Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of July 24, 2023

Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various 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.

Retailers’ Attempts To Dissuade Returns May Impact Brand Loyalty by Alicia Thorpe

(RetailWire) The tension between retailers and shoppers is growing, and it’s because of returns. According to the Shippo/Harris Poll survey, “Nearly three in four Americans who have made online purchase returns in the past 12 months (72%) have noticed retailers making online purchase returns more difficult over that time span, and more than half (54%) have felt blindsided by a retailer changing their online purchase return policy.” Here are a few ways Shippo’s report notes that policies are changing.

My Comment: One way to make customers love doing business with you is to be easy and convenient. Our customer service research finds that 53% of American consumers will pay more for a convenient experience. 766% will switch to a competitor if they are more convenient to do business with. And retailers are learning that easy and convenient returns are not just appreciated but also expected. So, it is surprising that retailers are starting to “dissuade returns” and put customer loyalty at risk.

Are You Telling Your Customers The Whole Truth? by Chip Bell

(Forbes) No relationship is likely to be perfect all the time. A healthy customer relationship, like a healthy marriage, is marked by candor and welcomed critique. Honesty fuels more honesty if defensiveness is absent. And as candor triggers improvement, those who serve feel responsive; those served feel heard and valued, and the relationship feels healthy.

My Comment: If your customers can’t trust you, you shouldn’t expect them to do business with you. Chip Bell, customer service expert, shares his take on trust, starting with a question he asked renowned psychologist, Dr. Carl Rogers, “What is the main cause of relationship failure?” His answer was, “Trouble with the truth.”

Why B2B Companies Must Shift Their Focus From Sales To Customers by Dan Gingiss

(Dan Gingiss) All too often, B2B sales overshadow every other business metric – including the retention of existing customers. It’s a decent short-term strategy, but if you’re building a company for the long-term, you need lots of loyal customers. When done right, client experience can actually lessen the burden on sales teams because they don’t have to make up for lost sales on top of their annual goals.

My Comment: Is B2B customer service really that different from B2C customer service? I’ve preached that everyone compares their experiences to the best service they have ever had, regardless of who provided it and where it happened. My friend and fellow CX expert, Dan Gingiss, agrees and does a great job of making his case in this article.

Disruptors — Make an Effort With CX, So Your Customers Don’t Have To by Foundever

(Foundever) As your company gets into its disruptive stride — moving fast and breaking things — there’s a danger of alienating customers. Scaling quickly may negatively impact customer journeys and lead to an inconsistent customer experience (CX). According to Temkin Group, only 13% of customers who experience poor CX will do business again with the same company.

My Comment: How hard do you make it to do business with? Understanding your customer effort scores and feedback is crucial to creating an experience that’s easy and convenient. Convenience is a competitive differentiator, which is why I love the closing idea of this article: Disrupt the competition, not your customers!

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.