5 Reasons Unhappy Customers Don’t Complain. The times when customer complaints were seen as a distraction that should be eliminated are over. Most businesses today understand that complaints are a valuable source of information. In fact, there might be no better way to collect direct feedback from your customers. A complaint not only shows what and where went wrong, whether it’s a problem with your product, service, customer support or internal processes. MORE

LISTEN to your Customers. Listening. We all know how to do it… but few know how to do it well … and it could be driving your customers away if you don’t do it well. Listen well and you’ll increase sales and customer loyalty. Even though communication involves two parts – speaking and listening – I believe that listening is actually 2/3 of successful communication. Someone can speak all they want. MORE

Most call centers struggle with efficiency at one time or another. And because efficiency is directly tied to minimizing overhead costs in the call center, it’s a prominent challenge. Coping with unanticipated upticks in demand, staff turnover, and other common call center challenges only further complicate matters for managers working to create an efficient, productive, and effective team. MORE

I had the great opportunity to interview Blake Morgan , customer experience futurist about her new book, More is More: How the Best Companies Go Farther and Work Harder to Create Knock-Your-Socks Off Customer Experiences. I have been a big fan of her customer experience articles that regularly appear in Forbes. Her book is a must-read resource for those intent on delivering an exceptional experience for their customers. You can find out more about Blake at the end of the interview. . MORE

It is critical to consider the “anatomy” of an interaction in a Customer Experience. The sheer number of things that occur in an interaction at the same time can seem astonishing. Understanding what happens when your team interacts with a customer and why it is an essential element to taking your Customer Experience to the next level. The Anatomy of a Customer Interaction can make or break your Customer Experience. MORE

. The Three Trends You Can’t Ignore in CX Today. As a Customer Experience professional, understanding three trends today is imperative. Without accepting these tenets, you are thwarting your success before you even begin. However, if you can accept them, you are poised not only to deliver an excellent experience, but you will also position yourself to move it to the next level of greatness. What are these 3 remarkable trends with so much power and clout? . MORE

Many of you will be familiar with Google’s autocomplete feature – the suggested phrases which pop up when you start to type in a word or phrase, based on phrases other people have searched for. MORE

This blog coincides with the 10 th anniversary of the first signs of the Credit Crunch, which has impacted and continues to affect all our lives. Readers in their mid-thirties and under may not have experienced anything in their professional lives that hasn’t had an ‘austerity’ cloud hanging over it, and I’m sure that a lot will be written in the coming days, weeks, and months to mark the sad occasion. MORE

“They are just temps,” said one contact center manager describing his seasonal agents. They will be gone in a couple of months!” That condescending attitude was reflected in the seasonal team’s environment. They were crammed into an abandoned conference room filled with computers, phones and wires. This “seasonal contact center” was separate from the “normal […]. Training & Development call center contact center seasonal staff seasonal training staffing temporary staff training MORE

This week we feature an article by Lindsay Tjepkema who writes about how artificial intelligence marketing (AIM) is becoming more important to our success in engaging with customers. Recently I have read and written a lot about AI and as technology improves and acceptance grows AI will have a strong role in customer service. – Shep Hyken. Artificial intelligence (AI) and all of its many uses have seen massive amounts of growth throughout the last year. MORE

By: JD Fairweather. How pervasive is the impending impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the customer experience (CX)? Well, to join a discussion on the topic, I’d be willing to traverse a room full of telemarketers pitching the latest timeshare deals in Orlando. And it would be worth it, as there are just so many possibilities to explore when pondering the ultimate takeover of the Contact Center by androids. Robot-led workforce automation is not going away. MORE

10 months ago, Avaya filed for chapter 11 protection kicking off the largest bankruptcy event in the history of the call center industry. Avaya faced a tough challenge to reach a restructuring agreement with their many debt holders, and to have it done quickly in order to minimize the damage to the brand, and the slow bleed of customers to competitors. Most of the process happened out of the public view, but in the last month, three announcements have revealed the status. MORE

When you think of your ideal customer experience, does it include someone telling you, “no,” or “I can’t”? Companies need to train their staff to provide alternative solutions and avoid the easy “no” response in order to create a better customer experience. It can take some effort and imagination, but it is worth it. Problem Solve for a Better Customer Experience. MORE

Back in April 1985, the Coca-Cola Company introduced a product that became one of the biggest flops in modern history. New Coke” had a sweeter taste that was so widely reviled that Coke brought back its old formula less than three months later. Coke says now that it learned a valuable lesson –their research and development didn’t anticipate their customer’s deep emotional attachment to the brand and the taste of the original. MORE

…here’s 7 ways to get you started This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. You still haven’t learned how to speak up, huh? Maybe you’re just afraid of confrontation? I know, you don’t want to offend anyone, right? Don’t want to come across as too assertive or even aggressive; what’s the difference anyway? The service you provide has always lacked because of your fear of “taking charge” and not wanting to offend your customers. MORE

I love movies. So, I was thrilled to win movie tickets as part of a contact center sales campaign back when I was an agent. However, the coworker sitting next to me hated movies and was not motivated at all by this contest. Everyone is different. What motivates one person may demotivate another. I am […]. Agent Motivation call center contact center employee engagement morale motivation MORE

Temkin Group has labelled 2017 The Year of Purpose, so we have been examining the topic of purpose across many different angles. One of the areas we are interested in is the impact that a person’s level of purpose and meaning has on how they behave as an employee and customer. It turns out that it has a pretty significant impact in both of these areas. In our latest U.S. MORE

Our final installment of the differentiator series is perhaps the most important for customer service leadership. Our topic is selling and promoting the contact center. This activity starts at the highest levels, and the objective is to help all key decision-makers understand how valuable a contact center is to a successful enterprise. Getting to this […]. Executive Support call center contact center customer analytics demonstrating value executive buy-in MORE

A Definition of Sentiment Analysis Sentiment analysis is a method for gauging opinions of individuals or groups, such as a segment of a brand’s audience or an individual customer in communication with a customer support representative. Based on a scoring mechanism, sentiment analysis monitors conversations and evaluates language and voice inflections to quantify attitudes, opinions, […]. The post What is Sentiment Analysis? Examples, Best Practices, & More appeared first on CallMiner. MORE

When you’re thinking about making the decision to implement chatbots in your contact center, how should you start? A very important thing to think about is your desired business outcome. Doing this helps you to set a target to reach. More importantly, doing this helps you to make the right technology decision. Then, analyze backwards. What technology will get you there? Are contact centers making the right chatbot decisions? Click to Tweet. Avoid Temporary Chatbot Decisions. MORE

Relationships: Personal, business and customer are all the same. Sure the intent is different but when it comes down to how we make those connect, it doesn’t really matter the situation, because people are people. And to connect with people, it’s important to understand it’s an emotional exercise and it’s always taken personally. A friend of mine recently. The post Why You Need to Treat Your Business Relationships Personally appeared first on The Upsell. MORE

By Rinku Basu Over the past few years, customer services have been taken to astonishingly new heights. Meeting expectation’ is no good anymore, surpassing expectation is the only modus operandi for existence. To our advantage, with the advent of digital technologies and social media, reaching out to the consumer market and creating a positive brand experience has become less strenuous. Gone are the days when customer service was about greetings and saying nice words. It is a passé and redundant. MORE

By Erica Mancuso Treating others as you would want to be treated is a practice of empathy. The golden rule is such a simple, timeless principle, and yet I’m constantly amazed at how little it’s practiced any more. On my recent family vacation, I encountered two situations where simply putting this into practice would have resulted in entirely different outcomes. First, my family’s luggage didn’t make the connecting flight. No big deal, I understand this happens. MORE

Call center QA and monitoring teams are responsible for ensuring the quality of interactions between call center representatives and consumers. It goes without saying that this is an incredibly complex undertaking, particularly in large organizations with thousands of call center agents having many thousands of interactions with consumers every day. The problems that plague the […]. MORE

Doug Bell Discusses Improving the Customer Experience. Would you like every employee to know how they fit into your company’s customer experience? Shep Hyken interviews Doug Bell, founder of The Experience Manager , a system that helps manage and unify the entire customer experience. Featured Interview: Shep and Doug discuss the importance of unifying the customer experience throughout an entire company. Every employee must understand how they fit into the customer’s journey. MORE

I’m often asked how or where a company should start improving CX. While the answer may be a little different for everyone, it’s critical to start out right! However, very few leaders take a realistic approach. Consider this way-too-typical scenario: Marcus decides one day to stand in front of his employees and request in no uncertain terms how everyone needs to be more customer-focused. “Help customers love our company and brand more!” ” says Marcus. MORE

Since the inception of the voice channel, businesses have faced and overcome many obstacles to improve the experience for customers. Yet, this channel continues to be the bane of many customers’ existence. Are businesses not sick of hearing the same complaints over and over again? Are consumers not tired of complaining about the same things? If your call center still makes customers cringe when they dial into support, it’s time to take action. MORE

Over the many years of my teaching compelling conversation skills, I have come to appreciate that an effective conversation is much like an inspiring song. We all have favorite songs that we enjoy listening to. if you have heard a cover to that song performed by a “less than” talented or skilled singer, you might … Continue reading "THE MUSIC OF CONVERSATION". Compelling Conversation Training Call Center Leaders Call Center Agents MORE

It’s almost a given that every company has some form of a customer service department. Even the smallest companies – with just one solo entrepreneur – will act as if they have a customer service department. Why do people reach out to the customer service department? Because they need help, have a question, or want to make a complaint. So, understanding that, why would a company choose to deliver an amazing customer service experience to just some of their customers and not to every customer? MORE