1. Using Customer Analytics to Improve Corporate Performance

This article by Louis Columbus helps us gain better insight into attracting new customers while retaining and encouraging existing ones. This is good solid readings because sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics.

2. 10 Steps to Great Customer Service

Jerry LePre’s article provides critical steps to make your customer service team as effective as possible. These tips will help any CS manager improve and become proactive.

3. Why Social Media is the Key to Unlocking Brand Loyalty

Sara Flick of Zog Digital argues that social media may be the best way for businesses to build and maintain brand loyalty and influence their potential customers. She uses this article to argue that each individual social network has a unique value and platform.

4. Customer Data: The Secret to Long-Term Business Success

This article by Sherry Gray helps identify the importance of CRM in finding cost effective solutions to customer concerns. This article helps identify some simple but important ways to turn complaint calls into sales opportunities.

5. And one I wrote –  Customer Service Doesn’t Need To Be Delightful – Just Effective

This article helps summarize an article about the study done by Forrester Data on the definition of successful customer service and the importance of valuing your customer’s time.