You don’t have to be a customer service expert to know that respect is an immensely important part of customer service. In fact, we consider respect a cornerstone of any customer service philosophy, and we include “being disrespected” as one of our 7 Service Triggers, the seven customer service hot buttons that are guaranteed to …

How to Treat Customers: With Respect Read More »

Research on first impressions confirms two very fundamental facts: first impressions happen rapidly and subconsciously. The old adage is true: you never get a chance to make a first impression. Because once that impression is made, our tendency towards confirmation bias means we are looking for evidence to support that impression and ignoring evidence that …

21 Ways to Not Make a Good First Impression with Customers Read More »

Known most commonly as NPS®, Net Promoter Score® is probably the most popular metric in customer experience and customer service. The Net Promoter Score measures the answer to a single customer survey question: How likely is it that you would recommend [brand/product/service] to a friend or colleague?  The concept of  NPS was first proposed in 2003 …

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Back in 2005, Bain and Company released a report entitled: Closing the Delivery Gap: How to Achieve True Customer-Led Growth. It was a fine report with plenty of good lessons for customer experience, but it was the statistic upon which it was based that has lived on far past the shelf life of the report itself. Bain surveyed 362 …

The Greatest Customer Service Statistic in the World Read More »

I was able to catch up with my buddy Stan Phelps at Influence 2016, the annual conference of the National Speakers Association. Stan, who is the author of five different books on customer experience, gave me a quick glimpse at why his next book, Red Goldfish, focuses on social purpose in corporations.

Let me say it here once and for all: You do not have to exceed customer expectations to deliver great service. Do surprise and delight matter? Sure. Do WOW moments make an impact? Of course. Do we all love stories about incredible customer service? Heck yeah! But they are the cherry on top; they are …

Exceeding Customer Expectations Is Nice but Not Necessary Read More »

I was able to catch up with my podcast partner, Jeannie Walters, at the recent National Speakers Association Influence 2016 event in Arizona and talk with her about one of her customer experience specialties: microinteractions. What Are Microinteractions? A microinteraction is any small moment where a customer interacts with your brand. It could be a confirmation email, an exit …

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Love stories in the movies, whether in the form of romantic comedies or more sentimental Nicholas Sparks-esque vehicles, have one similar device: the movie ends when the two love interests finally get together. Usually, the couple has overcome obstacles that have kept them apart — either self-inflicted or environmental — and the movie closes when …

How Customer Service Training Is Like a Hollywood Love Story Read More »

I had the pleasure to speak with Jay Baer for our new “Expert Interviews” series on YouTube. Jay is a renowned business strategist, keynote speaker and the New York Times best-selling author of five books who travels the world helping businesspeople get and keep more customers. He recently wrote a fantastic book on social media …

Social Media Customer Service with Jay Baer (Video) Read More »