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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.
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.
Not long ago I was interviewing Kevin Berk, founder and CEO of ServiceGuru, on Amazing Business Radio. We were talking about the word fine. He commented that it is a four letter that begins with the letter F that you never want to hear from your customer. I then joked that fine is the “F-Bomb” of customer service. Ask someone how their experience with your company is.
When I hear an excellent, and genuine, expression of empathy from a company, I make a note of it. I’ll tell Siri to capture what I heard, or I’ll just type it out. I save ridiculously good empathy statements so that I can share them with my clients. In customer service workshops, like the one I delivered Friday in Columbus, I challenge my clients to use the empathy I’ve heard (and felt) to inspire them to come up with their own empathic responses.
Every year, $75 billion is lost to bad customer service — and your business could be bleeding loyalty without realizing it. AI is rewriting the rules. Imagine instant answers, 24/7 self-service, faster resolutions, and skyrocketing satisfaction scores. Companies like Amazon are already cashing in, and the technology is easier than you think — plug, play, and profit.
The future of work and the impact that artificial intelligence will have on the workforce has been a hot topic lately. The publicity has been a bit unsettling, though, given the tendency to couple the acronym AI with the word “replace”—as in “AI Will Replace Half of All Jobs in the Next Decade” or “Could […].
Gamification in customer experience has been used for several years. The concept of using game mechanics to attract and retain customers in the consumer space is commonplace and many tools have been developed. However the use of gamification tools in employee experience and performance has really just begun to emerge. And it’s rising quickly. For decades contact centers have explored ways to turn the tide of low employee engagement and low morale.
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Gamification in customer experience has been used for several years. The concept of using game mechanics to attract and retain customers in the consumer space is commonplace and many tools have been developed. However the use of gamification tools in employee experience and performance has really just begun to emerge. And it’s rising quickly. For decades contact centers have explored ways to turn the tide of low employee engagement and low morale.
As technology advances, we all have that utopian dream of having all our problems answered at a click of a button. No matter the difficulty. No matter the medium.instant solutions and quality experiences. Many believe that for customer service, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the future of customer service and maybe the disruption of the entire call center industry.
Many companies seeking to improve their Customer Experience (CX) understand the importance of putting the customer at the center of everything they do. Doing it, however, flummoxes them. Not all companies have this problem though. Those that have excellent experiences, the kind that makes their brand name a household one, demonstrate actual customer-centricity in their CX.
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.
Walmart is debuting a towering new kiosk that makes it easier to pick up online orders in your local Walmart store. Early reviews of Walmart’s “pickup tower” give it a thumbs up. In about 20 Walmart stores, you can scan a barcode on your phone at the bright red 16-foot-tall tower in the front of the store. A door opens, your item appears, and you’re done.
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.
Asking strategic questions helps you understand your Customer Experience (CX), determine a focus for your efforts, and deliver a successful CX outcome. However, one question is the most vital to success with your CX strategy, and it isn’t about them; it’s about you. Forget to ask it, and you can forget about delivering on your CX objectives. The question is this: How much do you embrace customer irrationality?
RyanAir, Europe’s largest airline, in my view are the epitome of a poor Customer Experience. Over the last few days, they have proven this yet again as the airline has begun cancelling hundreds of flights. Hapless travelers are stranded in far-flung cities or stuck at home when they expected to be on holiday. Ryanair announced last Friday that it would cancel 40-50 flights per day for the next six weeks.
Effective communication is the lifeblood of any relationship, whether it’s between individuals, informal groups, within companies, between leaders and the people they govern, and, of course, between companies and their customers. We’ve all seen what can go wrong when communication breaks down – anything from divorce to declarations of war; but in a business context, what does it mean?
Consumer confidence is a funny thing. It is little more than a feeling, and yet it drives millions of dollars in business—especially around this time of year. A recent JLL Retail survey revealed that consumer confidence is high, making the outlook for the holiday season holly jolly. Now, to be fair, Consumer Confidence is the aggregate for 5,000 U.S. households’ feelings.
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.
Every time I go back to the UK I feel like I took a step back in time. The Customer Experiences I have in the UK are not as good as I have in the USA, now there is evidence to back this up. Per the 8th annual “ Customer Experience Excellence Study” published by KPMG Nunwood, shows that Customer Experience in the UK is lagging. Ten-thousand respondents ranked brands’ Customer Experience based on six categories.
Childhood bullying gets a lot of attention these days, but bullying and other bad behavior can be just as destructive in the workplace as on the playground. Over the years, I’ve seen people with poor social and interpersonal skills unnecessarily make life miserable – not just for themselves, but for everyone else in the workplace. For managers and executives, poor relationships with employees and customers are one of the surest ways to undermine any efforts to create a positive customer experien
Do you believe it is the Customer Experience you provide that makes customers loyal? If you do, I am sorry to be the one to inform you that you are wrong. I have been a global Customer Experience consultant for fifteen years, since before Customer Experience was even a thing. As a result, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Customer Experiences.
Are you the kind of person who hums along to “Jingle Bell Rock” in the supermarket? Does it make you want to fill your cart with cookies and egg nog? When you hear “Winter Wonderland” at the mall, do you think of sleigh rides and warm nights by the fire? Do you feel excited to start your holiday shopping? Or are you one of those who wish they’d just play something else – anything else?
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.
When we’re in the UK, I complain about the chilly, dreary weather. And when we’re at our home in Florida, my wife Lorraine complains about the dreadful heat. Our complaining is all in good fun – we actually enjoy both locales. But as this article explains, complaining can become a nasty habit that makes our lives seem worse than they really are. Complaining can also affect your business.
When you are making decisions, you carefully consider all the facts and factors that present in a logical and orderly process, right? Not so fast. You rarely make decisions this way—and neither do your customers. The truth is that psychological principles often influence the decision-making process; you might even say take over. But don’t feel bad that you didn’t know.
Theory is one thing. Implementation is another. Ideas are useless if you can’t apply them. The idea I often share is that customer emotions influence over half of your Customer Experience. However, just knowing customers are emotional doesn’t help your business….unless you know how to use this information to improve your business outcome. How your customers feel about your experience is the most significant factor to your Customer Experience success.
A couple of years ago, Millennials surpassed Generation X for workers in the U.S. and Canadian workforce. They are also the least engaged at their jobs and the most likely to job-hop. Unfortunately, none of this is good news for your Customer Experience. A much-maligned generation, Millennials have been the subject of many viral work videos. Like this one: This rant from millennial journalist Alex Bloomer about her generation struck a chord with people last year: Sure, the videos are worth a lau
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.
With online shopping, transactions and communication as prevalent – and as easy – as it is today, it can often be tempting to focus most of your Customer Experience efforts on getting your virtual presence right. When many of your customers will engage with you solely on a virtual platform, it can make sense to favor it. However, neglecting your brick-and-mortar experience can lead to inconsistent CX and online backlash.
I have lied about this. I’d wager you have, too. Moreover, per Groupon’s latest survey, most people lie about being happy about the gifts they receive at the holidays. When I read this study, I wondered if we lie to people about our gift receiving experience, isn’t it also likely we lie about other experiences too? Does that also mean our customers lie to us about how they feel about their Customer Experience?
The emotional side of the Customer Experience (CX) is often ignored, which is a big mistake in today’s competitive business environment. Since emotion influences more than half the typical CX, deliberate structuring of your emotional CX is essential. When you cultivate customers’ positive emotions, it improves your CX outcomes and serves as an enormous competitive differentiator.
One of the annoying things about business travel is that you tend to need things in your hotel room at the worst time. More shampoo when you’re still in your pajamas. A mending kit to repair a button in time for your dinner meeting. The hotel staff, while generally helpful and accommodating, has other things to do. So you wait. It’s not the best customer experience, but if you travel often, you learn to live with it.
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.
Back in 2011, Boston College performed an interesting study involving everyone’s favorite energy drink, Red Bull, and the behavior it evoked in study participants. In brief, the study asked a number of participants to “drive” a car in a video game and they measured several factors, including speed, power, aggressive behavior and risk-taking. Interestingly, those driving the cars painted with a Red Bull logo consistently drove faster and more aggressively than other participants, apparently beca
Let’s face it; the holiday season is well over and becoming difficult to even remember. It’s time to get cracking. With a little effort, we should be back on track in no time. If only it were that easy! The truth is the hot mess we return to makes us want to pack up and head right back on holiday. Unfortunately, for the majority of us, this solution isn’t an option.
By nature, I’m an organized person. I like things clear and orderly, laid out in black and white. So, some years ago, as a new senior manager, I asked my boss to explain what my responsibilities would be after a company reorganization. I wanted to know, with absolute certainty. But my boss just looked at me and said, “Colin, in a senior position you need to deal with ambiguity.”.
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