Expert Advice on Customer Service and Experience Excellence
This post was originally published on the FCR blog on August 25, 2016. Click here to read the original.
When asked, I never pass on an opportunity to weigh in on ways to improve both customer experience and customer service. I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts with both Lessonly and my good friend Doug Sandler and wanted to share what I said. Take a moment to read my take, read the thoughts of some of the experts, and share your own perspective.
Overlooked Areas of Customer Experience
In this article, Lessonly polled a variety of customer experience leadership to understand the most often overlooked areas of the customer experience. The panel of experts included Bob Phibbs, Annette Franz, Jeff Toister, Jeanne Bliss, and Marsha Collier. They each hit it from multiple angles including a focus on making a human connection with customers, improving the employee experience, defining what great customer service looks like, and gaining leadership focus on the customer experience.
In my response, I chose to focus on the contact center and the importance of the voice of our frontline colleagues. Here’s what I said:
The most commonly overlooked area of customer service is the frontline agents and their voice. They speak with customers day in and day out and therefore hold the keys and insights to building a great customer experience. Listen to them!
Click here to read the full article.
Providing Great Customer Service
A recent e-book published by customer service and business expert Doug Sandler shared a variety of perspectives on the key ingredients for providing great customer service. Doug shares his own perspective including the importance of investing time and energy in each customer, inspiring them with expert guidance, and executing consistently.
When asked for my advice or providing great customer service, I focused on the importance of solving problems and being proactive:
Awesome customer service occurs when a team of engaged customer service experts moves beyond simply answering customer questions to solving their problem. In many cases this means answering the questions customers didn’t even know to ask!
The entire e-book is worth a read along with Doug’s book titled Nice Guys Finish First.
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