Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of June 26, 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.

Customer Experience Insights From Fast-food Chains by Brittany Hodak

(Brittany Hodak) In today’s experience economy, customers are no longer comparing you to your direct competitors. They’re comparing you to every experience they’ve ever had, anywhere. With intense competition and ever-increasing customer expectations, it’s crucial for brands to seek inspiration from unexpected sources, including those completely outside of their industries.

My Comment: Brittany Hodak is one of my favorite CX experts. In this informative and entertaining article, Hodak takes her SUPER model and uses well-known brands from the fast-food industry to illustrate her points. There is something here for every type of business, large and small, B2C and B2B.

9 Tips For Having A Customer Spotlight At Your Next Customer Advisory Board Meeting by Eyal Danon

(Forbes) One of the more popular attendees at customer advisory board (CAB) meetings is the customer speaker, or more accurately, customer “session owner” as they will (hopefully) do much more than merely speak. CAB members—as evidenced by their post-meeting surveys—like to learn and benchmark how their colleagues’ departments are set up, fit within their organizations, resourced and measured by their management. Most of all, CAB members are especially keen to hear how a fellow CAB member attacked and solved a similar challenge they all face; the lessons learned can be taken immediately back and applied to their own companies.

My Comment: Do you have a CAB (Customer Advisory Board)? If not, this is something to give serious consideration to doing. Imagine a meeting with various customers sharing their feedback at a level that is far beyond a traditional focus group. This short article has some good ideas that will get you started (or perhaps improve) your CAB.

The Art of Customer Service: Lessons From History’s Master Painters by Mark de Bruijn

(MyCustomer) From the Mona Lisa to The Starry Night, art masterpieces live in our minds for the emotion they make us feel. Just like art, the best customer service is about making emotional connections with customers. The need to create customer service masterpieces is increasingly important as businesses face rising customer expectations.

My Comment: What do customer service and the painting masters like Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci have to do with customer service? Let’s start with this quote from the article: “A masterpiece is defined as ‘work done with extraordinary skill’. True customer service is an art masterpiece.” I love that! Read this article and learn from the “masters.”

Beyond CX: Deliver a Total Human Experience by Michael Manfredo

(CMSWire) Between employees quiet quitting, customers frustrated by delays and business partners struggling to meet demand, it’s no surprise that companies are struggling to provide a great customer experience (CX). The problem? Their CX initiatives are failing to move the needle — and at the same time — are lending leadership teams a false sense of security. Case in point: Nearly nine in 10 companies believe they provide excellent CX — but only 11% of customers agree.

My Comment: Here’s a sobering statistic: “Nearly nine in 10 companies believe they provide excellent CX — but only 11% of customers agree.” This is mentioned toward the top of this article. I agree with the author’s idea that CX is about managing every moment or interaction the customer has with the company or brand. Manage each of those moments the right way, and the customer comes back.

Your CX Altitude Change: Customer Centricity to Life Centricity by Julia Ahlfeldt

(CMSWire) It’s high time that businesses realize customers aren’t one-dimensional. They are humans just like us, balancing priorities and navigating a world filled with different forces and influences. For too long, customer-centricity has relied on the oversimplification of customer needs and boxing them into neat little segments. This doesn’t always work because customer needs are fluid — and sometimes even contradictory — which makes building static customer segments that accurately reflect preferences difficulty.

My Comment: This article spins the concept of customer-centricity into a new concept the author refers to as life-centricity. As I read this short article, I quickly realized the point was to go beyond typical transactional interactions. In this brief description, I can’t articulate this as well as the author did in her article, so here’s a quick example. Starbucks doesn’t just sell coffee. They sell an experience that crosses over into other areas of their customers’ lives. Hence, Starbucks’s strategy and product decisions go far beyond the products they sell to how its brand connects with their customer on many other levels.

BONUS

The Value of Retail Customer Experience: 10 Quotes from Industry Leaders by Zac Francis

(eduMe) Ever since the customer took center stage, retailers have consistently asked themselves the same question: What does the customer want? Over the years, answers have ranged from higher quality products to more affordable pricing. For today’s consumer, it’s all about the experience, and 1 in 3 consumers will leave a brand after one bad experience. They expect outstanding service throughout the entire customer journey, starting with initial contact and finishing with post purchase support.

My Comment: I love thought-provoking customer service and CX quotes. Here are ten from some of the best-known – and not so well-known – experts and thought leaders in the industry.

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.