July, 2025

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The Customer Service Recovery Paradox

ShepHyken

Here’s something that might surprise you. Some of your most loyal customers may be the ones who have had problems and complaints in the past. For years, I’ve been preaching that when a customer comes to you with a problem or complaint, the goal is not only to resolve the issue, but also to restore their confidence. I was recently reminded of the concept known as the Service Recovery Paradox.

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How to Create a Customer Experience Journey Map

CCNG

Customer journey mapping is a powerful tool for businesses to understand and improve customer experience, but omnichannel interactions pose challenges. Customer journey mapping emerged as a way to visualize the steps customers take when interacting with the brand, but there’s a lot more to it than just using personas to plot touch points. Journey mapping examines the connective tissue that ties customer experience to a brand’s employees, processes and operations.

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AI vs. Human: Are You Making The Right Choice or a BIG Mistake!

Beyond Philosophy

AI is taking over—well, at least some parts of customer service. But how do you know when to automate and when to stick with the good old-fashioned human touch? In this episode, we dive into one of the most crucial decisions organizations are making today: When should you use AI, and when do customers actually need a human? Spoiler alert: If you let AI handle everything, you might save money—but you could also drive your customers straight to your competitors.

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Unlock the ‘Why’: How to Use Open-Ended Feedback and Driver Analysis to Make NPS Actionable

PeopleMetrics

You’ve designed your NPS survey. You’re asking the right customers, at the right time, in the right way. But what do you do with the results? Too many teams stop at reporting the NPS score. They miss the real point: the NPS score is only the signal, the “why” behind the score is what drives real action. If you want to move up the curve, from Foundational to Mature and eventually Elite, you need to capture, analyze, and share the NPS insights from your customers.

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AI Isnt the Future — Its the Fight Youre Already In: Are You Ready?

The AI era isn’t coming—it’s here. But over 70% of AI projects fail before they scale. Why? No strategy. No alignment. No ROI. We worked with a $50M company that wasted a year and half their budget chasing AI pilots with no payoff. Sound familiar? That’s where our four-step transformation system comes in: Assess, Strategize, Execute, Scale. We help you cut through the hype, find what actually moves the needle, and build a roadmap that delivers results.

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How Does an Unnecessary Transfer Impact the Customer’s Experience?

Ansafone

Even in the most routine interactions, how a business handles customer inquiries can make or break the relationship. One of the most common frustrations customers face is being bounced from one representative to another. These unnecessary transfers are more than just an inconvenience. They can significantly erode trust, increase frustration, and negatively affect the customer experience.

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Why Every Company Needs Its Own Nordstrom Tire Story           

ShepHyken

Earlier this year, I wrote a Forbes article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous Nordstrom story in which a man wanted to return a set of used tires – even though Nordstrom never even sold tires. That fact didn’t stop the employee from giving the customer a refund. Right or wrong, that story is still talked about 50 years later! I’ve mentioned this story in the past, and the point is that stories like these become legends inside an organization, and if the brand is lucky, they may e

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AI-enhanced CRM: Benefits and implementation

Callminer

Read to learn all about the transformative benefits of AI in customer relationship management, what some key implementation steps are, and what challenges organizations may face along the way.

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Top Advantages of Using Live Chat Support for Real-Time Customer Engagement

Blueship Call Center

In today’s fast-paced digital world, businesses must be available to customers at any time they need help. Whether it’s answering a question, solving a problem, or guiding them through a purchase, customer service plays a huge role in building trust and satisfaction. One of the most effective ways to connect with customers in real-time is through Live Chat Support Services.

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Closing the Loop: The Most Important (and Most Ignored) Part of NPS

PeopleMetrics

You’ve asked your customers the right questions. You know your score. You understand the “why.” You’re sharing what you learn with your teams. You have now gone from foundational to mature. So, what’s next? How do you move into the “elite” category of NPS programs? If you want your NPS program to actually drive loyalty (not just measure it) you have to close the loop.

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How to Coach Reps on Overcoming Sales Objections with Confidence

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Global Sales and David Phelan, Account Executive

In a world where buyers are more informed and objections are more nuanced, confidence isn't optional—it’s a competitive advantage. In high-stakes conversations, knowing how to handle pushback can make or break the deal. Join industry experts Brendan Sweeney and David Phelan for a behind-the-scenes look at how teams are transforming sales coaching with real-time feedback, objection-handling role plays, and pre-call preparation that actually sticks.

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How To Combat Agent Burnout and Attrition

Contact Center Pipeline

The contact center agent’s job is uniquely demanding. Agents juggle rigid schedules, repetitive tasks, and interactions with frustrated or anxious customers. This makes the job stressful, leading to burnout and chronic attrition that disrupts operations, increases costs, and which damages the customer experience (CX).

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10 Reasons Why Automation Testing Transforms Customer Service

CSM Magazine

Customer service departments face mounting pressure to deliver faster, more accurate support while managing increasing volumes of inquiries. Manual testing processes often create bottlenecks that slow down service improvements and frustrate both customers and support teams. Automation testing offers a powerful solution to these challenges, enabling businesses to enhance their customer service operations through improved efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.

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How Text Messaging Transforms Customer Engagement with Dave Baxter

ShepHyken

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:    How has text messaging evolved as a preferred channel for customer communication for customers? Why do customers prefer receiving communications from businesses via mobile devices? What role does trust play when a customer provides their mobile number to a business?

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Dynamic Call Queuing: How Enterprises Can Now Tailor Every Wait

3CLogic

In today’s customer-centric world, responsiveness isn’t just a goal, it’s a necessity. Yet after navigating sophisticated IVRs or AI assistants, most callers hit a static queue where personalization stops and everyone waits the same. Even though a Gartner survey shows self-service now resolves 14% of all issues (and 36% of very simple ones), the vast majority still need a live agent and long hold times rank among their top three frustrations.

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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!

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Top strategies to enhance agent performance

Callminer

Every customer interaction shapes perception, loyalty, and bottom-line results. This article breaks down why agent performance matters, some potential challenges, and strategies for better outcomes.

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How to Run an NPS Survey That Actually Works

PeopleMetrics

Now that you know what NPS is (and what it isn’t) let’s get practical. The truth is that too many organizations treat NPS as a box to check. They ask “the question,” report the score to the leadership team or board, and move on. But if you don’t get the basics right, you risk collecting biased, unreliable, or flat-out useless data! That’s why the best companies invest time in designing their NPS surveys carefully, so they get feedback they can trust and act on.

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6 Ways a Preview Dialer Enhances Call Quality

Calltools

6 Ways a Preview Dialer Enhances Call Quality Every second matters in outbound contact centers, where the quality of your calls directly impacts campaign success. How you approach a client from the first couple of seconds will greatly influence customer satisfaction. Therefore, you must enrich the call quality, whether conducting surveys, selling to consumers, or following up on service requests.

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How to Identify Friction Points with Customer Journey Analytics

CSM Magazine

Research shows that 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience, yet many businesses struggle to pinpoint exactly where their customers encounter problems. The solution lies in customer journey analytics—a powerful approach that reveals hidden friction points and transforms your understanding of the customer experience. Customer journey analytics examine every touchpoint a customer has with your business, from initial awareness to post-purchase support.

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Next-Gen Cloud Contact Centers For Dummies®

What does customer service excellence look like in 2024? According to our report with insights from CX expert Shep Hyken, customer expectations are at an all-time high, and there’s a bigger shift toward self-service and leveraging AI capabilities.

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Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of July 14, 2025

ShepHyken

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 comments about each article and would like to hear what you think too. A Million Customer Conversations with AI Agents Yielded This Surprising Lesson by Vala Afshar (ZDNET) Salesforce began with a restricted rollout and targeted content, allowing us to learn quickly, iterate, and enhance the system.

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Top 10 Call Center Productivity Metrics

SQM Group

Ready to enhance your call center's efficiency? Explore the top 10 productivity metrics that help you balance speed and quality for a better customer experience!

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Global Hospitality Brand Achieves Zero Agent Turnover with Quiq’s Messaging Solution

Quiq

A leader in the hospitality industry faced high agent turnover within its customer service voice team, which significantly impacted efficiency and service quality. However, after leveraging the digital messaging capabilities within Quiq’s AI Contact Center , the company achieved zero turnover within its digital messaging team. This case study explores how Quiq empowered their agents with tools for multitasking, stress reduction, and improved communication.

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How to Share NPS Results So People Actually Care

PeopleMetrics

By now, you’ve built a solid NPS foundation: you’re asking the right customers, at the right time, with a survey designed to give you more than just a number. You’ve done the work to dig into the “why” behind your NPS score. But there’s a common place where even good programs stall out: sharing the results inside your company in a way that people trust, understand, and want to act on.

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The Ultimate Blueprint for an AI-First Contact Center

Start building the AI workforce of the future with our comprehensive guide to creating an AI-first contact center. Learn how Conversational and Generative AI can transform traditional operations into scalable, efficient, and customer-centric experiences. What is AI-First? Transition from outdated, human-first strategies to an AI-driven approach that enhances customer engagement and operational efficiency.

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8 Proven Ways to Improve Net Promoter Score (NPS) in Your Call Center

Balto

If you want loyal customers, you need more than fast answers — you need meaningful experiences. That’s what Net Promoter Score (NPS) is all about. NPS measures how likely a customer is to recommend your business to others. It’s a simple, powerful indicator of customer loyalty — and when tracked in a contact center, it becomes a direct reflection of how well your agents deliver value, empathy, and resolution.

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Winning Strategies for Handling Angry Customers in Live Chat

CSM Magazine

Dealing with angry customers is never easy, especially in a fast-paced live chat environment. How you handle these situations can significantly impact your brand’s reputation, customer retention, and overall business growth. An unresolved issue can lead to unsatisfied customers leaving for competitors, while a well-managed response can convert frustration into loyalty.

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How Verizon Is Setting a New Standard for Customer Experience with Sampath

ShepHyken

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:    How can you turn your call center from a cost center to a profit center? Why should companies invest in improving customer experience? How can organizations use customer feedback to enhance their products and services? Why is it important for leadership to be accessible to customers when addressing service issues?

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Flexible Scheduling Re-imagines Workforce Management

DMG Consulting

Flexible Scheduling Re-imagines Workforce Management View this article on the publisher’s website The time has come for flexible scheduling, especially for contact centers where inflexible scheduling practices are a top driver of agent dissatisfaction and attrition. There are many approaches to flexible scheduling, including inviting employees to participate in setting all or part of their work schedules.

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The Ultimate Contact Center Buyers Guide: A Crucial Decision

Harness the True Power of your Contact Center In today’s fast-paced business environment, selecting the right contact center solution is critical for enhancing customer experience, improving operational efficiency, and optimizing costs. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential factors to consider when choosing a contact center software that aligns with your business needs.

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Is Your AI Strategy Missing the One Thing That Makes It Work?

CCNG

We’re all hearing the same drumbeat: “AI is coming.” Let’s be honest AI is already here. Whether it’s automating responses in your contact center or personalizing recommendations on your website, artificial intelligence is weaving its way into our operations. But here’s the catch: without a solid knowledge management strategy, your AI investment could turn into a very expensive guessing game.

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What NPS Is (And What It Isn’t)

PeopleMetrics

Why the most popular customer loyalty metric still matters and how to use it the right way Net Promoter Score (or NPS) is everywhere You’ve seen it in surveys after you book a flight or stay at a hotel. You’ve heard executives talk about it on earnings calls. You might even have your own NPS score on a company dashboard today. At this point, NPS is one of the best-known customer loyalty metrics in the world and one of the most misunderstood!

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We’re Already Living the Future of CX—Powered by AI

SQM Group

We're living in the future of customer experience! See how AI is redefining call centers, delivering faster, personalized service while empowering agents.