Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of September 8, 2025
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 comments about each article and would like to hear what you think too.
Expert Opinion: Mistakes that Damage the Customer Experience and How to Avoid Them by Chris Lowe
(Marketing Stockport) Whether you’re in professional services, hospitality, retail, or beyond, small Customer Experience (CX) mistakes often go unnoticed internally but leave a significant impact on customer loyalty, reputation, and revenue. The good news? Most are fixable, once you spot them.
My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five Roundup with an excellent article highlighting six common mistakes that companies make, causing customers to defect from brands they love. There are some compelling statistics to support this that align with my customer experience research. One of my favorites is #3, which is “Inconsistent Service Across Touchpoints.” Inconsistency erodes trust and kills the chance for customer loyalty.
5 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research Methods + Tips by Fadeke Adegbuyi
(Shopify) With the right customer satisfaction and loyalty research techniques, you can understand what customers actually think and better meet expectations.
My Comment: Customer feedback is a gift. Good or bad, recognize it as the opportunity to do more of a good thing or eliminate something that isn’t working. And there are many ways to approach customer satisfaction, such as surveys, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, social listening, and more. Here you’ll find several ideas that, regardless of the type of business you’re in, will work for you.
How Narrative Loyalty is Redefining Customer Loyalty by Beth McCoy
(The Wise Marketer) In today’s crowded marketplace, many of us have grown numb to the endless parade of similar rewards programs. Something different is happening, though. Smart brands are moving beyond point systems that exhaust consumer patience to embrace a tool fundamental to human connection: storytelling.
My Comment: Narrative loyalty is about telling a story that compels the customer to want to keep doing business with you. One of my favorite examples of this, and one that is mentioned in the article, is Patagonia. Their customers not only love their products. They love the story. Patagonia’s focus on making the planet a better place is a story that gets customers to buy, gets them to share the story with their friends, and gets them to come back again and again.
The New 4 Ps of Customer Engagement by Scott Opiela
(Retail Customer Experience) In today’s digital-first world, consumers expect connection and personalization, not a transaction. With the ability to control when, where, and how they engage with brands, consumers are more empowered than ever, putting increased pressure on brands to rethink their engagement strategies.
My Comment: The classic “4 Ps of Marketing” are product, price, place, and promotion. This article shares with us a more modern version that is worth considering. The new “4 Ps” are persistent, personalized, prescriptive, and predictive. The author expands on each of these and suggests that the big difference is that the original 4 Ps helped build brands, and the new 4 Ps helps grow them. Read the article and you’ll understand the difference.
CX Leaders Expect Self-Service and Live Chat to Overtake Phone, Email by 2027 by Michael Brady
(CX Dive) The promise of agent assist solutions is that they can help customer service professionals resolve complex cases more efficiently, according to Gartner. However, both customers and CX leaders are skeptical that AI agents will significantly expand and improve self-service.
My Comment: Self-service customer support will continue to increase. Younger customers appreciate digital support and also embrace live chat, which is live support, just not on a phone. As the younger customer becomes a more powerful economic force, companies will have to cater to the communication channels their customers want to use. This short article gives you the opinions and insights of 265 customer service and support executives.
Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
Expert Opinion: Mistakes that Damage the Customer Experience and How to Avoid Them by Chris Lowe
(Marketing Stockport) Whether you’re in professional services, hospitality, retail, or beyond, small Customer Experience (CX) mistakes often go unnoticed internally but leave a significant impact on customer loyalty, reputation, and revenue. The good news? Most are fixable, once you spot them.
My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five Roundup with an excellent article highlighting six common mistakes that companies make, causing customers to defect from brands they love. There are some compelling statistics to support this that align with my customer experience research. One of my favorites is #3, which is “Inconsistent Service Across Touchpoints.” Inconsistency erodes trust and kills the chance for customer loyalty.
5 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research Methods + Tips by Fadeke Adegbuyi
(Shopify) With the right customer satisfaction and loyalty research techniques, you can understand what customers actually think and better meet expectations.
My Comment: Customer feedback is a gift. Good or bad, recognize it as the opportunity to do more of a good thing or eliminate something that isn’t working. And there are many ways to approach customer satisfaction, such as surveys, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, social listening, and more. Here you’ll find several ideas that, regardless of the type of business you’re in, will work for you.
How Narrative Loyalty is Redefining Customer Loyalty by Beth McCoy
(The Wise Marketer) In today’s crowded marketplace, many of us have grown numb to the endless parade of similar rewards programs. Something different is happening, though. Smart brands are moving beyond point systems that exhaust consumer patience to embrace a tool fundamental to human connection: storytelling.
My Comment: Narrative loyalty is about telling a story that compels the customer to want to keep doing business with you. One of my favorite examples of this, and one that is mentioned in the article, is Patagonia. Their customers not only love their products. They love the story. Patagonia’s focus on making the planet a better place is a story that gets customers to buy, gets them to share the story with their friends, and gets them to come back again and again.
The New 4 Ps of Customer Engagement by Scott Opiela
(Retail Customer Experience) In today’s digital-first world, consumers expect connection and personalization, not a transaction. With the ability to control when, where, and how they engage with brands, consumers are more empowered than ever, putting increased pressure on brands to rethink their engagement strategies.
My Comment: The classic “4 Ps of Marketing” are product, price, place, and promotion. This article shares with us a more modern version that is worth considering. The new “4 Ps” are persistent, personalized, prescriptive, and predictive. The author expands on each of these and suggests that the big difference is that the original 4 Ps helped build brands, and the new 4 Ps helps grow them. Read the article and you’ll understand the difference.
CX Leaders Expect Self-Service and Live Chat to Overtake Phone, Email by 2027 by Michael Brady
(CX Dive) The promise of agent assist solutions is that they can help customer service professionals resolve complex cases more efficiently, according to Gartner. However, both customers and CX leaders are skeptical that AI agents will significantly expand and improve self-service.
My Comment: Self-service customer support will continue to increase. Younger customers appreciate digital support and also embrace live chat, which is live support, just not on a phone. As the younger customer becomes a more powerful economic force, companies will have to cater to the communication channels their customers want to use. This short article gives you the opinions and insights of 265 customer service and support executives.
Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
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