Beyond Philosophy

MAY 14, 2015

People like the convenience of self-service. More and more of your Customers believe access to self-service options is essential to their relationship with your business. Knowing this, it is critical that you plan your self-service options well. Parature is a research and advisory firm specializing in communicating service-centric best practices. Their Customer Service Success Blog reported some interesting stats to consider about Customer’s self-service options, including: By 2017, Only 1/3 of

Self service 402

Self service Best practices Customer Experience Call Center 402

Contact Center Pipeline

MAY 11, 2015

We love to conduct technology strategy projects and have shared how important we think those are for contact centers. We emphasize alignment of technology strategy with operations and business goals. But how do you build a strategic plan when each day brings a new direction from leadership, a new challenge from external forces, or internally-driven […].

Contact Center 162

Contact Center Technology Call Center Management 162

Customers That Stick

MAY 22, 2015

We wish that changing a customer service culture could be like turning a Jet Ski®. We slam the steering handles hard to the side, the Jet Ski® turns around almost on a dime, and within moments, we are speeding the other way at full speed. Sure, the turn is tough, and the sudden motion jerks both body and watercraft hard, but for a short, intense effort we are rewarded with a quick and complete turnaround.

Customer Service 156

Customer Service Customer centricity Call Center Accountability 156

Bill Quiseng

MAY 18, 2015

This week’s guest post is from Rhonda Basler , director of Customer Engagement at Hallmark Business Connections. I have been a longtime fan of her blog so I’m honored that she is sharing her customer experience insight here. I am convinced that if you commit to following consistently these five essentials, you will Deliver the World’s Best Customer Experience. .

Customer advocacy 156

Customer advocacy Customer Care Customer Experience Customer retention 156

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

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Enterprise

Win the Customer

MAY 2, 2015

It’s inevitable that customer service experiences will sometimes fail. No organization is immune from bad customer service happening at point in time. Fact of the matter is that customer service is an intensely human experience subject to humanity’s faults and shortcomings. The challenge organizations face today is to create the type of environment where they […].

Customer Service 145

Customer Service Call Center Customer Experience 145

Beyond Philosophy

MAY 21, 2015

Chipotle just announced they removed all the ingredients from their menu items that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In a two-year process prompted by consumers’ growing concerns about the safety of long-term consumption of GMOs, Chipotle’s leadership feels this is about transparency and trust as much as health. Two years ago, the fast-casual chain revealed that GMOs permeated their menu, advising diners wishing to avoid them to order the pork carnitas, sour cream, and guacamole.

Customer Experience 390

Customer Experience 390

Fonolo

MAY 7, 2015

UPDATED FEBRUARY 2020: The call center is an extremely stressful work environment. Simply knowing how to run a call center isn’t enough for success. Not for the weak at heart, only some call center managers have the grace, tenacity, and skills to handle the extreme pressures of the contact center manager’s job. Those with this special ability often create an experience that pleases customers and agents, without exceeding their budgets; a truly remarkable feat.

Call Center 126

Call Center Management Contact Center Coaching 126

Customers That Stick

MAY 13, 2015

In the Temkin Group’s 2015 Experience Ratings Industry Snapshots, Internet Service Providers were ranked last out of 20 different industries. It’s no surprise; few people love their cable or phone provider, and among the least beloved is Comcast. Comcast announced recently that it will be putting a massive effort behind changing its customer service.

Customer Service 146

Customer Service Wireless Customer centricity Banking 146

ijgolding

MAY 25, 2015

I often have to remind myself that I am in a privileged position in my chosen profession. I am privileged because a multitude of organisations welcome me in to their inner sanctum to help them in their quest to become more customer centric. This enables me to continue my path on a never ending journey of insight and learning. As people we never stop learning and being able to see, feel and touch Customer Experience in its many stages of evolution is an amazing honour.

Customer Experience 120

Customer Experience Customer centricity Technology Analytics 120

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Contact Center

Win the Customer

MAY 3, 2015

Is the customer always right? Does that ultimately really matter? Every business owner or company manager needs to properly understand the needs of the customer because future business depends on it. Isn’t meeting customer needs really the main factor when it comes to the success of the business? If you can’t give what customers want, why […].

Management 145

Management Call Center Customer Service Customer Experience 145

Joe Rawlinson

MAY 13, 2015

Managing a brand on social media, marketers should remember that every criticism offers an opportunity for growth and improvement. Remember the famous story of the pizza chain Domino’s, which enjoyed one of the largest quarterly store sale jumps ever by actively responding to customer negative feedback? Running profiles on social media, it’s inevitable that you’ll receive public and private messages from irritated or annoyed customers, so it’s in your best interest to lea

Feedback 128

Feedback Marketing Sales Personalization 128

Beyond Philosophy

MAY 19, 2015

Having a great Customer Experience is no accident. Companies that excel in providing a great Customer Experience engaged in lots of deliberate designs to make their experience what it is today. Most importantly, those that are most successful have a special focus on the hidden experience, the emotional and subconscious parts of the experience that affect the behavior of their Customers.

Employee engagement 370

Employee engagement Analytics Banking Customer Experience 370

PeopleMetrics

MAY 30, 2015

The mechanisms of business can be overwhelming. Even the simplest problems can splinter into energy-sapping challenges—rife with internal hurdles like politics, communication problems, or lack of support. In customer experience management , those challenges can threaten how we relate to customers as people. In our embrace of data points—armed with our head-down, hurdle-jumping mindset—we can turn our noble cause into an awful lot of work.

Best practices 120

Best practices Customer Experience Journey mapping Feedback 120

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Analytics

Customers That Stick

MAY 26, 2015

Customer service in the real world sometimes comes down to a negotiation. When you have an issue to resolve, often you and your organization are trying to find a way to make the customer happy without giving away the store and the customer (usually) is trying to get what she feels is fair. While I don’t think negotiation is the best framework for viewing these situations , the underlying dynamic can be remarkably similar.

Customer Service 143

Customer Service Accountability Personalization 143

ijgolding

MAY 7, 2015

I get to experience many wonderful things plying my trade around the world. I often have to pinch myself as a reminder that the things I am seeing, touching, hearing, and smelling are real and that they are actually happening to me! Since I became an independent Customer Experience Practitioner in 2012, I have rigorously ensured that I am described as a specialist in my role – not an expert – a specialist.

Customer Experience 114

Customer Experience Customer centricity Personalization Employee engagement 114

Win the Customer

MAY 4, 2015

We’re all heard the saying ‘The customer is always right’, but is that true? Well, it can’t be true because in fact the customer can often be wrong. However, what IS true is that ‘The customer is always the customer’; and regardless of the fact that he might be blatantly wrong, he is still your […].

Customer Service 145

Customer Service Customer Experience Management 145

Up Your Service

MAY 13, 2015

When you cannot deliver the service you promised to your customer, what do you do? Let’s face it. We all have days when we disappoint customers for various reasons. It could be a team member calling in sick, the internet goes down, bad weather strikes, an unexpected traffic delay occurs, and so on. We may not always prevent such situations, but we can always do something about them!

Personalization 111

Personalization Management 111

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Contact Center

Beyond Philosophy

MAY 12, 2015

There is a certain romantic notion that we sometimes just know things in our gut. We equate this to wisdom or expertise. In truth, when your gut instinct turns out to be right, it is a result of the complicated system of decision-making your brain employs. Psychologist and Professor Daniel Kahneman , winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, explains why this is in his book, “ Thinking Fast and Slow ”.

Personalization 369

Personalization Customer Experience Customer centricity Consulting 369

ClearAction

MAY 28, 2015

If It’s Called Customer Experience, Why is it All About the Company? ClearAction’s Lynn Hunsaker interviewed by Janice Cuban , MarCom Guru. While companies clamor to get their share of revenue from new and existing customers, the delta between what brands say they do for customers and what actually happens has never been larger. Perhaps it’s because of stats like: 90% of executives say that customer experience is central to their strategies , but a whopping 86% don’t expect to see a signif

Customer Experience 110

Customer Experience Journey mapping Surveys B2C 110

Provide Support

MAY 12, 2015

Today’s customer service involves more than a conversation face-to-face or on the phone. Email, live chat and social media have become important channels for consumers to engage with brands and seek for customer support. No matter how customer service is given to consumers, soft skills are essential for a successful customer service interaction. In fact, soft skills are even more significant than technical skills as at the end of the day what your customers will remember is how they felt about y

Customer Service 109

Customer Service Customer Support Best practices 109

PeopleMetrics

MAY 12, 2015

Customer experience darling Zappos recently reported 210 of its employees have resigned. That’s about 14% of their workforce. The exodus stems from an ultimatum issued by CEO Tony Hsieh early this past April. That number might seem shocking at first glance, but in terms of employee engagement strategy , it’s not so bad. A Call to Arms. Let’s back up a bit, and talk a little more about that ultimatum.

Employee engagement 106

Employee engagement Customer centricity Engineering Customer Experience 106

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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

Win the Customer

MAY 5, 2015

Anticipating needs, learning about the customer and listening to your employees are all keys to customer service success. Are you ready to take your customer service from reactive to proactive? Providing exceptional customer service goes beyond reducing call center wait times or diffusing conflicts with angry customers. If you’re ready to improve your customer service, […].

Customer Service 141

Customer Service Wait times Call Center Technology 141

Nimble

MAY 20, 2015

One of our associates is preparing to send her child, Evan, off to a 3-week overnight summer camp for the first time. Over the past few months she’s shared how the family went about selecting the right camp for them, and then the amazing job the camp did managing the experience after the selection and [.].

Customer Experience 104

Customer Experience Management Sales Marketing 104

Beyond Philosophy

MAY 22, 2015

Last week the UK elected a new government. All the polls leading up to the election said it would be a Hung Parliament, i.e. no one political party would be the outright winner/have a majority. On election night the Conservatives won a majority—a great shock to everybody! So why did people say they were going to vote one way and then change their mind?

Government 363

Government Marketing Customer Experience 363

ijgolding

MAY 14, 2015

I am going to start this post with a question you might find a little obvious – ‘do you know what the PURPOSE of your business is?’ Whilst it may be an obvious question, it is a remarkably important one. It is also a question that, from experience, I know many people find difficult to answer. Being very conscious of the continued risk of stating the obvious, it is extremely important for any organisation to have a real sense of clarity and understanding of the reason why they

Customer Experience 102

Customer Experience Customer centricity Metrics Technology 102

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ClearAction

MAY 31, 2015

Breaking Down Silos for Customer Experience Management. Since customers see their experience as a horizontal series of steps (journey), are silos of experts across the company negatively affecting customer experience? Yes. We’ve all been through the wringer in our own role as customers and found ourselves in a bewildering maze: "That’s not handled by us; so-and-so will have to take care of you." "Oh, that’s new; department X hasn’t told us all the details yet." "Yes, but that

Customer Experience 100

Customer Experience Management Employee engagement Customer centricity 100

PeopleMetrics

MAY 22, 2015

Because improving customer experience involves people, complex systems, and ongoing measurement, customer experience strategy can be a complicated task. So what can you do to ensure you achieve your overarching goals? In short: focus on one thing at a time. When we work with clients, we boil down our findings to make next steps actionable and clear.

Customer Experience 105

Customer Experience Employee engagement Analytics Customer Service 105

Win the Customer

MAY 11, 2015

Whether it’s on social media, website content, or on a forum, make sure that anything that comes from your brand is expressive, personable and consistent with your established beliefs. From love to business, trust and gaining one’s loyalty matters. Although there’s no magic formula to building a trusting relationship online, there are a couple of […].

Personalization 141

Personalization Technology Customer Experience 141