Welcome to another monthly roundup of the must-read articles by the best in our field! A lot has happened this month, the first month of the year, and there’s a lot to catch up on. In order to save you precious time going through the trouble of looking for the right articles to read, I have summarized the 5 most important articles of the month. Enjoy!

Five ways to innovate retail customer service in 2016

“Clothing that’s one-size-fits-all never really fits. The same goes for one-size-fits-all customer service solutions. Whether it’s live chat, voice support, or self-service, consumers have strong preferences for how they receive support. And they want retailers to provide a good fit.”  – In 2016, retailers will face enormous pressure to build customer relationships across a wide range of channels. But instead of looking at this as a challenge, Chelsea Larsson suggests we treat it like an opportunity for innovation. Enjoy her useful tips, such as getting to know your customers better, building strong relationships with them, and investing in internal support.

3 Things Your Competitors Can Teach You about Customer Service Skills

Much of the data collected by Zendesk and the Harvard Business Review reports that 50-70% are frustrated with your customer service skills. Consulting giant Accenture reports a 66% chance of your customers switching to a competitor due to poor customer service.

The breakdown of poor customer service is defined as Rude or unhelpful staff (42%), tired of being put on hold (25%), and simply feeling unappreciated as a customer looking for help (53%.) On the other side of the coin, conjugate data shows that providing admirable customer service engenders customer loyalty. So what exactly are some of your top competitors doing? Here are the 3 things that every successful company does to improve their customer service.

5 Ways to Turn Facebook Messenger Into Your Best Customer Service Tool

In 2015, we learned that social networks can be an important aspect of delivering great customer service, as it allows a company to best engage with customers and handle their reviews. Now, Blake Morgan takes this idea one step forward in this Forbes article, suggesting that we use Facebook Messenger as a customer service tool – “Your customers are on Facebook throughout the day—especially those that work with the internet, so it’s only natural they would much rather stay on the same website rather than switch or pick up the phone to call you. Many of them use Facebook Messenger now like text message, chatting with their friends and family throughout the day.”

10 Ways to Get Better Customer Service Out of Even the Worst Companies

It’s peak season for returns—and customer service disappointment. Yes, January is over, and this means people are returning or exchanging their holiday gifts. It’s that time of the year when consumer demand and expectations are high, and time is short. Customer research psychologist Kit Yarrow uses her knowledge of the shopper’s mind to share 10 golden tips to help customer care representatives and managers in this time of year…

21 of the Best Customer Service Stories Ever

Think customer service is becoming a lost art? Here are 21 companies that can prove you wrong! In this post, Stacy Conradt shares 21 beautiful stories of companies that understand the importance of the customer-centric way of work. You can read about LEGO’s gesture to a 7-year-old who lost his Jay ZX minifig, Virgin Trains’ response to a customer’s call of nature, and more. Definitely worth a read!