Customer Service posts, articles, and infographics

More Social Customer Engagement Models That Don't Suck

February 4, 2012 by Adam Metz
with 59 views

Ed. note: This is part of a series of excerpts from The Social Customer, the new guide to social customer acquisition, monetization, and retention by Adam Metz. For the first entry, go here. This installment continues Chapter 2: The “How” and “Where” of Engagement and the Four Social Customer Scenarios. Adam introduces two more... [read more]

8 Marketing Trends to Implement in Your 2012 Marketing Plan

February 2, 2012 by Yasmin Bendror
with 66 views

As I’ve said before, social media needs to be INTEGRATED into your overarching marketing plan. It’s not the magic pill. It’s not the hard sale, it’s the soft sell. It’s not going to blast your sales from $0 to $10,000 overnight. But social media is a powerful marketing tool that must be used in your marketing tactics today. And other important marketing tactics must not be ignored either. [read more]

Just Like Mom Said: Keep Your Promises

February 2, 2012 by Kim Proctor
with 35 views

When a company makes a promise to its customers (via its website, via marketing, via policies or contracts) AND fulfills it – it builds trust. Makes sense right? You make a promise and the customer hopes you will live up to it. When you do fulfill your promises, it satisfies the customers and it may even make them more loyal. [read more]

Being Off Duty Doesn’t Mean You Aren’t Responsible for Customer Service (and More)

January 30, 2012 by Shep Hyken
with 71 views

Image by Mike Knell via Flickr

This may start out to sound like a rant, but it isn’t. It’s simply the set-up for the customer service lesson to be learned. I’m at an airport, working my way through the security line for about fifteen minutes. During this time, a number of flight attendants and airline personnel went ahead of me and everyone else,... [read more]

Average Is Over: Time to Stand Out

January 27, 2012 by Dave Brock
with 100 views

Photo by Mike Gifford via Flickr

In a buyer’s world, where too many products are undifferentiated, where the differences between the companies that stand behind the products are relatively small, where quality is similar, where everything balances out–and on average they are the same, there are two things that stand out as real differentiators... [read more]

The Silent Exit of Poor Customer Service

January 25, 2012 by Douglas Hanna
with 305 views

Photo: Debs (ò‿ó)♪/Flickr

Typically an unhappy customer who perceives that attitude of indifference will tell eight to ten of their friends, coworkers or family members about their bad experiences, and one in five people will tell 20 others. [read more]

Best Buy Customer Service Still at Odds

January 18, 2012 by Douglas Hanna
with 75 views

Image: matteston.nomran/FLickr

Best Buy just can’t get it right, and customers continue to complain. Even the company’s promotion on used videos this weekend piled up consumer complaints as customers couldn’t find what they wanted in either the stores or online. [read more]

Invest in Your Front-Line Supervisors

January 16, 2012 by RachelMiller
with 40 views

Image courtesy of author's blog

If you’re at all like me, you’ve lost count of the times you’ve read that you should be investing in your employees. Invest in your employees and they’ll stick around forever and become valued brand advocates. But which employees? Surely not all of them? That could be incredibly costly. With turnover rates at an all-time high, here is my... [read more]

Order Taker Or Solution Creator?

January 12, 2012 by Dave Brock
with 57 views

Photo by Ben+Sam via Flickr

The other day Seth Godin offered a short post on Sold or Bought. It offered an interesting perspective, but he didn’t go far enough on selling. We can further refine this view in a number of ways. One of the major splits I see is sales people who are really order takers versus solution creators. Order takers focus on... [read more]

The Social Customer: Born of Punk Rock

January 8, 2012 by Adam Metz
with 68 views

Photo by Ripton Scott via Flickr/Creative Commons

Ed. note: This is the first in a series of excerpts from The Social Customer, the new guide to modern marketing by Adam Metz. Here, Adam discusses the influences that shaped his view of business. It’s possible that many of the readers of this book will understand how I grew up, and how it has influenced my worldview, and how it can make... [read more]

Customer Care Survey Reveals Just 5% Complain via Social Media

January 5, 2012 by Luke Brynley-Jones
with 140 views

Apparently, while more than 60% of 18-35 year olds prefer to complain via an online channel, email continues to dominate as the online complaints channel of choice. Just 5% of 18-35 year olds complain via social media (Twitter or Facebook). [read more]

3 Resolutions for Excellent Customer Service in 2012

December 27, 2011 by Dr. John R. Miller
with 187 views

Well, the ribbons are barely off the holiday packages and we are still digesting the last of the figgy pudding, so that means it must be time for us to fill the air with lots of resolutions for 2012. In these waning days of 2011, we hear much pontificating on those things that will make life better for everyone in 2012. Many of... [read more]

Secret to Amazing Customer Service: Be Better than Average

December 21, 2011 by Shep Hyken
with 267 views

Your secret weapon is customer service. Wait! It’s not a secret anymore. Just about every company I do business with claims they deliver customer service. My experience as I look back over just the last year is that for many companies it is their goal, yet not their reality. [read more]

1 in 5 Customers Complain Online, Are You Listening?

December 19, 2011 by Andy Hanselman
with 102 views

Image source: Author's blog

22% of UK consumers would complain to a company using social media when they receive a disappointing customer experience. That’s according to new research by Sage. However, only 40% had received an acknowledgement as a result. Maybe that’s because many businesses simply aren’t listening! Another survey by Sage reveals that... [read more]

Complain Constructively for Better Customer Service

December 18, 2011 by Douglas Hanna
with 80 views

In a global survey, Accenture wrote about deteriorating customer service and how most of us have at least switched one of our own service providers because we were displeased that our expectations had not been met. Now in the great realm of this very complicated world, happiness with a company might be perceived differently – that is... [read more]

This Time It’s Personal – Well, It Should Be!

December 16, 2011 by Andy Hanselman
with 54 views

A personalised customer service experience is a key factor success in ‘remarkable’ businesses, but it doesn’t happen very often! Only 4% of UK consumers feel treated as an individual when contacting their service providers including banks, telephone companies, utility providers and retailers, despite almost half of these... [read more]

The Test of Customer Service: The Holiday Customer Experience

December 15, 2011 by Meikah Delid
with 35 views

Image: Courtesy of makaticity.com

Here in the Philippines, Christmas time equates a mad rush of shopping frenzy. Parking lots overflow into the streets, and so expect terrible traffic jams! [read more]

Customer Service Online Or Offline? It’s All The Same To Me!

December 10, 2011 by Andy Hanselman
with 137 views

Customer service works offline AND online! There’s more evidence that customers want the same stuff when it comes to customer service, regardless of where or how they buy! A recent survey highlighted here shows that in terms of support, online customers want: The ability to track shipments with a computer or mobile device Online... [read more]

Creative Problem Solving Can Lead to Amazing Customer Service

December 7, 2011 by Shep Hyken
with 143 views

Photo via Cooking Gluten Free, Flickr, Creative Commons

The Lesson: Customer service is more than saying, please, thank you and being nice [read more]

Customer Service Is At An All Time Low!

December 7, 2011 by Andy Hanselman
with 58 views

Image: Courtesy of author blog

Customer service is at an all time low! That’s according to a new report from Henley Business School. Apparently 75% of customers believe that customer service levels are the worst they have ever been and over half of us have complained as a result. [read more]