Shep Hyken's Blog, page 45
April 10, 2023
CX: Balancing Functionality and the Human Experience with John Sills
Top Takeaways:
Over the last 20 years, organizations have been busy improving the functional experience (doing more things, faster, and cheaper than ever before) at the expense of the emotional, human experience.
In his book, The Human Experience, John Sills shares the three myths that create poor customer service.
Myth #1. The Myth of Customer Feedback. There’s never been more data coming into organizations through surveys. The danger of this myth is that the amount of feedback convinces leaders that they are doing what matters to customers, but what they actually have is their customers’ opinions about their business. Leaders need reconnect with customers and learn about what matters in their lives. This is how businesses can truly be useful to customers.
Myth #2. The Myth of Customer Loyalty. Customers are only loyal to companies as long as they stay useful. If a more useful alternative comes along, customers are going to leave. This myth is a problem because once organizations believe that customers are loyal, they stop trying. They start taking their customers for granted.
Myth #3. The Myth of Return on Investment. You have to change the mindset that good customer service is going to make you money. The mindset should be that a good customer experience is more efficient and cheaper to execute while a bad customer experience is really expensive to provide.
There are two types of efficiency in customer support/contact center. The first one is about taking the maximum number of calls per hour. The second one is getting it right the first time, regardless of how long it takes.
Plus, John shares how a Swiss Rail train breaking down has led to one of the best customer experiences he has ever received. Tune in!
Quotes:
About:
Is efficiency more important than the emotional experience?
What are some common myths that lead to poor customer service in organizations?
Is there a return on investment (ROI) in customer experience?
Why do customers stay loyal?
How effective is customer feedback?
Over the last 20 years, organizations have been busy improving the functional experience (doing more things, faster, and cheaper than ever before) at the expense of the emotional, human experience.
In his book, The Human Experience, John Sills shares the three myths that create poor customer service.
Myth #1. The Myth of Customer Feedback. There’s never been more data coming into organizations through surveys. The danger of this myth is that the amount of feedback convinces leaders that they are doing what matters to customers, but what they actually have is their customers’ opinions about their business. Leaders need reconnect with customers and learn about what matters in their lives. This is how businesses can truly be useful to customers.
Myth #2. The Myth of Customer Loyalty. Customers are only loyal to companies as long as they stay useful. If a more useful alternative comes along, customers are going to leave. This myth is a problem because once organizations believe that customers are loyal, they stop trying. They start taking their customers for granted.
Myth #3. The Myth of Return on Investment. You have to change the mindset that good customer service is going to make you money. The mindset should be that a good customer experience is more efficient and cheaper to execute while a bad customer experience is really expensive to provide.
There are two types of efficiency in customer support/contact center. The first one is about taking the maximum number of calls per hour. The second one is getting it right the first time, regardless of how long it takes.
Plus, John shares how a Swiss Rail train breaking down has led to one of the best customer experiences he has ever received. Tune in!
Quotes:
“The world is a better place when organizations are making things better for customers.”
“Companies focus on onboarding and acquiring new customers, then stop trying to keep them. The truth is, you have to keep earning your customers’ buying decisions all the time.”
About:
John Sills is Managing Partner at the customer-led growth company, The Foundation, where he works with organizations across the world. His first book, The Human Experience: How to make life better for your customers and create a more successful organization, is now available.
Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.
This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:
Is efficiency more important than the emotional experience?
What are some common myths that lead to poor customer service in organizations?
Is there a return on investment (ROI) in customer experience?
Why do customers stay loyal?
How effective is customer feedback?
Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of April 10, 2023
Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various 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 Is Everyone’s Responsibility by Rebecca Hinds and Sarang Gupta
(Harvard Business Review) In today’s digital-first world, achieving great customer experiences is more challenging than ever. Customers interact with companies in a dizzying array of places. They no longer only interact with a call center worker or a delivery driver; they liaise with email campaigns, chatbots, review sites, and social media. Companies have tried to adapt to this digital-first, omnichannel environment for years.
My Comment: There is much I enjoyed with his article, but let’s start with the first paragraph. It describes how DoorDash required all employees, including top execs and engineers, to participate in food deliveries at least once a month. The goal is that every employee understands what their customers experience. This was part of their “1% better every day” customer initiative and an effort to get all employees focused on customer experience.
Customer Service Burnout: How Leaders Can Spot and Prevent It by Josh Centers
(TextExpander) Customer service burnout is endemic. And it’s costing your company money. The good news is, if you spot it early, there are easy and actionable steps you can take to mitigate its effects and improve employee retention.
My Comment: Do your customer service reps (or anyone on the frontline) suffer from burnout? In the customer service/support world, many agents deal with angry customers and negative situations all day. Not everyone has the personality to deal with this long-term. This article includes ways to spot customer service burnout, how to avoid it from happening on your team, and more.
Engaged Employees Create Better Customer Experiences by Denise Lee Yohn
(Harvard Business Review) It’s time for leaders to double down on the idea that the employee experience (EX) is now the key driver of the customer experience (CX) and find smarter, strategic ways of connecting the two. According to PwC, companies that invest in and deliver superior experiences to both consumers and employees are able to charge a premium of as much as 16% for their products and services. So how do leaders design EX to better align with CX?
My Comment: Two “Harvard Business Review” articles in this week’s Top Five roundup! This one is written by Denise Le Yohn, a CX and branding expert who understands the power of creating an employee experience (EX) that sets up a successful customer experience.
Strengthening Customer Loyalty Strategies for Long-Term Growth by George Korizis
(CustomerThink) During times of economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and an ever-shifting talent market, fostering and strengthening relationships with customers has never been more important for a brand’s survival. Yet, according to a recent PwC survey, there is a discrepancy between what companies and customers believe customer loyalty to be.
My Comment: This article includes several ideas, including one of my favorite topics; the gap between leadership’s perception of “how good” their customer service and CX is versus what the customers actually experience. There are several other ideas shared by the authors, who are members of PwC’s division that focuses on customer transformation and loyalty.
The 10 Pillars of EX (Employee Experience) by Call Centre Helper Magazine
(Call Centre Helper Magazine) Engaged, happy employees are less likely to leave, can be your best advocates, and more. Employee Experience (EX) is the foundation of this, so we asked our Consultants Panel what it takes to get EX right. Here’s what they said.
My Comment: This is an excellent article to close out this week’s Top Five roundup. Another article on the employee experience, and specifically the agent experience. Our second article this week from TextExpander focused on agent burnout. This article includes ten “pillars” (tactics and strategies) that help customer service agents feel connected, motivated, inspired, and more.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
Customer Experience Is Everyone’s Responsibility by Rebecca Hinds and Sarang Gupta
(Harvard Business Review) In today’s digital-first world, achieving great customer experiences is more challenging than ever. Customers interact with companies in a dizzying array of places. They no longer only interact with a call center worker or a delivery driver; they liaise with email campaigns, chatbots, review sites, and social media. Companies have tried to adapt to this digital-first, omnichannel environment for years.
My Comment: There is much I enjoyed with his article, but let’s start with the first paragraph. It describes how DoorDash required all employees, including top execs and engineers, to participate in food deliveries at least once a month. The goal is that every employee understands what their customers experience. This was part of their “1% better every day” customer initiative and an effort to get all employees focused on customer experience.
Customer Service Burnout: How Leaders Can Spot and Prevent It by Josh Centers
(TextExpander) Customer service burnout is endemic. And it’s costing your company money. The good news is, if you spot it early, there are easy and actionable steps you can take to mitigate its effects and improve employee retention.
My Comment: Do your customer service reps (or anyone on the frontline) suffer from burnout? In the customer service/support world, many agents deal with angry customers and negative situations all day. Not everyone has the personality to deal with this long-term. This article includes ways to spot customer service burnout, how to avoid it from happening on your team, and more.
Engaged Employees Create Better Customer Experiences by Denise Lee Yohn
(Harvard Business Review) It’s time for leaders to double down on the idea that the employee experience (EX) is now the key driver of the customer experience (CX) and find smarter, strategic ways of connecting the two. According to PwC, companies that invest in and deliver superior experiences to both consumers and employees are able to charge a premium of as much as 16% for their products and services. So how do leaders design EX to better align with CX?
My Comment: Two “Harvard Business Review” articles in this week’s Top Five roundup! This one is written by Denise Le Yohn, a CX and branding expert who understands the power of creating an employee experience (EX) that sets up a successful customer experience.
Strengthening Customer Loyalty Strategies for Long-Term Growth by George Korizis
(CustomerThink) During times of economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and an ever-shifting talent market, fostering and strengthening relationships with customers has never been more important for a brand’s survival. Yet, according to a recent PwC survey, there is a discrepancy between what companies and customers believe customer loyalty to be.
My Comment: This article includes several ideas, including one of my favorite topics; the gap between leadership’s perception of “how good” their customer service and CX is versus what the customers actually experience. There are several other ideas shared by the authors, who are members of PwC’s division that focuses on customer transformation and loyalty.
The 10 Pillars of EX (Employee Experience) by Call Centre Helper Magazine
(Call Centre Helper Magazine) Engaged, happy employees are less likely to leave, can be your best advocates, and more. Employee Experience (EX) is the foundation of this, so we asked our Consultants Panel what it takes to get EX right. Here’s what they said.
My Comment: This is an excellent article to close out this week’s Top Five roundup. Another article on the employee experience, and specifically the agent experience. Our second article this week from TextExpander focused on agent burnout. This article includes ten “pillars” (tactics and strategies) that help customer service agents feel connected, motivated, inspired, and more.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
April 7, 2023
Guest Post: Customer Pain Points – How to Identify and Address Them
This week, we feature an article by Manpreet Singh Chawla, senior digital marketing executive at Knowmax, a SaaS-based organization that offers knowledge management solutions for various industries. He shares how organizations can identify and solve customer pain points.
What are customer pain points?
A customer’s ongoing issue is known as a pain point in business. And if an issue arises, your product can fill an unmet demand. This could be something as simple as frequently forgetting passwords or something more serious like needing help to trace a purchase or needing a necessary feature on the platform they’re using.
A customer pain point is a distinct issue that your customers or prospects encounter during contact with you at various touchpoints. According to customer service best practices, understanding what customers want should be the first step for firms. Businesses and entrepreneurs may create a compelling value offer that attracts customers and helps them solve their problems by recognizing their pain spots.
Customer pain points are as broad and varied as prospective customers. It might be challenging to advertise to potential customers if they are unaware of their pain points. You will have difficulty persuading them that your product or service will help them address their issues.
Types of customer pain points
Salespeople must understand their prospects’ problems to customize sales pitches for their products or services. To do this, they must first identify those problems. Marketers also need to comprehend these problems to sell and advertise their solutions engaging and captivatingly.
The four main categories of customer pain points are productivity, finance, process, and support.
Productivity Pain Points
The customer’s expectation of a more simplified experience when contacting firms is one of the process’s pain points. To reduce irritation, they seek to maximize their time. Your support staff is expected to respond as soon as a consumer raises a question. They anticipate a flawless experience with the services they are paying for.
However, many challenges affect your support team’s productivity, translating into poor customer support. Customers can even sever their association with your brand or churn more frequently due to these internal inefficiencies.
Financial pain points
Financial pain points are the most important of all customer pain points. Customers experience financial pain points when they believe they are overpaying for a good or service. Whether they are existing or future clients, your customers love options. They are constantly searching for affordable options that give them more services for their money.
To provide a service that is both affordably priced and meets the customer’s needs, customer support teams and account managers should be aware of those needs and benchmarks set by competitors and budgets.
Process Pain Points
Operational inefficiencies along the customer journey are sometimes called process pain points. It has an impact on your support staff in addition to your customers. Businesses must locate these bottlenecks to enhance customer satisfaction and agent efficiency.
Long-term effects on customer service quality could be caused by out-of-date support software or ineffective internal communication. As a result, consumers may have lengthier wait times, which could lead to angry customers and helpless support staff. The chances of gaining new customers decrease if a single negative customer experience causes customers to defect.
Support Pain Points
Internal problems that prevent companies from swiftly or effectively addressing consumer pain points are often called support pain points. Many factors, like lack of contextual customer knowledge, scattered SOPs, and complex troubleshooting processes, could be a few of the reasons that lead to inefficient support. As a result of these challenges, customer queries remain unresolved, leading to bad CX.
How to identify customer pain points?
Regardless of the business size, offering an enhanced customer experience helps brands stay at the top of their game. Brands should be able to address any client pain point, from complaints about overpriced services and low-quality items to inquiries about broken connections or poor user experience.
Here are four methods to identify those client pain spots if you want to increase customer loyalty toward your brand.
Conduct qualitative market research.
Finding out precisely what your clients want is crucial. Some important actions in research include:
Learning about frequent consumer pain areas by mapping out their customers’ journeys.
Create client personas to organize your work throughout your company, direct product development according to customer needs, and focus on qualified prospects.
Listening to your customers to identify pain points
The simplest way to solve a problem is to understand it from a consumer’s perspective. Paying attention to consumers is one of the best ways to identify their issues. Here are the main benefits of paying attention to customers.
One of the biggest causes of client churn is bad customer service. 84% of businesses that strive to enhance customer satisfaction note a rise in revenue. However, customers will gladly pay extra if they have a better overall experience.
Service conversations typically go more smoothly when support representatives listen to consumers. The seamless experience will significantly impact your client retention strategies.
Using live chat to identify customer pain points
Before providing clients with solutions, organizations must first build customer trust and confidence. Including live chat is a thoughtful approach to learning about client needs and problems. Here’s how live chat assists in identifying client problem spots and providing workable solutions.
You can quickly ascertain your customers’ demands and offer them the goods and services that best suit their interests by instant communication via live chat.
The advantage of using live chat to pinpoint client pain points is that your representatives will better comprehend every problem with contextual knowledge and provide prompt answers.
By integrating your live chat with in-house CRM, your workers will get customer-driven data and identify problems that frequently annoy clients.
Talk to your sales and customer support teams.
Obtaining valuable insights into your customers’ perceptions requires regular dialogues with your customer-facing personnel, whether in sales, customer service, or marketing. Regularly speaking to your sales and support team will give you invaluable customer insights. As these roles are directly customer-facing, their feedback on your service processes and strategies will help your craft even better strategies going forward.
Check market competition
You might be unable to reach some customer personas despite your best efforts. That doesn’t mean that you can never get their attention. Simply said, your brand’s messaging should connect with the target audience’s needs. Each company has a unique strategy for addressing client pain issues. When it’s time to review and change your customer experience strategy, understanding these pain spots can help you make an informed choice.
Here’s how you can analyze your market competition:
Examine your competitors’ websites, pricing, FAQs page, and feature landing pages.
Please list the consumer aches and pains for which they have a remedy. You might have missed the same opportunity. Look for ways to include those on your website or as part of your brand statement.
These commercials target the best customer pain points. Do a Google search for their advertisements and read the marketing copy in more detail. Verify whether the ad copy needs to be edited.
List the integrations that the brand of your rival has made possible. How do they provide a seamless consumer experience? Enable integration with programs and devices that help your clients during the buying process.
Please note: A competitive analysis is only to give you an idea of what your competition is doing, not to copy their strategies.
How to address pain points?
You must address these problems as soon as possible to continue providing a great customer experience once you have recognized and further identified your customers’ pain points.
You need customer feedback if you want to succeed. It is easier for you to stay in touch with your current consumers and continuously improve your products and services to satisfy the needs of potential customers if you use a feedback management system that aids in tracking and analyzing client pain points.
Optimize customer journeys
You can only start to overcome obstacles in your brand strategies and provide customized customer experiences after you know whether the existing solutions address the main consumer pain points. To tackle problems from all sides, you may even enlist the help of experts from different teams.
Document common customer pain points
Every company needs to compile a list of the most prevalent consumer complaints. You can respond to issues voiced often by your consumers by using your customer support knowledge base, self-service portals, or FAQ pages. This raises client satisfaction and assists your support staff in identifying and prioritizing problem areas.
Automate internal processes
To cut expenses and boost overall efficiency, internal processes must be streamlined. To ensure that specific issues are channeled to the appropriate teams and shorten client wait times, you can leverage help desk software. Additionally, you can use the built-in automation features to start workflows automatically for time-based escalations and meet your SLA.
Revisit your marketing strategy
Utilize omnichannel resources. The majority of consumers favor seamless channel linkages in communications. Your teams will work more effectively together and provide tailored experiences across touchpoints if you have multichannel contact center software that provides a consolidated dashboard with a single source of truth for client data.
Conclusion
Finding a customer’s pain points is crucial to understanding what your customers need. You can access historical and current data to discover what your clients want to deliver products and services that meet their needs.
Furthermore, there is no better approach to understanding client pain spots than to have world-class customer care tools. Understanding and addressing customer pain points will improve the customer experience you provide and give you more loyal customers.
Manpreet Singh Chawla is a senior digital marketing executive at Knowmax, a SaaS-based organization that offers knowledge management solutions for various industries like telecom, banking, healthcare, insurance, e-commerce, etc. When he is not at his work desk, Manpreet loves to watch videos that talk about the world beyond Earth.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors, go to customerserviceblog.com.
Read Shep’s latest Forbes article: Industry Insider Discounts Can Lead To Great Word-Of-Mouth Endorsements And Recommendations
April 4, 2023
Tipping Used to Be For Good Service
The other day I was at the airport and ordered a chicken sandwich from one of the “to go” restaurants. When it came time to pay, they didn’t ask me for a tip. For a moment, I thought, “Did I go back in time?” This is just my opinion, but the concept of tipping is getting out of hand. I go to a fast-food restaurant and order a burger and fries. The person behind the counter takes my money and gives me my food. For most of my life – until the recent past – the customer wasn’t expected to tip. Today, there is an expectation, even if it is disguised as an option. I feel guilty if I don’t check one of the boxes that ask me how much I want to tip.
Tipflation and tip creeping
There are even new terms for this current emphasis on tipping, including tipflation and tip creeping.
Tipflation is the rising expectation of higher tips. It used to be customary to tip 15% for good service and 20% for amazing service. Today you’re seeing options at checkout for tips as high as 30%. According to an article in RetailWire, some tipping options start at 25%.
Tip creeping refers to additional businesses where tips are now expected. People used to tip servers at restaurants, taxi drivers, hotel staff and other traditional service-oriented businesses. Now customers are being asked to tip at auto shops, retail outlets and more. I recently bought a candy bar and paid through the store’s self-service checkout system. I was surprised there was an option to leave a tip for the candy bar that I picked out and paid for on a self-service machine.
According to Wikipedia, the practice of tipping began in Tudor, England. It has an interesting and, by today’s standards, controversial history. In medieval times, tipping was a “master-serf” custom wherein a servant would receive extra money for performing “superbly well.” Somewhere around 1850 or 1860, Americans started tipping. Back then, tipping was tied to higher social status, typically for proving to others you could afford to do so. Obviously, that has changed.
Tipping, which is usually seen as a gesture of appreciation for a good service experience, has become, at least for some businesses, perceived as an obligation, regardless of how good or bad the experience is. There will be a point where this becomes a problem for businesses that force the obligation to tip on the customer. Our customer service research finds almost half of American consumers are willing to pay more for good service. That means they will probably tip, too – when it’s deserved.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Get more information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
Boosting Profits with Personalization with Eric Melchor
Top Takeaways:
Personalization is the new CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization). When done right, it is a game changer for businesses to get customers to perform a desired action, whether it is clicking a link, filling out a form, or buying a product.
A study by Epsilon indicates that 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.
How does personalization impact the bottom line?
Better return on ad spend. Personalization can help you get a better return on investment if you are doing paid ads.
Personalization can decrease cart abandonment.
Personalization helps you grow your email list faster.
A personalized experience increases your average order value.
When a customer adds something to their cart but doesn’t make a purchase, provide a quick survey to find out what prevented them from buying. You will get so many insights about the obstacles your customers face in their journey that will help you create a personalized experience for them.
Plus, Eric shares his easiest, simplest, and most cost-effective suggestion for getting a website to become more personalized. Tune in!
Quotes:
About:
How can personalization boost conversion rate optimization?
What is the impact of personalization on customer experience?
How does personalization impact purchasing behavior?
How can personalization help businesses create stronger relationships with customers?
What are the benefits of personalization for building customer loyalty?
Personalization is the new CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization). When done right, it is a game changer for businesses to get customers to perform a desired action, whether it is clicking a link, filling out a form, or buying a product.
A study by Epsilon indicates that 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.
How does personalization impact the bottom line?
Better return on ad spend. Personalization can help you get a better return on investment if you are doing paid ads.
Personalization can decrease cart abandonment.
Personalization helps you grow your email list faster.
A personalized experience increases your average order value.
When a customer adds something to their cart but doesn’t make a purchase, provide a quick survey to find out what prevented them from buying. You will get so many insights about the obstacles your customers face in their journey that will help you create a personalized experience for them.
Plus, Eric shares his easiest, simplest, and most cost-effective suggestion for getting a website to become more personalized. Tune in!
Quotes:
“Personalization used to cost a lot. But now, businesses have access to tools and applications to create personalized messages for each customer segment that does not require coding or a big IT team.”
About:
Eric Melchor is the Partnerships & Personalization Ambassador at OptiMonk. He is the host of Innovators Can Laugh, a podcast where he interviews European startups.
Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.
This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:
How can personalization boost conversion rate optimization?
What is the impact of personalization on customer experience?
How does personalization impact purchasing behavior?
How can personalization help businesses create stronger relationships with customers?
What are the benefits of personalization for building customer loyalty?
April 3, 2023
Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of April 3, 2023
Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various 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.
How AI is Changing the Jobs of Call Centre Workers by Vanmala Subramaniam
(The Globe and Mail) Starting this summer, travellers impacted by unexpected flight delays or cancellations will no longer need to have phone conversations with human call-centre agents. They’ll be able to deal with an AI-powered voice assistant instead.
My Comment: AI is changing the way companies manage customer support. Some rely too heavily on the new technology, some stay away with a concern about a poor CX, and some have found the perfect balance between technology and the live agent experience. It’s the last group that will win the digital customer experience game. This article uses Air Canada as a case study for properly using AI/automated/self-service support to deliver a better CX. Of course, if the customer/passenger needs help beyond the self-service experience, they can connect with a human agent.
The Next Frontier of Customer Engagement: AI-enabled Customer Service by Avinash Chandra Das
(McKinsey & Company) How to engage customers—and keep them engaged—is a focal question for organizations across the business-to-consumer (B2C) landscape, where disintermediation by digital platforms continues to erode traditional business models. Engaged customers are more loyal, have more touchpoints with their chosen brands, and deliver greater value over their lifetime.
My Comment: Let’s stay with the theme of AI-enabled customer service and read this great article from McKinsey on what they believe the very near future of customer service and CX will look like. Our customer service and CX research is finding that even though the phone is the primary channel of communication between a company and its customers, the digital self-service experience is a viable option for almost a third of American consumers.
Five Customer Experience Trends From NRF 2023 That Retailers Need to Know by Prelini Udayan-Chiechi
(diginomica) Consumers are rewarding retailers who provide low-friction, flexible and sustainable offerings. Prelini Udayan-Chiechi of Zendesk shares the five big takeways from NRF2023 – and how retailers can deliver a competitive omnichannel customer experience.
My Comment: Within the five retail trends shared in this article is a concept called “phygital” retail. The author describes this as customers being forced to digital commerce platforms during the pandemic, and even though they are back shopping at traditional brick-and mortar stores, they still like some of the perks that a digital experience offers. A very interesting concept! In addition, there are four other trends you’ll most likely agree with.
5 Unique Lessons From Top CX Brand Glossier by Steven Van Belleghem
(Steven Van Belleghem) The story of the Glossier brand is pretty impressive. In 2010, Emily Weiss started the makeup and skincare blog “Into the Gloss” (ITG) in her own free time, while she was working at Vogue. She worked on it every day between 4.00 and 8.00, after which she fully focused on her paying job as an editorial assistant. As the platform grew, she left Vogue in 2013 to focus on creating a curated e-commerce platform for ‘Into the Gloss’.
My Comment: If you’ve been following this weekly roundup of articles, you should be familiar with Steven Van Belleghem, one of the world’s leading customer experience gurus. He’s written a short article about Glossier, a well-known and respected beauty brand with a “die-hard customer-first culture.” Here you’ll find five CX ideas that any company should consider based on Glossier’s incredible success.
How Amazon Prime Created a Bad Customer Experience for Everyone Else by Nichole Devolites
(CMSWire) Amazon Prime shipping, in most cases, is faster than virtually every other ecommerce or brick-and-mortar store in existence. It’s a lovely thing for individual consumers, but not for the businesses that can’t compete with this increasingly impatient consumer mindset Amazon inadvertently created (if you’ve seen the original Willy Wonka movie, you know there are a whole lot of Veruca Salts these days).
My Comment: For several years, I’ve preached that our customers no longer compare us to a direct competitor but instead to the brands they enjoy doing business with the most. In other words, the ones that provide the best customer service and experience. And the brand most often mentioned in my customer service keynote speeches (when I ask, “who are the favorite companies you do business with) is Amazon. They have met and exceeded customers’ expectations in many areas – and now these customers want this from every company they do business with.
BONUS
Top 10 Ways Customer Experience (CX) Makes a Better World by Jeannie Walters
(Experience Action) In this episode, we’re presenting the top ten ways Customer Experience (CX) makes a better world, which relates directly to Jeannie’s mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™. Tune in for the countdown!
My Comment: Customer experience expert Jeannie Walters is celebrating the tenth episode of her podcast, Experience Action. To commemorate this milestone, she is sharing her Top Ten Ways Customer Experience (CX) Makes a Better World. It’s only seven-and-a-half minutes. A great listen!
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
How AI is Changing the Jobs of Call Centre Workers by Vanmala Subramaniam
(The Globe and Mail) Starting this summer, travellers impacted by unexpected flight delays or cancellations will no longer need to have phone conversations with human call-centre agents. They’ll be able to deal with an AI-powered voice assistant instead.
My Comment: AI is changing the way companies manage customer support. Some rely too heavily on the new technology, some stay away with a concern about a poor CX, and some have found the perfect balance between technology and the live agent experience. It’s the last group that will win the digital customer experience game. This article uses Air Canada as a case study for properly using AI/automated/self-service support to deliver a better CX. Of course, if the customer/passenger needs help beyond the self-service experience, they can connect with a human agent.
The Next Frontier of Customer Engagement: AI-enabled Customer Service by Avinash Chandra Das
(McKinsey & Company) How to engage customers—and keep them engaged—is a focal question for organizations across the business-to-consumer (B2C) landscape, where disintermediation by digital platforms continues to erode traditional business models. Engaged customers are more loyal, have more touchpoints with their chosen brands, and deliver greater value over their lifetime.
My Comment: Let’s stay with the theme of AI-enabled customer service and read this great article from McKinsey on what they believe the very near future of customer service and CX will look like. Our customer service and CX research is finding that even though the phone is the primary channel of communication between a company and its customers, the digital self-service experience is a viable option for almost a third of American consumers.
Five Customer Experience Trends From NRF 2023 That Retailers Need to Know by Prelini Udayan-Chiechi
(diginomica) Consumers are rewarding retailers who provide low-friction, flexible and sustainable offerings. Prelini Udayan-Chiechi of Zendesk shares the five big takeways from NRF2023 – and how retailers can deliver a competitive omnichannel customer experience.
My Comment: Within the five retail trends shared in this article is a concept called “phygital” retail. The author describes this as customers being forced to digital commerce platforms during the pandemic, and even though they are back shopping at traditional brick-and mortar stores, they still like some of the perks that a digital experience offers. A very interesting concept! In addition, there are four other trends you’ll most likely agree with.
5 Unique Lessons From Top CX Brand Glossier by Steven Van Belleghem
(Steven Van Belleghem) The story of the Glossier brand is pretty impressive. In 2010, Emily Weiss started the makeup and skincare blog “Into the Gloss” (ITG) in her own free time, while she was working at Vogue. She worked on it every day between 4.00 and 8.00, after which she fully focused on her paying job as an editorial assistant. As the platform grew, she left Vogue in 2013 to focus on creating a curated e-commerce platform for ‘Into the Gloss’.
My Comment: If you’ve been following this weekly roundup of articles, you should be familiar with Steven Van Belleghem, one of the world’s leading customer experience gurus. He’s written a short article about Glossier, a well-known and respected beauty brand with a “die-hard customer-first culture.” Here you’ll find five CX ideas that any company should consider based on Glossier’s incredible success.
How Amazon Prime Created a Bad Customer Experience for Everyone Else by Nichole Devolites
(CMSWire) Amazon Prime shipping, in most cases, is faster than virtually every other ecommerce or brick-and-mortar store in existence. It’s a lovely thing for individual consumers, but not for the businesses that can’t compete with this increasingly impatient consumer mindset Amazon inadvertently created (if you’ve seen the original Willy Wonka movie, you know there are a whole lot of Veruca Salts these days).
My Comment: For several years, I’ve preached that our customers no longer compare us to a direct competitor but instead to the brands they enjoy doing business with the most. In other words, the ones that provide the best customer service and experience. And the brand most often mentioned in my customer service keynote speeches (when I ask, “who are the favorite companies you do business with) is Amazon. They have met and exceeded customers’ expectations in many areas – and now these customers want this from every company they do business with.
BONUS
Top 10 Ways Customer Experience (CX) Makes a Better World by Jeannie Walters
(Experience Action) In this episode, we’re presenting the top ten ways Customer Experience (CX) makes a better world, which relates directly to Jeannie’s mission To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™. Tune in for the countdown!
My Comment: Customer experience expert Jeannie Walters is celebrating the tenth episode of her podcast, Experience Action. To commemorate this milestone, she is sharing her Top Ten Ways Customer Experience (CX) Makes a Better World. It’s only seven-and-a-half minutes. A great listen!
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
March 31, 2023
Guest Post: Good Customer Service – How to Get It
This week, we feature an article by Josh Centers, a Business Journalist at TextExpander, a platform that empowers teams and individuals to save time and eliminate repetitive typing with just a few keystrokes. He shares the challenges that customer service representatives face and how companies can overcome them.
Good customer service is something we cherish. Think back to your latest amazing customer service experience. Maybe the rep gave you a refund without questions or quickly solved a technical issue. You probably remembered it because it’s not always the norm, and there is a perception that great customer service has been harder to find.
A recent NBC poll found that 75% of respondents believe customer experience has worsened after the pandemic, with 78% saying they’ve had to contact a company multiple times to obtain a resolution. Most said they had to wait 30 minutes or longer for an agent when placing a customer service call. Overall customer satisfaction has been on a steep decline since 2018.
To understand how you can improve your odds of great customer service, you must first understand the challenges customer service reps face. Once you can empathize with them, you can better understand how to get good customer service.
Excellent customer service isn’t easy
Any customer service rep will tell you that almost no one contacts customer service because they’re happy. Customers are already irritated by a problem; otherwise, they wouldn’t take time out of their day. That immediately sets the interaction off on a bad foot.
Search TikTok or YouTube for “customer service,” and you get a stream of customer service reps recording themselves being screamed at or otherwise abused. You’ll also find funny videos of customer service reps blowing off steam in creative ways.
This isn’t merely an anecdotal observation. A 2020 study by Cornell University cites “call center agent” as one of the ten most stressful jobs in the world, with 77% of survey respondents reporting high or very high levels of personal stress and 87% reporting high or very high stress in their jobs. Over 50% of respondents reported being prescribed medication to alleviate stress and anxiety.
Earlier this year, Jeff Toister of Toister Performance Solutions and author of The Service Culture Handbook surveyed 951 customer service agents on their burnout risk. 59% of agents are at risk of burnout, while 28% face a severe risk of burnout.
That’s a sobering statistic, but there is a bright spot. Compared to his 2016 survey, there was a 15 percentage point reduction in overall burnout risk and a 2 percentage point reduction in severe burnout risk.
What caused the reduction in burnout risk? Toister has a theory.
“The hypothesis is that burnout is still high. But we’re also more aware of it. And when you’re more aware of it, sometimes it gets a little bit better,” Toister says.
The first step in solving a problem is becoming aware of it, and as awareness has grown, customer service leaders have grown more supportive.
“There’s a higher percentage of agents overall that are reporting their company is customer focused. More agents are saying, ‘Hey, I’m empowered to do more than I have been in the past.’ That’s a big improvement,” Toister says.
Good customer service is more challenging
In the wake of the pandemic, customer service reps have to wear more hats. Per Forbes:
“Instead of being able to focus on doing their jobs well, frontline employees have been forced into new roles. They don’t just answer customer questions or sell products—now they are security guards, mask mandate enforcers, listening ears and bearers of bad news.”
Customers are angry, frustrated, and stressed; unfortunately, customer service agents often take the brunt of it. From The New York Times:
“Have you seen a man in his 60s have a full temper tantrum because we don’t have the expensive imported cheese he wants?” said the employee, Anna Luna, who described the mood at the store, in Minnesota, as “angry, confused and fearful.”
“You’re looking at someone and thinking, ‘I don’t think this is about the cheese.’”
“The customer uses words like ‘you’ to describe the issue they’re having with the organization, but the rep is not the person—most of the time—who caused the problem. And so it’s hard to feel like a human punching bag when you’re on the frontlines of customer service,” Toister says.
Investor Julie Fredrickson of chaotic.capital summed up the current American condition to Vanity Fair:
“Endocrine systems get fried. There’s too much cortisol, you’ve been running on adrenaline, eventually you tap out. Everyone feels nuts right now because what on earth are we supposed to do with the fact that we’ve had this incredible rate of change for so long. We think we’re keeping up with it, but our bodies are like, ‘Oh, actually no. We have no idea what’s going on.’ ”
Everyone is having a hard time right now, and it’s important to remember that in our day-to-day interactions. Practice patience, kindness, and understanding when interacting with others. A rule we have here at TextExpander is to always assume the best intentions of each other, which helps avoid misunderstandings.
Customer service teams are short-staffed
As customer service has grown more challenging, fewer people want to fill the role.
You’re probably no stranger to the term The Great Resignation, but it’s a very real phenomenon. If you lead a team, it’s important to keep in mind that up to 87% of your team members could be willing to leave at any time.
“CSRs are increasingly leaving en masse, presenting increased problems across a multitude of business aspects. Leaders must recognize these high levels of attrition will negatively impact remaining staff, harm the customer experience and perhaps lead to even higher attrition rates in the future,” says Deborah Alvord, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner.
Unfortunately, understaffing puts more stress on the remaining team. However, there are opportunities there. Many companies have turned to chatbots to reduce the load.
If a chatbot doesn’t effectively handle the issue, not only is it an escalation, it’s an escalation where the customer is now annoyed by the bot and that makes the agent’s job harder,” Toister says.
“But on the other hand, I think some of the more repetitive type of requests—the less interesting type of requests—those are taken off the agent’s plate. And maybe for a lot of agents, their work becomes a bit more interesting,” Toister says.
“And so what that leads to is [customer service reps are] a little bit more engaged with each interaction than if they’re answering the same question over and over and over again,” Toister adds.
Customer service agents do care
When dealing with customer service, it’s important to understand that reps want to help you solve your problems, and they’re often emotionally invested in it, contributing to high burnout risk.
“What the research is really clear on is customer service reps do not have a motivation problem. This is kind of a fallacy of customer service. Leadership will say, ‘I need to motivate my team. No, you do not,’ Toister says.
Rather, Toister says, the challenge for managers is not to demotivate their teams. Agents come into the job highly motivated, but many experience a drop-off after training is finished.
“They came to work optimistic that this is going to be a great environment,” Toister adds.
Provide that great environment, and you’ll keep your teams motivated. One way you can do that is by creating and enforcing employee-centric values like the ones we have here at TextExpander.
Toister says that many new agents find it hard to access the information they need and tire of typing the same messages over and over again, two problems that TextExpander solves.
Good customer service is a two-way street
With all that established, let’s address the original question: How can you get great customer service?
“One, be pleasant. I know sometimes you get upset, you’re angry, or you just assume that the other person is there to serve you. But that’s not how human interactions really work. So if you’re pleasant, you’re kind, and you treat the other person with respect, it’s human nature for them to want to serve you better,” Toister says.
Another key is clear communication.
“In many cases, as customers, we don’t do a particularly good store job of telling our story. We make it unnecessarily difficult for service providers to serve us. And so if we can focus on being really, really clear in our communication, making it easier for them to serve us, then I think we’ll probably get better and faster service,” Toister says.
“Support is a two-way street, to give great support, I also need detailed information, the more I know, the better I can help. I’ll always try my best but there is only so much I can do with ‘Help! It’s not working.’,” says Vince Crighton, the support team lead at TextExpander.
Toister’s first two points may seem obvious, but his third point may surprise you: give up some control.
“In customer service interactions, there’s often a fight for control between the customer and the employee. Both want to be on top at times,” Toister says.
“And if we give up control and we show respect to the person who’s serving us, not only do you demonstrate respect, but you also take away that tension, and in many cases, you’re more likely to get the help that you were looking for,” Toistery continues.
The idea, Toister says, is to demonstrate, “Hey, I know you’re an expert. Here’s what I’m trying to achieve. What do you think is the best way to do it?”
“The same skills that we would use serving our customers you should use when you’re a customer yourself. Customer service, ultimately, is a two-way street,” Toister says.
This article was originally published on TextExpander.
Josh Centers is a Business Journalist at TextExpander. His work has been featured in USA Today, Macworld, Wirecutter, and The Washington Post.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors, go to customerserviceblog.com.
Read Shep’s latest Forbes article: Industry Insider Discounts Can Lead To Great Word-Of-Mouth Endorsements And Recommendations
[image error]
Good customer service is something we cherish. Think back to your latest amazing customer service experience. Maybe the rep gave you a refund without questions or quickly solved a technical issue. You probably remembered it because it’s not always the norm, and there is a perception that great customer service has been harder to find.
A recent NBC poll found that 75% of respondents believe customer experience has worsened after the pandemic, with 78% saying they’ve had to contact a company multiple times to obtain a resolution. Most said they had to wait 30 minutes or longer for an agent when placing a customer service call. Overall customer satisfaction has been on a steep decline since 2018.
To understand how you can improve your odds of great customer service, you must first understand the challenges customer service reps face. Once you can empathize with them, you can better understand how to get good customer service.
Excellent customer service isn’t easy
Any customer service rep will tell you that almost no one contacts customer service because they’re happy. Customers are already irritated by a problem; otherwise, they wouldn’t take time out of their day. That immediately sets the interaction off on a bad foot.
Search TikTok or YouTube for “customer service,” and you get a stream of customer service reps recording themselves being screamed at or otherwise abused. You’ll also find funny videos of customer service reps blowing off steam in creative ways.
This isn’t merely an anecdotal observation. A 2020 study by Cornell University cites “call center agent” as one of the ten most stressful jobs in the world, with 77% of survey respondents reporting high or very high levels of personal stress and 87% reporting high or very high stress in their jobs. Over 50% of respondents reported being prescribed medication to alleviate stress and anxiety.
Earlier this year, Jeff Toister of Toister Performance Solutions and author of The Service Culture Handbook surveyed 951 customer service agents on their burnout risk. 59% of agents are at risk of burnout, while 28% face a severe risk of burnout.
That’s a sobering statistic, but there is a bright spot. Compared to his 2016 survey, there was a 15 percentage point reduction in overall burnout risk and a 2 percentage point reduction in severe burnout risk.
What caused the reduction in burnout risk? Toister has a theory.
“The hypothesis is that burnout is still high. But we’re also more aware of it. And when you’re more aware of it, sometimes it gets a little bit better,” Toister says.
The first step in solving a problem is becoming aware of it, and as awareness has grown, customer service leaders have grown more supportive.
“There’s a higher percentage of agents overall that are reporting their company is customer focused. More agents are saying, ‘Hey, I’m empowered to do more than I have been in the past.’ That’s a big improvement,” Toister says.
Good customer service is more challenging
In the wake of the pandemic, customer service reps have to wear more hats. Per Forbes:
“Instead of being able to focus on doing their jobs well, frontline employees have been forced into new roles. They don’t just answer customer questions or sell products—now they are security guards, mask mandate enforcers, listening ears and bearers of bad news.”
Customers are angry, frustrated, and stressed; unfortunately, customer service agents often take the brunt of it. From The New York Times:
“Have you seen a man in his 60s have a full temper tantrum because we don’t have the expensive imported cheese he wants?” said the employee, Anna Luna, who described the mood at the store, in Minnesota, as “angry, confused and fearful.”
“You’re looking at someone and thinking, ‘I don’t think this is about the cheese.’”
“The customer uses words like ‘you’ to describe the issue they’re having with the organization, but the rep is not the person—most of the time—who caused the problem. And so it’s hard to feel like a human punching bag when you’re on the frontlines of customer service,” Toister says.
Investor Julie Fredrickson of chaotic.capital summed up the current American condition to Vanity Fair:
“Endocrine systems get fried. There’s too much cortisol, you’ve been running on adrenaline, eventually you tap out. Everyone feels nuts right now because what on earth are we supposed to do with the fact that we’ve had this incredible rate of change for so long. We think we’re keeping up with it, but our bodies are like, ‘Oh, actually no. We have no idea what’s going on.’ ”
Everyone is having a hard time right now, and it’s important to remember that in our day-to-day interactions. Practice patience, kindness, and understanding when interacting with others. A rule we have here at TextExpander is to always assume the best intentions of each other, which helps avoid misunderstandings.
Customer service teams are short-staffed
As customer service has grown more challenging, fewer people want to fill the role.
You’re probably no stranger to the term The Great Resignation, but it’s a very real phenomenon. If you lead a team, it’s important to keep in mind that up to 87% of your team members could be willing to leave at any time.
“CSRs are increasingly leaving en masse, presenting increased problems across a multitude of business aspects. Leaders must recognize these high levels of attrition will negatively impact remaining staff, harm the customer experience and perhaps lead to even higher attrition rates in the future,” says Deborah Alvord, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner.
Unfortunately, understaffing puts more stress on the remaining team. However, there are opportunities there. Many companies have turned to chatbots to reduce the load.
If a chatbot doesn’t effectively handle the issue, not only is it an escalation, it’s an escalation where the customer is now annoyed by the bot and that makes the agent’s job harder,” Toister says.
“But on the other hand, I think some of the more repetitive type of requests—the less interesting type of requests—those are taken off the agent’s plate. And maybe for a lot of agents, their work becomes a bit more interesting,” Toister says.
“And so what that leads to is [customer service reps are] a little bit more engaged with each interaction than if they’re answering the same question over and over and over again,” Toister adds.
Customer service agents do care
When dealing with customer service, it’s important to understand that reps want to help you solve your problems, and they’re often emotionally invested in it, contributing to high burnout risk.
“What the research is really clear on is customer service reps do not have a motivation problem. This is kind of a fallacy of customer service. Leadership will say, ‘I need to motivate my team. No, you do not,’ Toister says.
Rather, Toister says, the challenge for managers is not to demotivate their teams. Agents come into the job highly motivated, but many experience a drop-off after training is finished.
“They came to work optimistic that this is going to be a great environment,” Toister adds.
Provide that great environment, and you’ll keep your teams motivated. One way you can do that is by creating and enforcing employee-centric values like the ones we have here at TextExpander.
Toister says that many new agents find it hard to access the information they need and tire of typing the same messages over and over again, two problems that TextExpander solves.
Good customer service is a two-way street
With all that established, let’s address the original question: How can you get great customer service?
“One, be pleasant. I know sometimes you get upset, you’re angry, or you just assume that the other person is there to serve you. But that’s not how human interactions really work. So if you’re pleasant, you’re kind, and you treat the other person with respect, it’s human nature for them to want to serve you better,” Toister says.
Another key is clear communication.
“In many cases, as customers, we don’t do a particularly good store job of telling our story. We make it unnecessarily difficult for service providers to serve us. And so if we can focus on being really, really clear in our communication, making it easier for them to serve us, then I think we’ll probably get better and faster service,” Toister says.
“Support is a two-way street, to give great support, I also need detailed information, the more I know, the better I can help. I’ll always try my best but there is only so much I can do with ‘Help! It’s not working.’,” says Vince Crighton, the support team lead at TextExpander.
Toister’s first two points may seem obvious, but his third point may surprise you: give up some control.
“In customer service interactions, there’s often a fight for control between the customer and the employee. Both want to be on top at times,” Toister says.
“And if we give up control and we show respect to the person who’s serving us, not only do you demonstrate respect, but you also take away that tension, and in many cases, you’re more likely to get the help that you were looking for,” Toistery continues.
The idea, Toister says, is to demonstrate, “Hey, I know you’re an expert. Here’s what I’m trying to achieve. What do you think is the best way to do it?”
“The same skills that we would use serving our customers you should use when you’re a customer yourself. Customer service, ultimately, is a two-way street,” Toister says.
This article was originally published on TextExpander.
Josh Centers is a Business Journalist at TextExpander. His work has been featured in USA Today, Macworld, Wirecutter, and The Washington Post.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors, go to customerserviceblog.com.
Read Shep’s latest Forbes article: Industry Insider Discounts Can Lead To Great Word-Of-Mouth Endorsements And Recommendations
[image error]
March 28, 2023
Customers Don’t Care About the Details; They Care About the Destination
On a recent flight, the captain of the airplane announced over the PA system what time we would arrive at our destination. That would have been enough to make most people happy. However, he continued his announcement with a three-minute-plus speech. We learned that we would take off to the west, make a U-turn a few minutes later to head east, how high we would go, the various cities we would be flying over, that we would take a right turn as we approached the runway to land, and more. I looked around and noticed many people were annoyed or had stopped paying attention to the long-winded announcement. The point is most customers don’t care as much about the details of the journey as they care about the destination.
Here’s another example, which has nothing to do with a journey but does have to do with an overload of details that can hurt a sale or erode the customer experience. Some people love a fancy, expensive sports car, while others just want reliable transportation. Even though these customers essentially want the same thing – a car to get them from one place to another – they are very different customers.
A few years ago, my wife and I were looking for a new car. We narrowed it down to the make and model – even the color – we thought we wanted. We walked into the dealership and were approached by a salesperson who was very friendly and engaging. Then, we told him what we were looking for. So, he took us over to the exact car we wanted. He was very excited. He started to share details about the size of the engine, how many cylinders, how quickly the car could accelerate from zero to 60, the RPMs, and other details that mattered nothing to us.
Had he asked why we were interested in this model car, he would have realized we had no real interest in such details. Our version of the destination was that we wanted a nice-looking car (and it was) that was comfortable, safe, and easy to drive. Maybe we wanted to know a few other details about the car, but nothing to the extent he was sharing. Had he paid attention, he would have noticed he had us when he said, “I have the exact car you’re looking for.”
My point is that most customers don’t care about the details behind the experience or product they are buying. It’s up to us to recognize this and respond accordingly. All they want to know is what awaits them at their metaphorical destination.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Get more information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
March 27, 2023
The Human-AI CX Partnership with Declan Ivory
Top Takeaways:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) bring significant innovations that can truly transform customer service and experience. We now have technology that companies can apply quickly and cost-effectively to deliver the transformational experience customers have expected from the support industry for a long time.
Technology can now deliver a conversational feel to the customer’s interaction with a chatbot. Customer information is now integrated, so chatbots have the same access as human support agents. And often, they can better understand the context of what the customer is contacting them about.
Transitioning from automated to human support needs to be seamless. The customer should have to repeat everything they just said. This personalization and convenience make the customer feel valued throughout the interaction.
Most customer support experiences are reactive. Support agents usually respond to the customer’s issues or questions. However, customer expectations have evolved so that a compelling experience is one where customer support doesn’t wait for something to go wrong; they can predict an issue before it happens and proactively start the conversation with the customer to solve the problem before the customer ever knows about it.
An omnichannel experience is about enabling the customer to engage with you on any channel that makes sense to them. The important thing about this experience is meeting them where they are and demonstrating that you value and understand the customer in every channel they use.
Plus, Shep and Declan discuss how technology has evolved in the customer support world- from clumsy and clunky to a seamless experience. Tune in!
Quotes:
About:
How can artificial intelligence improve customer service and experience (CX)?
Will AI replace human customer service?
What is an omnichannel customer experience?
What is the difference between proactive and reactive customer service?
What are the benefits of AI to customer support teams?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) bring significant innovations that can truly transform customer service and experience. We now have technology that companies can apply quickly and cost-effectively to deliver the transformational experience customers have expected from the support industry for a long time.
Technology can now deliver a conversational feel to the customer’s interaction with a chatbot. Customer information is now integrated, so chatbots have the same access as human support agents. And often, they can better understand the context of what the customer is contacting them about.
Transitioning from automated to human support needs to be seamless. The customer should have to repeat everything they just said. This personalization and convenience make the customer feel valued throughout the interaction.
Most customer support experiences are reactive. Support agents usually respond to the customer’s issues or questions. However, customer expectations have evolved so that a compelling experience is one where customer support doesn’t wait for something to go wrong; they can predict an issue before it happens and proactively start the conversation with the customer to solve the problem before the customer ever knows about it.
An omnichannel experience is about enabling the customer to engage with you on any channel that makes sense to them. The important thing about this experience is meeting them where they are and demonstrating that you value and understand the customer in every channel they use.
Plus, Shep and Declan discuss how technology has evolved in the customer support world- from clumsy and clunky to a seamless experience. Tune in!
Quotes:
“The future is automation and human support. You need the knowledge and understanding that a human support agent brings to handle complex issues. And, you want self-service to be available to quickly handle the more simple transactions.”
“Customer expectations in terms of what they want from a support solution are increasing. They expect companies to solve issues even before they happen.”
“If you are thinking applying AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) to the customer experience, now is the time. Not thinking about how you’re applying these technologies from a support perspective, you’re missing out on a real opportunity.”
About:
Declan Ivory is Intercom’s Vice President of Customer Support. He is an experienced senior leader with a passion for building and developing high-performing teams and applying digital technologies to support organizations.
Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.
This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:
How can artificial intelligence improve customer service and experience (CX)?
Will AI replace human customer service?
What is an omnichannel customer experience?
What is the difference between proactive and reactive customer service?
What are the benefits of AI to customer support teams?
Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of March 27, 2023
Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various 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.
3 Digital Marketing Strategies That Can Improve Customer Retention by John Hall
(Forbes) What happens if you gain 10 new customers but lose 20 from your existing client base? The net result clearly isn’t positive, and if the trend continues, your company’s market share will shrink. Even if your net results were break-even, the business isn’t growing its revenue. In the long term, this can challenge a company’s ability to compete and innovate.
My Comment: A content marketing experience is part of the customer experience. While it may seem like marketing, if done well, content marketing connects with the customer and gets them engaged or emotionally connected. The author, John Hall, is a content marketing expert. He shares three foundational strategies to enhance your CX and improve customer retention.
Your Customers are Happy Because Your Employees are Happy by Katie Pierce
(eRep) Employee happiness significantly impacts customer satisfaction and positive reviews1 regarding your business. If your employees are happy, it will be easier for them to provide the excellent service your customers demand.
My Comment: I’ve written much about this in the past, but it is worth repeating (over and over), and that’s this: What’s happening on the inside of your organization is felt on the outside by customers. This article is about taking care of employees so they will take better care of your customers.
Businesses Willing To Pay Big Bucks for Quality Customer Service by Jack M. Germain
(ECT News Network) Artificial intelligence and ChatGPT promise to revolutionize customer service automation, but is that what customers really want? What if AI in the CRM stack leads to dissatisfied B2B customers fleeing for better treatment?
My Comment: Our customer service research at Shepard Presentations found that about half of American consumers will pay more for better customer service. That number increases in the B2B space. According to this article that cites a Fusion Connect study, 90% of businesses are willing to pay more for better service. How much more? Read the article and find out.
Consumers Less Trusting Compared to 2022 by Retail Customer Experience
(Retail Customer Experience) Consumers have 10% less trust in brands than they did in 2022 and nearly half of consumers are interested in sharing first-party data for a more personalized customer experience.
My Comment: I recently wrote an article about how to get customers to trust you more, so this topic has been on my mind. Without trust, you can’t create long-term repeat business and loyalty. Nor will customers pay attention to you and your efforts to connect with them. At the foundation of trust is transparency. You’ll find some intriguing findings and statistics about what drives trust (and mistrust).
Good Customer Service: How to Get It by Josh Centers
(TextExpander) Good customer service is something we cherish. Think back to your latest amazing customer service experience. Maybe the rep gave you a refund with no questions asked or quickly solved a technical issue. You probably remembered it because it’s not always the norm, and there is a perception that great customer service has been harder to find.
My Comment: The call center agent is one of the more stressful jobs in the world. According to a Cornell University study cited in this article, over “50% of respondents in the study reported being prescribed medication to alleviate stress and anxiety. Between angry customers and a shortage of workers, it’s like a perfect customer service storm for the agent to navigate. Most customer support agents care. They want to do a good job for both their company and the customer.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
3 Digital Marketing Strategies That Can Improve Customer Retention by John Hall
(Forbes) What happens if you gain 10 new customers but lose 20 from your existing client base? The net result clearly isn’t positive, and if the trend continues, your company’s market share will shrink. Even if your net results were break-even, the business isn’t growing its revenue. In the long term, this can challenge a company’s ability to compete and innovate.
My Comment: A content marketing experience is part of the customer experience. While it may seem like marketing, if done well, content marketing connects with the customer and gets them engaged or emotionally connected. The author, John Hall, is a content marketing expert. He shares three foundational strategies to enhance your CX and improve customer retention.
Your Customers are Happy Because Your Employees are Happy by Katie Pierce
(eRep) Employee happiness significantly impacts customer satisfaction and positive reviews1 regarding your business. If your employees are happy, it will be easier for them to provide the excellent service your customers demand.
My Comment: I’ve written much about this in the past, but it is worth repeating (over and over), and that’s this: What’s happening on the inside of your organization is felt on the outside by customers. This article is about taking care of employees so they will take better care of your customers.
Businesses Willing To Pay Big Bucks for Quality Customer Service by Jack M. Germain
(ECT News Network) Artificial intelligence and ChatGPT promise to revolutionize customer service automation, but is that what customers really want? What if AI in the CRM stack leads to dissatisfied B2B customers fleeing for better treatment?
My Comment: Our customer service research at Shepard Presentations found that about half of American consumers will pay more for better customer service. That number increases in the B2B space. According to this article that cites a Fusion Connect study, 90% of businesses are willing to pay more for better service. How much more? Read the article and find out.
Consumers Less Trusting Compared to 2022 by Retail Customer Experience
(Retail Customer Experience) Consumers have 10% less trust in brands than they did in 2022 and nearly half of consumers are interested in sharing first-party data for a more personalized customer experience.
My Comment: I recently wrote an article about how to get customers to trust you more, so this topic has been on my mind. Without trust, you can’t create long-term repeat business and loyalty. Nor will customers pay attention to you and your efforts to connect with them. At the foundation of trust is transparency. You’ll find some intriguing findings and statistics about what drives trust (and mistrust).
Good Customer Service: How to Get It by Josh Centers
(TextExpander) Good customer service is something we cherish. Think back to your latest amazing customer service experience. Maybe the rep gave you a refund with no questions asked or quickly solved a technical issue. You probably remembered it because it’s not always the norm, and there is a perception that great customer service has been harder to find.
My Comment: The call center agent is one of the more stressful jobs in the world. According to a Cornell University study cited in this article, over “50% of respondents in the study reported being prescribed medication to alleviate stress and anxiety. Between angry customers and a shortage of workers, it’s like a perfect customer service storm for the agent to navigate. Most customer support agents care. They want to do a good job for both their company and the customer.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. Go to The Customer Focus™ to learn more about our customer service training programs. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
[image error]
