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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.
When it comes to creating an exceptional service culture, nothing is more important than a team’s ability to collaborate well. Both the agent and the customer experience will be exponentially better with 360 degrees of partnership—agents partnering with each other to share knowledge and solve problems, leadership partnering alongside agents to understand the front line, […].
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.
Call center managers are tasked with myriad responsibilities, and they maintain responsibility for ensuring that they are running a call center operation smoothly and efficiently.
In 2025, contact centers aren’t just changing—they’re being rebuilt by AI. This no-fluff, executive-ready guide shows you how to capitalize on the transformation. Inside: proven ROI calculators, workforce optimization tactics, deflection strategies, and a 90-day AI deployment plan. Built for CIOs, COOs, CX leaders, and contact center strategists, it goes beyond buzzwords into play-by-play implementation.
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.
It’s not surprising that contact center predictions for 2018 accounted for two of the most popular posts in January. What other topics piqued readers’ interest? A look at the common characteristics shared by award-winning contact centers; tips to help work-at-home agents stay productive and focused; and an update on the state of remote work in […].
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Customer Contact Central brings together the best content for Contact Center and Customer Service professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
It’s not surprising that contact center predictions for 2018 accounted for two of the most popular posts in January. What other topics piqued readers’ interest? A look at the common characteristics shared by award-winning contact centers; tips to help work-at-home agents stay productive and focused; and an update on the state of remote work in […].
By Linda Sydow When building high performing teams, it is important to include the members of the team in the building process. If they do not feel included, the results will be less than stellar. They will either leave the team, or become disconnected, and distant. When I work on projects, I select individuals to work as specialists to assist in the success of the project.
Michael Lowenstein, Ph.D., CMC Thought Leadership Principal, Beyond Philosophy. Companies are fond of saying that employees are their most powerful resource, and in many ways – especially their influence on customer loyalty – that’s been well proven. But, to understand what factors leverage employee behavior, most organizations have historically relied on satisfaction and engagement surveys, typically conducted through HR.
This week we feature an article by Misa Chien who shares great lessons we can learn from the Southwest Airlines customer culture. This also reminds us that customer service doesn’t just happen on the front line. It happens throughout the entire company. It must be part of the company’s culture. – Shep Hyken. What comes to mind when you think of a bachelorette party?
Call center managers are tasked with myriad responsibilities, and they maintain responsibility for ensuring that their call center operation runs smoothly and efficiently. With managers often having large staffs of call center representatives to manage, regulatory compliance requirements to address, customer satisfaction to uphold, sales targets to hit, and more, it’s no surprise that call […].
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
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.
…so what’s stopping you? This original article was written by Steve DiGioia. Close your eyes. Imagine walking into a store and are immediately met by a pleasant employee with one goal in mind; to ensure you find the best product that suits your needs exactly as you wish. No need to look for help, she’s already there and knows the products like the back of her hand.
How Speaking Your Customer’s Lingo Makes You Irresistible. Shep Hyken Interviews Jeffrey Shaw, the LINGO Guy. What if you could speak your ideal customer’s language? . . ? <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”>?
“Gareth, the dishwasher seems to be clogged. Please fix it.”. “Affirmative sir, will check and repair.”. “Great, I’ll be out on the deck.”. It’s a beautiful day in 2030 and I’m relaxing with my entertainment system. I sit up suddenly. Sniff, Sniff. “Gareth, are you cooking something? I smell something burning.”. “Negative, sir, just flushing the dishwasher hose, sir.”.
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.
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.
I am fortunate to have raised two boys who are growing up to be fine young men. Some of the lessons I learned in raising them have carried over to my professional career as well. I may not be world-class at fatherhood or leadership, but I continue to learn new things about both roles every […].
In the beginning, you and your co-founders bootstrapped solutions and personally attended to each customer like they were newborn kittens. Your internal messaging system was a tap on the shoulder, and your communal desk doubled as a ping-pong table (or was it the other way around?). Startup life can be gritty and romantic, that’s for sure. But now the product is selling like hotcakes, you’ve been featured on Product Hunt, and venture capitalists are sleeping in tents outside your apartment.
At Customer Guru, we believe that Customer Experience (CX) should be the number one priority for all the Indian businesses so that they become more sustainable and successful globally. Thus, we have started the initiative of sharing a series of interviews with top-notch CX experts in India to spread this awareness. Our guest for this week is Mr. Viraj Verma, a leading CX enthusiast in India.
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.
By Diana Aviles The core part of Speech Analytics that sometimes gets lost amongst the high powered metadata and reporting functionalities are the audio insights themselves. The whole purpose of SA is to have the ability to analyze specific words and phrases mentioned in customer/agent interactions. To SA newcomers, I have found that once the dust settles from all of the extensive training, there’s this feeling of “What’s next for me?
There are a few things to keep in mind when building an A+ team of call center agents. First and foremost, make sure that you’re hiring the right people (that’s of course more difficult than it sounds). Once the right candidates are in place, the training becomes critical. We already know how monotonous a call center agent’s role can be but, by making the training process exciting and fun, you’re creating a better environment for everyone.
While technology fuels a constant evolution in customer service practices, certain customer priorities do not change: A need for quick and in-depth service. For this reason, first contact resolution, or FCR, remains a critical metric for contact centers to monitor. According to the Customer Experience Executive Report by CCW Digital, 70% of customers consider FCR the most important factor when interacting with a company, yet only 10% of companies believe they excel at its delivery.
You’re not alone in your struggles. In fact, companies the world over experience the same predicament: trying to repeatedly and successfully convey how their products or services can benefit consumers. But, believe it or not, uniting the forces of education and marketing can go a long way in your pursuit of happiness. Don’t just market to your customers, though.
With IT budgets projected to grow 9.8% in 2025, leaders must invest wisely—not just cut blindly. This whitepaper introduces The Future-Proof IT Cost Optimization Model, a framework to reduce costs while maintaining service quality. Learn how Cloud Efficiency, AI-Powered Workforce Automation, Vendor Optimization, Cybersecurity Resilience, and Unified Communications can drive savings and improve efficiency.
It’s no secret that organization is key to running a successful business. This is especially true when your company creates quotes or estimates in QuickBooks for prospective customers. After all, you can’t start the work if you don’t know whether the customer has accepted your estimate. Ideally, your customers should be able to quickly and easily accept estimates online.
Last week I had a fascinating conversation with a peer of mine – a fellow Customer Experience Professional. James Dodkins is as passionate about transforming organisations to become sustainably customer centric as I am. Like me, James regularly comes across organisations who talk about ‘putting the customer first’ – a statement that is hard to immediately disagree with.
In the world of customer experience, there’s more than one way to shine a penny. Net promoter score (NPS) , customer satisfaction (CSAT), customer effort score (CES)—each of these KPIs provides useful insights into the customer’s journey. They help us answer questions like: How do customers find our help content? What kind of customer support experience do customers prefer?
There is a big difference between appreciating the importance of customers within a business and creating a customer centric team. A company that values its customer’s business may set up a designated customer support team for complaints and feedback, but a customer centric company will put the needs of customers at the forefront of operations and ensure that all members of the team are on the same page.
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!
A solid customer engagement strategy, when done well, increases reputation, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. After years in search of the perfect formula for building and maintaining successful customer relationships, we've uncovered a winning combination.
Are you one of the almost 40% of organizations that say reducing effort to improve the customer experience is their primary contact center goal for 2018? If you are, here’s our laundry list of the top five things that are absolute “must have” phone system features for your contact center in 2018 and beyond: Built-in Reliability and Disaster Recovery.
It’s going to be a big year in the world of contact center and in customer service technology. Will Avaya soar upwards, freshly unburdened from its decade of debt? Will this be the year that messaging platforms from Facebook, Apple and others reach critical mass as a channel for customer service? Will the AI / chatbot hype start to live up to its promise?
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