’m using may be retail based, realize that these tactics work with any business in any industry. It can be B2C or B2B, these tactics work.
Engage with a strong welcome. Be it on the phone or in person, this greeting makes your customer feel comfortable and appreciated. This “first impression” sets the tone for whatever interaction is to follow.
Follow up the greeting with an open ended question. Follow up with a question that is specific to the reason the customer is calling or shopping with you. Don’t ask a yes or no question, such as “Can I help you?” Instead, ask an open-ended question such as, “What are you looking for today?” The best response will give you specific information about why the customer is doing business with you.
Ask why. Once you understand what the customer wants, ask why. Why does the customer need your help or your product? Knowing this may reveal other opportunities for you to help or upsell the customer.
Upsell: And, speaking of upselling, do so if appropriate. For example, if a customer is at an Ace Hardware store buying a can of paint, it is perfectly logical, and many times appreciated by the customer, to ask if he or she needs brushes or other items to complete a paint project. Imagine the customer getting home and realizing that he forgot to get brushes. Not “upselling” the customer when appropriate is really bad customer service.
Ask what else. Don’t finish the customer interaction without asking what else the customer may be looking for – or what other area of help they may need. This may be something completely unrelated to the purchase they are about to make or the reason for their original call. This may reveal other opportunities.
BONUS: Say, “Thank you!” Don’t forget, as this may be one of the most important tactics. Show appreciation and send them out with a strong last impression, which is just as important, if not more so, than the first impression.
In the end, this is all about engagement. This is anything but passive. It means having the right people who are properly trained and motivated to engage with the customer and deliver a strong customer experience.
NOTE: This article is based on one of the tactics from Shep Hyken’s upcoming book Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools for Delivering the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet, which appears in stores everywhere in September 2013. Preorder the book and get valuable extras at www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com .
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)
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June 3, 2013
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of June 3, 2013
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.
Deliver a World-Class Customer Experience by Lauren Simonds
(Time) Take a page out of Disney’s employee training playbook to see how creative management can lead to fully engaged employees dedicated to pleasing customers.
My Comment: Nice to have a glimpse behind the curtain of Disney’s training program. The key is to connect the dots. How can the Disney strategies and tactics be used in your business? The answer is your blueprint to success.
Richard Branson’s Customer Service Secrets by Vaughn
(Total Customer) Here, in a video with Forbes, Carmine Gallo finds out the 7 valuable customer service lessons that Virgin America CEO David Cush and Virgin empire founder Richard Branson live by.
My Comment: This is a video that is perfect to show at a team or department meeting. Anytime Richard Branson shares his insights, everyone should listen – and in this case watch. He uses customer service and the experience to compete and win in business.
“Customer loyalty boosts small business profitability” says new report by The FINANCIAL
(The FINANCIAL) Customer loyalty can directly impact business profitability – 60% of consumers are willing to pay more for a similar product from a small independent retailer, compared to a cheaper product from a large, corporate retailer, a report shows.
My Comment: It doesn’t matter if it is a small business or a big business, these stats make a point about the importance of customer loyalty and how it increases profitability. And, isn’t that what every business wants!
Injecting the Fun Factor into Customer Service by Mila D’Antonio
(1to1 Media) Good customer service is difficult to come by these days, but even more elusive is fun service.
My Comment: This is a simple reminder that some of the best companies to work for and do business with have a fun factor. If it is appropriate, try to incorporate a fun, upbeat and enthusiastic attitude in your customer interactions. It really is about attitude. The old saying goes, “Enthusiasm is contagious.” And, my friend Danny Cox says, “If what you have is not enthusiasm, that is also contagious.”
The Big Brand Theory: How FedEx Achieves Social Customer Service Success by Ekaterina Walter
(Social Media Today) Ginna Sauerwein is a customer service veteran who knows the value of social media. Working for the companies such as JC Penney, Delta Airlines, Miller Brewery, and—for the past 29 years—for FedEx, she is now a Managing Director of Customer Service in Western Region. It is her team that is responsible for delighting customers through excellent and timely service. And many of those interactions nowadays are happening through social channels.
My Comment: So many companies compare themselves to other companies in their own industry. Customers do some of that too, but they are also comparing the places they do business with to companies outside of their industry. When a customer has a great customer service experience at a hotel or restaurant, it raises the bar for all companies that the customer does business with. Which is why I love FedEx. They have a brand promise and they keep it. And, just about any company can learn from FedEx, which is why I love this article, which teaches us five ways that FedEx delivers amazing customer service.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)
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May 29, 2013
Customer Loyalty Question: Will Your Customer Evangelize You and Your Business?
Social media channels have become the norm.One of the big lessons I have taught and preached over the years is about customer loyalty. In short, people think of loyalty as a customer for a lifetime, but it is really much simpler than that. It’s about the next time, every time. I even have a simple question that reinforces this concept, which I refer to as The Loyalty Question:
Is what I’m doing right now going to get the customer to come back the next time he or she needs whatever it is that I sell?
It’s all about what’s happening right now, and what is going to happen the very next time. Practicing this concept over time creates lifetime customers.
Well, today there is a twist on this concept. Thanks to technology, which has brought us social media and various Internet sites, we can now spin this question a different way. I refer to this as The Evangelist Question:
Is what I’m doing right now going to make the customer want to leave a review on Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, etc.?
In other words, is your customer willing to evangelize on your behalf? More than just recommend you, is your customer willing to give you a positive review via social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, or websites such as Yelp, Ubranspoon and Angie’s List?
And, if that review is positive, then you have the answer you want (and hope for) to both the Loyalty Question and the Evangelist Question. A positive review means the customer will be willing to return.
This is an important concept for both B2C and B2B businesses. Most people would think the social media sites and websites are primarily focused on retailers selling to consumers. B2B must think broader and realize there are industry magazines, bloggers and even an industry conference where customers will “review” you and your company.
Today is an era of communication that is different than even just a few years ago. Social media channels have become the norm. People will “talk” on these channels, sharing their experiences with others, in both private and public forums. There is no way around it, so why not embrace it. Create a customer experience that is so good that it makes your customers want to share their experiences with others. The benefit falls under the category of Word-of-Mouth marketing, where your customers evangelize on your behalf, creating credible social proof that someone should want to do business with you.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)
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May 27, 2013
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of May 27, 2013
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 Candy Cab Gives New York City Passengers a Sweet Ride by Elise Sole
(Yahoo! Shine) Hailing a taxi in New York City is practically a competitive sport but one cabbie is making the grind a little bit sweeter.
My Comment: I love this story about Mansoor, a cab driver who has elevated his profession by giving away candy to his customers. But it is more than that. He creates Moments of Magic for his customers. He creates a brand for himself that creates loyalty. He understands that WHY he wants to do what he does is as important as doing it. Just about any business can benefit from the way Mansoor think.
Are Marketers Ready for ‘Cognitive’ Customer Service? by Craig Hayman
(Advertising Age) The explosion of social media has changed the notion of customer service across all industries. A service once restricted to phones and then email has been opened through social platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
My Comment: Technology in customer service… This is a just a small glimpse into the future of customer service. However, in spite of all of the amazing technology that is coming (or is here), don’t forget that people still do business with people. At some point the customer may interact with the employee of a company. That interaction could make or break all that company is striving to achieve.
IBM’s Watson Now A Customer Service Agent, Coming To Smartphones Soon by Bruce Upbin
(Forbes) Now Watson has a new job–as a customer-service agent with the mostest. The help desk is a bit of a step down from fighting cancer, but IBM is nothing if not pragmatic. U.S. organizations spend $112 billion on call center labor and software, yet half of the 270 billion customer-service calls go unresolved each year, presenting a fairly sizable opening for an enhanced cognitive computer.
My Comment: I love the concept of IBM’s Watson. This may be an excellent frontline customer service program. This technology is a great way to get good information fast. This isn’t an automated attendant. It’s more like Apple’s Siri for business – a true voice recognizing system that will give the customer information faster and more accurately than a human interaction. Not to say that we still need that human interaction. We do. That’s the back-up. People will get comfortable with Watson, and have even more confidence with the company when they know that if they need additional help, they have someone to talk to.
A 3-Step Customer Service Guide for Your Team by Michael Alter
(Inc) What you can do about that moment of truth, when a customer decides to stay or go.
My Comment: Three simple “steps” however we should all pay really close attention to number three. Is what you’re doing (your employees doing) going to make you look good when the customer posts in Facebook (or any other social media channel)? That’s the new test – will you be happy with the online review. More and more customers – in both B2B and B2C – are leaving comments on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yelp, etc. The customer service you deliver today is going to show up as a review in social media tomorrow.
Build Customer Loyalty: Empower Your Customer Service Team by Scott Anderson
(Business2Community) Customer service at many companies is on life support, and management is ignoring the miracle cure: the customer service team. When an empowered customer service representative helps a customer, he does more than solve a problem: he helps build a relationship.
My Comment: One of the best ways to create great customer service is to hire the right people, train them and… let them do their job! Trust and empower them to deliver the customer service that makes customers want to come back. This is a great article that summarizes some of the key strategies and tactics that create customer loyalty.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)
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May 22, 2013
The Two Sides of Customer Service Training: Human and Technical
Delivering Great Customer ServiceJust because an employee understands what it means to deliver great customer service, doesn’t mean that he or she is able to deliver it.
As I talk to many different companies about how they build an organization that is customer-focused, many of them start with the hiring process. You have to hire people that already understand customer service and that are capable of delivering it. That’s the human side of customer service.
The hiring professional in the organization looks at the applicant’s background, prior experiences, answers to interview questions and more. The applicant’s background indicates extensive customer service experience, and he or she may be the perfect fit. Still, after the interviews and assessments, hiring the people who know it, get it and have experience with it, doesn’t mean they are going to deliver the customer service you hope for, unless you provide training – technical customer service training.
Now I think every employee should go through customer service training, and it should be ongoing. It keeps the employees focused by reminding and reinforcing various customer service skills, techniques, and the attitudes necessary for delivering excellent customer service. That’s the human side and is what helps keep the organization’s culture customer-focused. In addition to the human side, or what some refer to as “people skills” training, the employees need to go through technical customer service training that teaches how to apply that human side to their job responsibilities.
For example, you may be the owner of a restaurant and you hire a server. Let’s call him Bob. Bob has never worked at a restaurant, but has a background in customer service. As a matter of fact, Bob was a front-desk clerk at a very nice hotel. He really does understand how to deliver great customer service. But, he doesn’t understand how to wait tables.
That’s where the second side of service comes in, the technical side. A technical customer service lesson might teach an employee which side of the guest is the right side to pick up and set down a plate. No amount of customer service background will teach that, or many of the other nuances that go into creating the perfect customer experience at a restaurant.
This is the same in just about any business. It takes both attitude and skill. The best people have both. The best companies recognize and make sure their employees have both.
The technical side of customer service is actually easy to teach, but that doesn’t mean the customer will have a great experience. The employee also has to understand the human side of customer service. It is the combination of the two that is greater than the sum of the parts.
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 http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)
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