As the year 2016 comes to a close, let us have a look at some of the best customer services articles we were blessed with these past few months. What insights will you take to the unknown of 2017? Which pieces of advice will you opt to leave behind? Here they are!
January 2016
How a Customer Self-Service Portal Improves Customer Experience
Craig Borowski delves into the topic of self-service, and discusses how high the demand has become in the customer service world. The concept of self-service has grown exceedingly in recent years, and continues to become more and more popular.
Borowski elaborates by citing various surveys, one of which proves that according to consumer data, 48% of consumers will search for over 10 minutes before contacting the company. In the past customer service was just a business cliché, says Borowski, but now it is presently one of the most crucial building blocks to a successful business
February 2016
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!
March 2016
Why Millennials Are Such Tough Customers
In contrast to baby boomers, millennials — those born between 1982 and 1994 — may be committed to their mobiles, but they aren’t confused customers. They simply place more emphasis on value and have a lower tolerance for error. This article explores the results of a survey performed by J.D. Power of 600,000 consumers. One fascinating insight is that meeting younger buyers’ hopes can be worthwhile as they are more likely to reuse and recommend a service they liked.
Now you can improve customer retention and raise self-service adoption rate!
April 2016
A Common Sense Approach to Proactive Customer Service
You want to please the customer, but it is not always clear how to do that. Sometimes the trick is finding the right words at the right time, and sometimes it’s just pure intuition.
Machines and computers lack human intuition, which is why they aren’t able to display common sense while providing service. The article explores the powerful aspect of the human side of customer service.
Customers Don’t Care About Customer Service (At Least, Not The Way You Think They Do)
Strange title I know, but this news piece actually includes a great collection of tips and research that led to interesting conclusions. The way customers perceive businesses and the services they provide may be different from what you think.
This article also includes a few self-help tips for those who work on the front lines with the customers.
May 2016
Industry Perspectives on Customer Service Being Tech Driven or Emotions Driven
This is a fascinating panel about the importance of utilizing the right emotions while adapting to new customer service technologies. The panel
participants are all experts in the field of customer service and experience, and specifically emphasize the personal touch and its power for service.
How to Get Good Customer Service Using Social Media
This article is actually a great opportunity to view the world through the eyes of the customer. It teaches customers from all walks of life how to utilize
social media to get a better and faster response from companies. Learn about the way you are being viewed by the very clients you serve through your social media channels.
June 2016
20 Tips for Building Your Customer Service Team
Digital technology had an enormous impact on communication. This advancement is creating a great opportunity to enhance your company’s customer service.
This article by Michael Guta explores the powerful applications of social media, mobile technology, instant communication, big data, analytics and machine learning as tools of better service.
The Evolution of Customer Service: How Companies Are Using Chatbots
It’s become common to see a popup chat-box with a picture of a smiling rep offering assistance in the bottom corner of websites. These chat-boxes use AI to provide answers to frequently asked questions. As the AI continues to improve, these bots are becoming a viable solution for instant customer service.
July 2016
The Art of Amazing Your Customers – 11 Powerful Customer Service Lessons
Learn how to deliver faster and smarter service with these 11 lessons of wonderful customer service. A few crucial points Vala Afshar discusses: Define your culture, anticipate the customer’s needs, and acknowledge that marketing and customer service go hand-in-hand in today’s world.
Chatbots will take over customer service? Not so fast
Chabots are trending these days, with some tech experts proclaiming that bots will soon become the “new app.” Most bots are intended to execute customer service tasks, or to simplify purchases. But what if bots could do more?
This article by Matt Tumbleson explores the current limitations of modern day AI and the incredible potential the future holds for customer service.
August 2016
5 Customer Service Interview Questions Every Manager Should Be Asking
“Talk to me about a bad customer service incident that you’ve experienced.” – Every company needs superstars at the customer service frontlines, this is why the interview for the role has to be very precise and effective.
Check out 5 questions that will help you understand if the person sitting in front of you is made out to become a service rep.
This Is The Worst Customer Service Mistake You Can Make
Deliver a positive experience, and 69% of Americans will recommend you, but a poor experience will send 89% somewhere else. This is why outsourcing your customer service can be a huge risk to your company’s success. Outsourcing might save you money in the short-term, but inside teams offer insider knowledge, local culture, and real understanding of the product. These are the factors that can make or break customer service.
Calculating the ROI of Customer Engagement
Being able to measure your performance is a key step on the path to improve and perfect your customer engagement. Rachel took the ROI model and applied it to community managers to provide a clear outlook on the resources you are using and the benefit they provide. Rachel even added a great and easy to use formula to measure your success.
September 2016
Delivering More Than Customer Service With The Cloud
Intelligent Engagement is all about providing a service that makes customers so satisfied they continue to buy new products from and market the company on their own will. Des Cahill, Oracle VP and head CX evangelist, provides examples that explain the concept of a one-stop-shop of both service and sales.
4 Techniques to Build and Improve B2B Customer Support Teams
Robert C. Johnson is the CEO of TeamSupport.com, a cloud based B2B customer support software platform. In this article he shares professional tips on methods to deliver the best service in the business to business market.
The article details the importance of both multiple service points for the customer and internal training of support agents for customer service excellence.
October 2016
Best Loyalty Programs of the Month – October Halloween Special
Take a look at this roundup of companies highlighting some of the freebies and discounts that dominated this past October in honor of Halloween! Happy Haunting!
November 2016
Using Social Media to Bring Your Customer Service and Marketing Teams Together
“Studies have shown that 42% of the consumer’s social media to express their issues expecting a resolution within 60 minutes maximum, followed by 32% not waiting longer than 30 minutes for an immediate response.”
The DOs and Don’ts of Delivering a Good Social Customer Service Experience
Instead of being fearful that customers are now capable of openly discussing your brand worldwide for all to see, this article stresses the importance of making the most of customer feedback.
Three Ways to Use Social Media Other Than As a Megaphone
This article focuses on different methods of avoiding negative feedback by adopting a proactive strategy. One example is making sure to respond promptly by integrating social channels into the company’s primary support system or CRM.
