Top Customer Service and Business Articles
Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online 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.
The 51 Best Customer Service Tips For Entrepreneurs by Mike Michalowicz
(Mike Michalowicz) Here are 51 valuable customer service tips for entrepreneurs that will serve your customers extraordinarily well. Included in this list is everything from attitude to body language to thank you cards . All of it matters.
My Comment: Any company that can’t find at least a dozen ideas in this article doesn’t care about their customer service. Sure, some are common sense. But they are worth thinking about, bringing up in the next meeting and having a discussion about how to use them. My suggestion to anyone reading this great article is to choose the ideas you like, then focus on just one at a time. Maybe one a week or one a month. Sometimes the best ideas are simple – even common sense – but they aren’t always so common!
Invest in Your Customers More Than Your Brand by Michael Schrage
(Harvard Business Review) The overwhelming majority of advertising/promotion/marketing/branding investments and expenditures most organizations make today are more about “selling things” than “helping customers.
My Comment: As soon as I saw the article started with some advice from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, I had to read it. I agree that we would rather our customers want to buy what we sell, rather than us having to sell what we sell. The line from Bezos in the article that rings so true is: “we don’t make money when we sell things. We make money when we help customers make purchase decisions.” Focus on the customer and the money will follow.
Extreme Customer Service: Lessons From Companies That Go Above And Beyond by Co.Create Staff
(Fast Company) A look at some over-the-top ways companies are keeping their customers happy–and what you can learn from their extreme measures.
My Comment: While the best companies are able to deliver customer service that is consistently better than average, every once in a while it’s nice to have something “WOW” you – a level of service that is extreme. This article is filled with examples and ideas to do exactly that.
Lessons From Baseball: 3 Ways To Give The Best Customer Experience by Mark Weber
(Forbes) Baseball managers manage and coach all the players—the goals are to win the game and give the fans a great experience. Business leaders have a similar role to play, managing and coaching all the players from product development to sales to partnering. They aim to beat the competition, while creating a great experience for the company’s fans (its customers).
My Comment: Professional baseball’s spring training is taking place and the athletes are getting ready for another great season of baseball. Why not a little corporate spring training to get ready for a great business season. Here’s a few tips that every manger and leader in business can use to help their team win the game of business.
Do You Need a Customer Service “Spring Cleaning”? by Joseph Callaway
(Alister & Paine) Here are five bad habits (some fairly obvious, others much less so) that might be keeping you from putting clients first—and tactics to help you start sweeping them out with winter’s dust bunnies.
My Comment: I think most people would agree to avoid any of these “bad habits.” A short summary of this article would be to be more customer-centric. When you put the customer first, great things will follow.
A bonus article: It’s not customer service, but this is powerful. My friend Josh Linkner has written an awesome blog that has twenty questions to ask yourself that will aid in your professional and personal growth. Take the time and read through – and answer – a few of these questions. You’ll be glad you did.
