Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken is a customer experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more articles on customer service and business go to http://www.hyken.com.

Latest

Using Games to Create a Better Customer Experience

Companies are using games to enhance the customer experience and engage with their customers, as well as their employees. It is a winning strategy for businesses—providing customers with entertainment in a fun, competitive way builds the company’s image and level of interaction with its customers.

A Competitive Advantage: Be Nice

If you’ve been reading my customer service articles or watching my weekly videos on YouTube, then you know my definition of being amazing is about consistently being better than average. And above average means exactly that. You don’t have to be over-the-top amazing.

Amazing Customer Service Gives a Competitive Edge

Amazing customer service is just a little better than average. That in itself isn’t amazing. What makes it amazing is when it is a little better than average—all of the time. It’s the consistency that makes the difference.

Core Values Are the Key to Customer Service

Core values affect the customer service experience—for external customers as well as internal customers (employees). They can attract customers to do business with you, and be a motivating factor for employees to enjoy their work and do it well.

What’s Your Customer Service Legend?

Do you have a legendary customer service story? If you do, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it to inspire your employees and motivate customers to want to do business with you.

Firing the Customer

In customer service, I firmly believe that there is a specific instance in which it is appropriate to fire the customer. This customer affects the morale and motivation of the employees and makes it impossible for them to deliver a great customer service experience.

The Heart of Customer Service is Respect

Excellence comes out of respect, which is at the heart of customer service. It starts with internal service; treating the employees with the same respect and attitude as you would want the customer treated. You can’t expect the customer to experience excellence if you don’t first create excellence internally.

Is Customer Service the New Marketing?

The line between customer service and marketing is becoming blurred, and some companies are even counting customer service as a marketing expense. Although in the past there were definitive marketing and customer service “departments,” it makes sense to acknowledge their relationship and interaction for the overall good of the company.

Creative Job Titles Help Create and Define Corporate Culture

Some companies have chosen to label their employees something other than employees. They call them team members, associates or other more endearing and personalized names and titles. With a little creativity, you can come up with a title for your employees, or even specific jobs, that can have a positive effect on the culture and experience that both the employees and your customers have with your organization.

Big Data, Little Data: A Customer Experience Opportunity Waiting to Happen

Big Data is a collection of data so large and complex it becomes difficult to process. However, many companies embrace a different concept of Big Data. While the collection of data is broad, based on a large amount of information and customer feedback, these companies are able to filter through it to understand general customer behavior and trends.