January, 2018

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Onward and Upward… Or So the Saying Goes

Contact Center Pipeline

According to thefreedictionary.com, “onward and upward” is an expression that is defined as “something that you say in order to encourage someone to forget an unpleasant experience or failure and to think about the future instead.” Ah, the future! It is always the place at which, when we arrive, everything will be all right. Or […].

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Are You Destined To Be CEO?

Beyond Philosophy

Popular belief has long held that oldest children are responsible, high achievers. And recent social science research indicates that this trait extends to their careers. As explained in this National Public Radio report , firstborn children have the benefit of their parents’ undivided attention early in life, and that advantage can influence their development.

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Five Customer Service Must-Do’s For 2018

ShepHyken

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading about predictions and trends for 2018. It got me thinking about the actions we must take to be competitive. Regardless of your industry, everything has changed about the way we do business. There are some businesses that claim they’ve done things the same way for years, decades, even a century. They claim they do business just as their fathers and grandfathers did.

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This Is What You Say When a Customer Cusses At You

Myra Golden Media

I cuss. A lot. But never have I dared to cuss at a person in a customer service role. And I get rather upset about lousy customer service and still manage to talk nicely to people about any issues I encounter. Some people cuss, and yell and make threats when they are angry about customer service. This is not okay. You have to draw the line on unacceptable behavior with customers, just as I hope you do in your interpersonal relationships when people disrespect you.

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The 2023 Verint Experience Index: Retail

Reports of the death of in-store shopping have been greatly exaggerated. This year’s retail survey found that more than 60 percent of consumers start and end their journey by visiting a store. Retail customers value price above everything, but the importance of other factors varies for different brands. In-store shopping is valued highly by grocery and home improvement customers Technology retail customers place less importance on in-store experiences – for them it only ranks sixth Digital exper

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What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? A Definition of Artificial Intelligence, Challenges and Benefits of AI, and More

Callminer

Artificial intelligence (AI) gives machines the ability to learn from experience as they take in more data and perform tasks like humans.

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What to Expect for Contact Centers in 2018

Contact Center Pipeline

Of the most impactful priorities for contact centers in 2017, customer experience was at the top of the list. In a competitive landscape where consumers are inundated with options, delivering a seamless customer experience can be a key differentiator in building engaged, loyal customers. As we kick off 2018, businesses will continue to improve the […].

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How We make Decisions – Prospect Theory

Beyond Philosophy

Prospect Theory is the name of the concept developed by Nobel-prize winning professor Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, who were the “Godfathers of modern decision science.” It describes the hidden influences that exist that drive our behavior—and they aren’t what you think. Before Kahneman and Tversky’s paper on Prospect Theory, most economists felt like what drove decision-making was wealth, as in, the more wealth you had, the more options were available to you.

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The Customer Service Gap

ShepHyken

I’ve written about the customer service gap before. The first version referred to the gap between you and your competitors. You want the gap to be wide. It means you are putting yourself further ahead of your competition and picking up market share. The second version of the gap focused on narrowing the distance between you and your customers. The closer you are to your customers, and the more you are meeting their needs, the narrower the gap is between you and your customer.

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The “Feel, Felt, Found” Method for Empathy

Myra Golden Media

Today I’m going to show you how to use the Feel, Felt, Found method to express empathy to your customers. What’s great about the Feel, Felt, Found Method, is, it gives you the perfect response when you can’t give the customer exactly what they want. It helps you to be more relatable, and to foster a sense of connection with customers. The Feel, Felt, Found method is easy to use.

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Reimagining CX: How to Implement Effective AI-Driven Transformations

Speaker: Steve Pappas, Chief Strategist, Startup and Early Stage Growth Advisor, Keynote Speaker, CX Podcaster

As businesses strive for success in an increasingly digitized world, delivering an exceptional customer experience has become paramount. To meet this demand, enterprises are embracing innovative approaches that captivate customers and fuel their loyalty. 💥 Enter conversational AI - an absolute game-changer (if done right) in redefining CX norms.

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How to Tell if Your Favorite Brand Monitors Social Media

Steve DiGioia

This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. Do you reach out on social media to the businesses you purchase from? If not, why not? Your Facebook or Twitter account provides an opportunity to let them know how happy you are with their product – or not! So, how do you tell if your favorite brand monitors social media? Many of you have read an earlier post of mine where I told the story of when Zappos, very unexpectedly, sent me a tweet in response to a conversation I had with a friend in a

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"Follow the Leader", Featuring Erica Marois

Call Center Weekly

How can digital content be used to enhance customer experience? According to Wikipedia, digital content (also known as digital media), is stored on digital or analog storage in specific formats. Forms of digital content include information that is digitally broadcast, streamed, or contained in computer files. So, what does digital content have to do with customer service?

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Embracing Remote Work

Contact Center Pipeline

The ability to work from home continues to top the list of desired benefits for employees seeking better work-life balance. Over the past five to 10 years, technology has enabled the growth of remote work across sectors and professions, and research suggests that nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce will be working remotely by 2025 […].

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Why Customers Make Strange Decisions

Beyond Philosophy

Imagine that you bought a ticket to see a play for $20. But when it’s time to go to the theatre you have lost the ticket. Would you buy another ticket for the show for $20? The reason I ask is that it is a significant economic decision and not everyone places the same value on their $20. This leads me to the concept of fungibility. Unless you are an economist, you have probably never heard the word fungibility.

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Contact Center Dialers Demystified

Dive into the realm of contact center dialers with our infographic! Explore the various types – Preview, Predictive, Automatic, and Progressive Dialers – and unravel their roles in boosting call center performance.

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The Power of the Last and Lasting Impression

ShepHyken

People say all the time that the first impression is important. No doubt it is. Just as important, if not even more so, is the last impression, as it leaves a lasting impression. If you’ve been following my work, this concept may be familiar to you. Recently, I tweeted about lasting impressions (follow me on Twitter @Hyken if you aren’t already doing so).

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Three Steps to Being Confident and Prepared When Talking to Employees About a Problem

Myra Golden Media

This is you. Confident and Prepared. So, my 14-year son old got contact lenses for the first time last week. He’s struggling to get the contacts in. Every morning Warren comes downstairs to my bathroom so I can help him with his technique. More than once he’s said, “I freakin’ hate contacts!” He even asked me to hold his upper eyelid up and steady for him.

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Scheduling in the Gig Economy

Aspect

In 50 cities across the U.S., Amazon is supplementing their USPS deliveries at times of peak demand using drivers contracting directly with Amazon in a program called Amazon Flex. Tapping for-hire drivers, each batch of deliveries is essentially a “gig” in the quickly growing trend of the Gig Economy. Popularized by Uber and Lyft, the Gig Economy pairs independent, on-demand contractors with organizations for short-term engagements.

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"Follow the Leader", Featuring Errol Allen

Call Center Weekly

Why is it important for customer service leaders to spend time on the front line? It is my opinion that leaders should regularly (monthly) schedule time with their front-line employees. Doing so can have a major impact within an organization. Here a several reasons why I feel it’s important to spend time on the front line. 1. Enlightenment – In today’s business environment, managing by the numbers seems to be the way to go.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Coming Soon to a Contact Center Near You!

Contact Center Pipeline

The landscape for engaging with customers is changing fast. Consumers expect hyper-personalization—and they want a choice of ways to communicate with the companies with which they do business. Bots, asynchronous messaging, augmented reality and machine learning are at the doorstep of the contact center, too, modifying the customer journey and putting pressure on traditional businesses […].

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Troublesome Trends & Predictions for 2018

Beyond Philosophy

I am apprehensive about my industry. Having worked in Customer Experience since 2002, I may be too much of a purist. However, for a while now, I have been writing about the decline and dilution of the discipline of Customer Experience. From changing titles but not behavior to a poor understanding of what customers want, the trends are troublesome. My concerns only grow as we roll into 2018.

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Guest Blog: Customer Service Role … Avoid these Myths on Customer Service

ShepHyken

This week we feature an article by Mike Schoultz who shares his top 20 list of myths on customer experience not to tell yourself or things you should never say to a customer. This is a great list and one you should pay attention too. – Shep Hyken. The problem is never how to get new ideas into your mind, but how to eliminate the old ideas. Customer service designs that are remarkable get talked about.

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I spend three hours every week working “on” my business. Do you?

Myra Golden Media

I spent this afternoon in my Strategic Block. My Strategic Block, the best idea I took from the book, 12 Week Year by Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington, is for me to spend three hours every week “on” my business. It’s three uninterrupted hours of me doing something to improve my business. Today that three-hour block was spent listening to a business audiobook on my Alexa Echo.

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The Innovator’s Guide to the Digital-first Contact Center

In the contact center industry, first-generation digital channels like email and web chat have seen significant adoption, along with video chat and co-browsing capabilities. However, customers are rapidly moving beyond these channels, seeking next-generation options. Social platforms are now becoming mainstream contact center channels. Download this guide today to learn how to help your business adapt to this evolving landscape and leverage the power of next-generation digital customer service.

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27 Stats That Show What Consumers Expect from Brand Communication

West

Not long ago, grocery shopping happened solely in-store, and banking was done with the help of a human teller. But the internet, social media and mobile devices have dynamically changed this relationship, and consumers have come to expect much more from their brand communication. The Blog 27 Stats That Show What Consumers Expect from Brand Communication appeared first on West Corporation.

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What Are the Elements of Good Strategic Planning?

Call Center Weekly

By Dea Harrington From the article series, Strategy for the Real World Ask anyone for the definition of “strategy” and you will most assuredly get a myriad of subjective definitions. To keep us on the same page, here is a brief (and subjective) primer. Strategy (high level) is the plan developed by organization leaders to enhance the health and growth of the entity.

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6 Common Sense Practices to Share with Work-at-Home Agents

Contact Center Pipeline

After more than 20 years in the on-demand contact center industry, I’ve come across some great work-from-home practices. And a few not-so-good ones, too. Whatever the workstyle or workspace, an agent needs to be efficient and productive. While remote work from home is free range, it isn’t a free-for-all. Routine and discipline are required to […].

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Great EX (Employee Ambassadorship) and CX (Customer Advocacy) Story: The Southwest Airlines Rep and the Passenger With Cancer

Beyond Philosophy

Michael Lowenstein, Ph.D., CMC Thought Leadership Principal, Beyond Philosophy. This past July 23rd, Southwest Airlines passenger Stacy Hurt called the airline’s customer service desk at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Her luggage, containing medication for helping with the side effects of the colon cancer chemo therapy, had failed to arrive on a flight from Nashville.

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AI in Contact Centers: Navigating the Future of CCaaS with AI that Matters

Experience the transformative power of AI in customer service! Discover how AI-driven contact centers revolutionize interactions, streamline operations, and deliver hyper-personalized experiences. We will explore three different ways that AI can optimize the operations of a contact center: The Role of Conversational AI in Self-Service Supporting Contact Center Agents with Agent Assist AI Empowering Contact Center Supervisors with Performance AI We will also look to the future of AI in the contac

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of January 29, 2018

ShepHyken

Each week I read a number of 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 Service Report 2018 by Olga Kolodynska, Justyna Polaczyk, Malgorzata Buksinska and Lukasz Labedzki. (LiveChat) The report contains key customer service findings from 2017 and trends for 2018.

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7 Things You Can Say to Gain Control with Challenging Customers

Myra Golden Media

If you find it difficult to get your customer to stop telling you the story of just how inconvenienced they were, or are, and to stop rambling on about the problem, it’s likely because the customer is stuck in the past. You’re going to have to reframe the issue in the customer’s mind. That is, you must strategically move your customer out of a past problem to a focus on the present so that you can offer a solution.

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When Adding Call-Backs to Your Call Center, Beware The “Free” Option

Fonolo

The call center experience is under great scrutiny from today’s consumers. There are many ways to fall short of their expectations. One surefire way of doing so is to put callers on hold. Tolerance for long wait times has been getting lower and lower. If the wait is longer than a few minutes, callers will complain to your agents (leading to longer handle times) and they will vent on social media (see onholdwith.com).