Beyond Philosophy

JULY 13, 2021

Sometimes your Customer Experience requires you to outsource a portion of it to a third party. Maybe it’s an installer or a tow truck service, or even an entire call center, but whatever or whoever it is, this part of the experience is not under your control. Today, we will examine whether this is a good idea or not. We discussed this topic of outsourcing on a recent podcast , where my co-host shared a story about his friend who ordered a trampoline.

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Contact Center Pipeline

JULY 21, 2021

As we turn the page to a new year, and in the spirit of new beginnings, I’d like to challenge managers and leaders to consider alternative approaches to drive innovation and business change. Change must bubble up from within an organization, not merely cascade down from above, because in the next two years we’ll witness […].

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Steve DiGioia

JULY 19, 2021

Back in 2018, I had the pleasure to interview some of the nicest people I have ever come across. I was amazed at how warm and welcoming they were and their willingness to embrace, support, and welcome me into their fold. To say the least, they’re all leaders in their respective fields of customer service, hospitality, social media, consulting, coaching, podcasting, and keynote speaking.

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ShepHyken

JULY 21, 2021

I’ve written about today’s topic before. The idea I’m about to share is really common sense. Even if you didn’t read my past articles or watch my videos about this, you still know and understand it. Yet, it’s worth bringing up again, as I have a new twist on it. In my latest book, I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again , I share a story about the shortest customer service keynote speech I’ve ever delivered.

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Step-by-step instructions on how to use AI for growth in your contact center Learn how AI can transform your contact center operations. In this ebook, dig into the different AI technologies, then see how each can help automate tasks, streamline service, and turn your contact center from a cost center to a profit house. Plus, we’ll give you practical tips on choosing the right AI tools, getting them up and running, and measuring their impact.

Contact Center

CCNG

JULY 2, 2021

In a fast-paced industry like contact centers, it is important to hire quickly without sacrificing accuracy. I recently spoke with David Hadobas of CCNG to discuss this important topic. Our discussion centered around how an automated communication screening process empowers recruiters to focus their time on qualified talent, saving the recruiters hours—and often days—to screen for omnichannel bilingual talent.

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Beyond Philosophy

JULY 20, 2021

It’s summer reading season. Today, I will share seven books that are an essential summer read for anyone in business. I hope that these books will make the same impact on you that they did on me. We shared these books on a recent podcast, chosen because we liked them a lot or, in some instances, because they changed our lives. While we can’t predict they will do the same for you with certainty, we feel that they will be helpful in the pursuit of your career goals for yourself and you

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Contact Center Pipeline

JULY 20, 2021

Agile thinking became the key to business survival during the COVID-19 crisis. Companies that could adapt quickly and creatively in the face of complex and unpredictable challenges proved that breaking with convention often can lead to a giant leap forward. It has been 20 years since a group of software industry thought leaders created the […].

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Steve DiGioia

JULY 5, 2021

Along with all the responsibilities of your job and the myriad of tasks you must do each day, I want to add a few more things to that list by asking you to use these 10 phrases that will make someone’s day better. Most everyone we come across has their own issues that lurk under their sometimes-false façade. They deal with anxiety and health issues that weigh heavily, financial and personal matters that keep them up at night, and a host of other problems that make their day more stressful

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ShepHyken

JULY 14, 2021

How do you say Yes to every customer request ? Is it possible? Is this customer service utopia? My friend Christine Trippi wrote a book titled Yes Is the Answer. And Cameron Mitchell, about whom I’ve written before, wrote a book with a similar title, Yes is the Answer. What is the Question ? Both of these authors have a hospitality background. Trippi is a world-class, award-winning hotel manager and Mitchell is a super-successful restauranteur.

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Understanding and improving your customer experience (CX) can have a massive impact on your bottom line. Choosing the right voice of customers (VoC) solution is a critical step to elevating CX. Frost & Sullivan researched more than 50 leading VoC vendors, analyzing both their “innovation index” and “growth index” to independently select the top 10 performers in each of these categories.

Analytics

TechSee

JULY 27, 2021

2020 and 2021 have been roller-coaster years for businesses, having to respond and pivot from one crisis after another. From a global pandemic and blocked Suez Canal, to natural disasters like the freeze in Texas, fires in California, and floods in Australia, to technical disasters like massive cyber-attacks and a global microchip shortage, businesses across all industries have been caught off-guard and unprepared.

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Fonolo

JULY 29, 2021

Call center employees wear many hats! Agents are tasked with providing customer service, solving customer problems, and conducting research — all with a smile and a positive attitude. While call center agents rely on hard skills — or technical skills — to handle contact center technology, call center soft skills are just as critical for success.

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Beyond Philosophy

JULY 17, 2021

In a discussion that echoes the age-old chicken vs. egg conversation sentiment, we engaged in a debate. After meeting a fellow Customer Experience proponent on a new social media platform called Clubhouse, we invited author and speaker Stacy Sherman to debate. The topic: Is Customer Experience the new marketing, or is it an entity on its own? Sherman and I have a difference of opinion.

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Contact Center Pipeline

JULY 28, 2021

My 10-year-old son thinks I am so old, I roamed the earth alongside the dinosaurs! He is right in one way: I started in the contact center industry when things were very primitive. In fact, I began as an agent in the “Phone Age” (rhymes with “Stone Age”). Phone calls accounted for 99% of customer […].

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CX leaders are in a gold rush for AI, lured by the promise of cost savings and a revolution in service delivery. But simply deploying AI in your contact center isn't a magic bullet. There are hidden dangers that can derail your AI dreams. Recent incidents, such as the missteps of an AI chatbot deployed by Air Canada, have underscored the complexities and risks involved in leveraging AI in customer-facing roles.

Contact Center

ProProfs Blog

JULY 30, 2021

Be it a small or a big business, good brand perception is the common business goal. The ultimate verdict on any brand is given by its customers. Brand perception is a crucial indicator of how well your customers are able to connect with your brand: What are their feelings and emotions when they think of you? How familiar are they with your products or services?

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ShepHyken

JULY 28, 2021

One of the big concepts we teach in our customer service training programs is the concept of Always. This is the backbone of creating customer amazement. When the customer uses the word always followed by something positive, you are creating a predictable experience, and even more important, you are operating in the zone of amazement. For example, your customers might say: “They are always so helpful.”.

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TechSee

JULY 20, 2021

In the medical technology field, manufacturers must provide medical device support for their products across a wide range of settings, including hospitals, urgent care centers, physicians’ offices, nursing homes, mobile units, and even individual homes. It’s therefore no surprise that the global medical device market size is approximately half a trillion U.S. dollars.

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Fonolo

JULY 15, 2021

There are many different call center metrics used to measure activity and efficiency. Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, can be tracked through integrated phone systems and call center cloud-based technology. These include metrics like customer satisfaction (CSat) score, average handle time (AHT), net promoter score (NPS) , occupancy rate, average speed of answer (ASA), first call resolution (FCR), and more.

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Speaker: Laura Noonan, Chief Revenue Officer at CallFinder + Angie Kronlage, Director of Program Success at Working Solutions + April Wiita, Vice President of Program Success at Working Solutions

Are you still manually reviewing calls? 🤔 It's time for a change! The traditional method of manual call monitoring is no longer cutting it in today's fast-paced call center environment. Industry experts Angie Kronlage and April Wiita from Working Solutions are here to explore the power of innovative automation to revolutionize outdated call review processes!

Customer Experience

Beyond Philosophy

JULY 3, 2021

Maybe it’s a towing service. Perhaps you use an interior designer. It could be that you needed to outsource your call center. Whatever the reason may be, you have outsourced part of your Customer Experience. There is an inherent risk involved, of course, if there are problems. After all, customers do not distinguish between the part of the experience you provide and the part your third-party does.

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Contact Center Pipeline

JULY 22, 2021

Many companies are “pretty much kind of OK-ish” at responding to customers’ questions or complaints in social media. They do respond to customers’ social posts, and they reply pretty quickly. Some companies are doing darn well at digital customer care. A few are good. A handful are excellent. But most companies can do better—a LOT […].

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Nextiva

JULY 16, 2021

Are you taking calls, or are you helping customers? If you're honest, you likely struggle to meet the demands of today's customers — until now. This week, we've debuted the Nextiva Contact Center, which closes the gap between rising customer expectations and the hybrid workplace environment that many companies now embrace. We've integrated it closely […].

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ShepHyken

JULY 23, 2021

This week we feature an article by Ehsan Memari, a blogger for SkyPrep. He writes about how using a learning management system (LMS) expedites employee skill development in your organization. We are in the middle of a skills gap crisis. According to a study from the Society for Human Resource Management , 83% of HR professionals noticed a decline in the quality of job applicants, with one-third citing a lack of technical abilities. .

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Cut complexity and boost efficiency while empowering your customers with Nextiva's unified communications platform. Nextiva streamlines workflows and centralizes customer interactions, all while simplifying business collaboration, increasing productivity, and reducing employee burnout.

Call Design

JULY 6, 2021

The contact centre industry is the backbone of brands all over the globe. It provides the necessary contact point for customers to connect with brands, whether that be troubleshooting, simple questions or administrative needs. Understanding how to make a profit on the double bottom line (DBL) involves employing a broad range of KPIs and key metrics to ensure a contact centre meets every need that a business may have in supporting their customers.

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Fonolo

JULY 22, 2021

Every company needs strong customer service to set them apart from its competitors. After all, customers are more loyal to businesses that treat them with respect, kindness and that support their needs. Customer service in a contact center is especially important. Most call center agents are familiar with the rage of angry customers, frustrated with long wait times, and other problems.

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Beyond Philosophy

JULY 29, 2021

I write about the behavioral sciences a lot. I advise on some first steps for you to implement strategies based on behavioral science findings. However, I haven’t written about what you should do to make sure it works. So, today I want to talk about ensuring that your implementations of the behavioral sciences works for your business and the five rules that will help you do that.

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Contact Center Pipeline

JULY 30, 2021

The post-pandemic recovery has begun, and Pipeline readers appear to be looking ahead to what the future contact center operation will be. Will work-from-home (WFH) make a successful transition to a more permanent model? Having the right remote-work tools in place to support WFH agents is key. Our Sustainable WFH Contact Center series filled most […].

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Speaker: Nicholas Zeisler, CX Strategist & Fractional CXO

The first step in a successful Customer Experience endeavor (or for that matter, any business proposition) is to find out what’s wrong. If you can’t identify it, you can’t fix it! 💡 That’s where the Voice of the Customer (VoC) comes in. Today, far too many brands do VoC simply because that’s what they think they’re supposed to do; that’s what all their competitors do.

Customer Experience

ProProfs Blog

JULY 20, 2021

A survey is an effective medium to collect feedback from your target audience. Sensitive questions on age, income, race, and religion form an unavoidable part of demographic surveys, market research surveys, health surveys, and so on. Usually, people are reluctant to share personal information via offline surveys. But, online surveys can be made more discreet and anonymous to put forth sensitive questions.

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ShepHyken

JULY 20, 2021

The End-to-End Customer Experience. Improving CX through Customer Workflows. Shep Hyken interviews John Ball, the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Customer Workflows at ServiceNow. They discuss how companies can create a great end-to-end customer experience and enhance productivity through process mapping. Top Takeaways: Customer service is traditionally focused on the engagement layer (how customers make requests) but not on customer operations (getting the job done).

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Customer Service Life

JULY 23, 2021

Planning the bachelorette party for a dear friend, I knew that “Oh Sh*t Kits” are a must to include for the bride tribe. In each “Oh Sh*t Kit”, you’ll find things like Tylenol, lip gloss, a scrunchie, hydrating face mask, sunscreen, body lotion, an electrolyte beverage, mints, tissues, bandaids and more. You just never know what will happen and you want to be prepared!

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