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.
How Do Customers Define Customer Experience Marketing? by Ernan Roman
(Direct Marketing News) After more than 10,000 hours of in-depth voice of the customer (VoC) research interviews, we’ve uncovered the six key elements that comprise how customers define a competitively differentiating customer experience in terms of marketing.
My Comment: There is sometimes a disconnect (more often than you would think) between what we think our customers want and what they really want. This is a great article about six key drivers of the customer experience – from the customers’ point of view.
3 Steps to Become a “Customer Company” by Michael Lazerow
(LinkedIn) You need to transform into a customer company. Here are the 3 steps you need to take to become a customer company.
My Comment: This very short and simple article has three great ideas for the customer-focused company; listen (feedback), deliver great content (marketing) and communicate across multiple channels (service).
Employee Engagement: It’s Getting Workers to Think Like Owners by David Sneed
(TLNT) What, exactly, is “employee engagement?” After checking the Internet, I learned that “engaged employees” are those staff members who feel good about the company they work for. And “engaging” them reminds ’em to like their job without a bump in pay. I think I get it. We just renamed “happy workers” because fresh phrasing is fun. The real issue hasn’t changed with the new name though, has it?
My Comment: One way to get employees engaged is to create an atmosphere where they are empowered to act like the owner. Powerful concept! Assuming that the “owner” is interested in create a customer focused company, this short article has some excellent ideas and supports the concept that engaged employees are more productive, care more and deliver a better customer experience.
70% of people trust online product recommendations from friends by Jackie Huba
(Church of the Customer) A new study from Forrester shows that online content in the form of product or brands reviews is trusted by 70% of U.S. consumers.
My Comment: The old saying in business says that people want to do business with people they know like and trust. Trust is huge and this short article shares some very important research about the sources of information that the average customer trusts. My take away is that we have to deliver such an incredible experience – with both quality of product and quality of service – that our customers will evangelize our company. People trust their friends’ opinions far more than any marketing message that a company pushes.
How To Win At Customer Loyalty by Scott Ellis
(020 Interactive) If forced to pick a word that sums up what makes customer loyalty work, it’s “experience.” And I would define loyalty as the combination psychological, emotional and analytical factors through which your customers relate a positive experience to your business, and act accordingly.
My Comment: Excellent short article about customer loyalty that takes the idea of customer emotion and engagement and combines it with creating the experience. The result, as I like to say (and the author credits) is that the customer comes back the next time – every time.
