Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for the Week of September 4, 2023

Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Elevating Customer Experience: Embracing Hospitality as the Foundation by Charles Ryan Minton

(Newsweek) When it comes to providing exceptional customer experiences, few industries excel quite like the hotel business. With a strong emphasis on hospitality, hotels have mastered the art of creating a welcoming environment and exceeding guests’ expectations. For companies aspiring to enhance their customer service, the hotel industry offers valuable insights and strategies that can be adopted across various sectors. Drawing from my experience as a hotel executive, here are five key areas that companies can focus on to improve their customer service by embracing the principles of hospitality.

My Comment: The idea of a “hospitality mentality” should not be new to those following my work (including these weekly roundups). That’s why I’m excited to share this article by Charles Ryan Minton, one of the top managers in the Marriott/Bonvoy organization. The five ideas in this article are exactly what he uses when leading his team to deliver a great guest experience.

Customer Service as Experience: Fast, Consistent Comms Boost Customer Lifetime Value by Andy Farmer

(The Drum) Is it me or do we seem to be stuck in a customer experience (CX) time warp? You can’t download a report about digital or technology trends without being assailed with stats and surveys outlining how great CX is key to keeping and gaining customers. Figures like ‘89% of businesses see customer experience as a key factor in driving customer loyalty and retention,’ or ‘increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25-95%,’ or ‘95% of customers will stay if their experience is outstanding.’: they’re everywhere.

My Comment: This short article packs a lot of info. First, the author cites plenty of stats and findings to support the importance of customer service and CX. Second, the author challenges the status quo with his take on why many people misinterpret the meaning of CX. Finally, he presents the concept of “customer Service as an Experience.”

7 Small-Business Strategies for Customer Retention by Kalin Kassabov

(Inc. Magazine) Customer retention is a crucial aspect of any successful business. It can lead to increased customer loyalty, repeat business and, ultimately, higher profits. Customer retention can also help build your brand and reputation. Loyal and satisfied customers are more likely to recommend you to others and leave positive online reviews. Here are a few strategies small businesses can use to build customer loyalty and minimize churn.

My Comment: In my last book, I’ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again, I mention that the most important measurement in business isn’t NPS, CSAT, or others related to customer satisfaction. It’s if the customer comes back. Another word for that is your customer retention rate. In this short article, the author serves up seven common-sense strategies for customer retention that are good for any size business (even if the title of the article refers to them as “Small-Business Strategies”).

Decreasing Customer Retention Rate? Check Out These 5 Strategies to Fix It by The Drum

(The Drum) In this article, Depositphotos, one of the world’s leading platforms for stock images, videos and music, explains key principles behind customer retention and share some tried-and-true ideas on how to improve your customer retention rate (CRR) using visuals.

My Comment: And as long as we’re talking about customer retention, here is another excellent article on the topic. In addition to some strategies (different from the last article), the author includes a way to measure CRR (Customer Retention Rate). There’s also some information on prioritizing retention over new leads. The old saying, “It costs less to keep existing customers than to chase after new ones,” comes to mind.

7 Tips for Building a Successful Customer Onboarding Process by Rahul Sridhar

(G2) This blog will explore key strategies and best practices for building a successful customer onboarding process. Whether you’re a startup, a mid-market SaaS company, or an enterprise-level organization, these insights will help you maximize customer value, foster long-term relationships, and ensure a smooth customer onboarding journey.

My Comment: Onboarding customers at the beginning of the relationship is crucial to their success with your products and services. Some even refer to it as a customer success program. The result is typically fewer support calls and complaints. That turns into what we’ve been covering in the last two entries of this week’s Top Five articles: customer retention!

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.