Listen Now

Top Takeaways:  Broken promises to your customers can be either implicit or explicit depending on the situation or marketing strategy.  There are lots of reasons why some promises are not kept. Mistakes will happen or there will be miscommunication throughout management, or sometimes people become busy and a little forgetful.  Many companies struggle to provide a consistent customer experience and inconsistent experiences create distrust and causes customer churn.  Shep’s definition of amazement is simply being better than average all the time. Consistently amazing your customers is key in earning their trust and confidence in your business.  Advertising is making a promise to your customers. It sets the expectations for your customers.  A customer doesn’t buy a product or service. They buy a solution. For example, you’ll buy a soda because you’re thirsty. You buy a drill to make a hole.  Businesses can use the framework of a guarantee to provide a more consistent experience and there are three elements to an experience guarantee: 1) Promise to solve a customer’s problem. 2) Act to solve it. 3) Recover from any service failures.  Think about what the real question is, behind the question your customers actually give you. Be aware of the solution your customers are searching for.  Quote: “Advertising helps set the customer’s expectation on the promises that brands are willing to deliver.” About: Jeff Toister is an author, consultant, and trainer who helps companies develop customer-focused cultures. He's written four books including The Guaranteed Customer Experience. Thousands of customer service professionals around the world subscribe to Jeff's Customer Service Tip of the Week email.  Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      While it is an age-old adage that word of mouth is the most powerful advertising, many companies have not yet embraced this wonderful opportunity.-      Many hoteliers (and businesses in general) spend a fortune on advertising and little to no investment of time or energy in inspiring empowering their team to top performance.-      Teach GMs and department heads to start inspiring and empowering. Our teams are full of talent that we can use if we invite them to collaborate.-      Many business owners like the thought of having consistent 5-Star reviews but don’t know where to begin.-      Every interaction you have with external customers as well as internal customers should end with everyone feeling better than when they came to you.-      When interviewing a potential employee, read your company’s mission statement aloud and watch the candidate’s reaction to test whether that candidate truly aligns with your company culture.-      Adele’s six-step process for achieving 5-star reviews:1.   Write down your ultimate review, with details about what makes your experience so special.2.   Share your business mission and vision with your team.3.   Shoot for the stars. If you shoot for 80% guest (customer) satisfaction, you’ll never know the joy of 96%.4.   Use each critical review as a trigger for continuous improvement.5.   Hire happy people pleasers and give them the tools, training, support, and freedom from fear that they need to be successful in making guests happy.6.   Talk about kindness and compassion every day.Quotes:“Remember to C.A.R.E.: Every customer that you talk to should feel Cared for, Appreciated, and Respected at Every encounter.”About:Adele Gutman Milne is a culture and guest experience expert and host of the Hospitality Reputation Marketing Podcast: Get Great Reviews. Adele also has been named one of the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds by HSMAI along with numerous other awards for her leadership in Hospitality Reputation Marketing. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      The reality of today’s digital world is that the transformation of technology is never done. Therefore, all companies need to continuously change and pivot to keep up with their customers’ expectations and the rest of the business world.-      A lot of companies may have an intuitive belief of where their customers are in terms of their needs, expectations, and pain points. Unfortunately, they don’t do the necessary research to keep their finger on the pulse of where their customer is right now.-      Customer behavior is vital in keeping your business profitable – and there are more customer behaviors besides buying and coming back to buy again.-      Many studies have revealed that while the emotional and rational side of a person plays into purchase decisions, the emotional side tends to be more powerful in purchasing behavior.-      Customer love is the feeling that you can count on a brand to give you what you need and more, along with a feeling of alignment or spiritual connection. The companies that inspire a lot of customer love have better business metrics overall.-      The formula for achieving customer love is spilt into three parts: meeting customer needs, periodically delighting your customers, and standing for something that resonates with your customers’ values.-      Brands with high customer love consistently have more growth, profit, and valuation.-      There is a proven transformation process companies can use to improve their fulfillment of the ‘love formula’:-      Step 1. Understand Your Customer-      Step 2. Map the Customer Journey-      Step 3. Build the Future-      Step 4. Optimize the Short Term-      Step 5. Lead the ChangeQuote:“In this time of rapid change, you really don’t have a choice if you want your business to remain relevant and successful. You must keep changing with the times.”About:Howard Tiersky is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance. Howard is the founder of two companies that enable large brands to win in the digital world: FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency and Innovation Loft. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Some businesses such as a healthcare practice or provider, do not have a product that the customer touches. Instead, it’s all about selling the entire service experience to their customer.-      Remember to manage the Moments of Truth: any time a customer comes into contact with any part of your business they have the opportunity to form an impression.-      Words are very powerful in shaping the perception of the customer experience. For example, the waiting room in a doctor’s office could be renamed as the reception area, implying a different experience from just waiting in a room.-      If your customers are experiencing long wait times or complex systems when trying to call your business, it may be time to hire more help or invest in technology to reduce those hold times or phone trees.-      Creating a positive customer experience increases the likelihood that your customers will tell others of their experience with you, ultimately making you feel more fulfilled with your work to create that experience.-      Dr. Baum’s 10 Personal Promises to His Patients:1.   We will answer the phone in less than 3 rings.2.   A human, not an answering machine, will speak with you and make your appointment or take your questions.3.   We can usually make an appointment to see you on the same day that you call or the very next day.4.   If you call for the doctor and the doctor is not available, we will call you back the same day and we will tell you what time that call is going to take place.5.   We use an electronic medical record system to send your prescription to the pharmacy immediately so that the medication will be ready by the time you arrive to pick it up.6.   We will send a letter to your primary care doctor or referring physician while you’re still in the exam room that lists your diagnosis, the medications you’ve been prescribed and the treatment plan we’ve outlined for you.7.   We’ll provide you with educational materials on your condition, including articles written by Dr. Baum.8.   You can communicate with me or one of my staff via email and I will answer you usually within the same day.9.   We have a very energetic, enthusiastic and smiling staff who will help exceed your expectations regarding your visit to our office.10. We will make your visit almost magical. Quote:“The customer experience begins with the patient, or customer, the moment you start any sort of interaction.”About:Neil H. Baum, MD, Professor of Clinical Urology at Tulane Medical School, has written over 300 peer-reviewed articles and 10 books on marketing, communications between doctors and patients, as well as publications on men and women’s healthcare issues. Dr. Baum is the also author of The Business Basics to Building and Managing a Healthcare Practice which was published in 2019.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      The secret to getting your employees to love coming in to work is creating an environment where employees feel welcome, loved and empowered.-      One of the most important things you can do every day is huddle with your team. Meet together and talk about your culture and company values daily.-      The number one reason people leave their jobs is because they are not feeling recognized or valued by their boss or management.-      Keeping a healthy, productive company culture is all about making sure your employees feel valued, informed of their responsibilities, participate in ongoing training, and set goals to help them grow. -      The anxiety from having to confront customers on a hard “no” can cause employees to enter their fight or flight mode. Either way, the interaction becomes negative and causes the customer to become even more unhappy with the situation.-      Find ways to say yes to your customers, even if the answer is no.-      Christine Trippi’s four-step process on how to always say yes includes: 1) Make friends first. 2) Explain what you can do. 3) Offer options. 4) Be creative.-      Energy times execution equals your sweet results. After feeling inspired you may have a lot of energy to get started, but it’s the ideas and the execution of those ideas that will make sweet success.Quote:“A lot of companies have a great onboarding process that covers their missions and values, but then it ends on day one. It’s how you pull through every day that’s going to create your company culture.”  About:Christine Trippi is an award-winning hotelier who has been in a romance with hospitality for over 30 years, serving as manager at resorts, and full and select-service hotels. She is the founder of The Wise Pineapple and uses her experience and passion for helping leaders and organizations have Sweet Operations, Sweet Cultures, and Sweet Results. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Influencer marketing is a way to add to your customer journey. It starts with social media. One of the first things customers look at when exploring a brand is their social media presence.-      Influencer marketing enhances customer experience through people, visuals and content that are relatable, unlike traditional ads made in a studio.-      A strong, influential social media presence can also help B2B companies negotiate collaborations and partnerships with other B2B companies.-      Current customers can be some of your best social media influencers.-      Social media profiles are the new ‘showrooms’ for manufacturers to present and promote their products or services.-      Negative reviews or comments on social media are a good way to showcase to the public (which includes current and potential customers) how your business handles customer complaints.-      Look at your competitors to see which social media channels they focus on and how they utilize those platforms within their business. That’s a good place to start.-      Your followers want to interact with influencers. That’s why social media platforms work so well. They have the capability to interact, unlike traditional media like TV, radio and print. -      Social media is a great opportunity to engage with your customers and marketing efforts on a personal level.Quote:“Think about how you can customize the different social media channels to fit your business, regardless of your industry.”About:Elma Beganovich leads A&E’s efforts in building the company’s list of world-renowned partners and clients. Her area of expertise includes identifying roles that A&E can play for a variety of brands in different industries, as well as developing terms and scope of those partnerships. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Web accessibility is required by the law for almost every business in the United States.-      According to the CDC, 26% of American adults are living with some form of a disability, and it’s up to American businesses to make sure that all their public spaces are accessible to everyone.-      Accessibility cannot truly be widespread until it is affordable, simple enough for the average business owner to install, and in a format that allows businesses to ‘set it and forget it’ with minimal to no upkeep.-      Right now, the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) created by the W3C, is the only internationally recognized set of guidelines for web accessibility.-      After surveying over 10 million web pages, 98% of those pages failed to be completely accessible. -      The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) states that public places of accommodation need to be accessible to everybody. In 2018, the Department of Justice said business websites are also considered places of public accommodation. -      Customers who have disabilities sometimes already have assistive technology that can detect web accessibility when navigating different websites.-      Being an accessible company increases brand reputation and helps ensure every customer has a positive experience with you.Quote:“Many businesses have no idea that they are required by law to be web-accessible, mostly because no one has ever brought their website’s inaccessibility into question.”About:Rafi Glantz is a sales and marketing executive, small-time musician, and big-time dog lover who currently leads accessiBe’s Strategic Partnerships efforts and collaborates with both partners and people with disabilities worldwide to increase awareness of web accessibility.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Personalization has been and continues to be the big buzzword in the world of customer experience. -      In just a matter of a few months, COVID-19 forced businesses 2-3 years into the future of digital commerce and digital customer experiences.-      COVID-19 has also affected the way customers shop, especially with grocery stores, which saw a 300% increase in online purchasing over the last year.-      Amazon has set the bar for the eCommerce experience. Customers are learning to expect Amazon levels of service and CX from everyone else.-      The pandemic has introduced us to an era where customers are buying almost everything they need online.-      Success today involves customer acquisition, customer loyalty and continuing the same customer experience so that customers can predict what to expect. -      Information and transparency from your business are the keys to creating confidence and building loyalty with your customers.-      Companies need to tie technology, algorithms and AI into the experience customers have with human employees instead of sacrificing one for the other.Quote:“Realize that the customer’s experience with you isn’t just when the customer is on-sight, but all the way through the customer’s journey, from the beginning until they come back the next time.”About:Christy Augustine, Chief Operating Officer at Bloomreach, leads Bloomreach’s efforts to arm customers with the tools and knowledge they need to successfully compete in demanding markets. She is a leading thinker in e-commerce, having been a manager at Bain & Co., focused on technology, retail and strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways: The Me-conomy is about giving the customer what they want, when they want it, how they want it, with little to no effort. That’s convenience! A perfect omnichannel experience allows a customer to start a support conversation through one channel and finish the same conversation in another without having to repeat information. Kustomer has found that 77% of customers expect their problem to be resolved immediately, placing an emphasis on ‘real-time’ customer service strategies. Personalization has only grown more important throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers are used to it, and it’s not going away. Chatbots have an important role to play. The problem with a lot of today’s chatbots is that they’re not able to connect to a CRM system. It’s crucial in today’s world to position your company in a way that ties your CRM to your channels of communication in order to provide great customer service. Incorporating self-service, real-time responses, personalization, and communication channel-of-choice can ultimately lead to a convenient experience for customers. Quote:“The five pillars that define a me-conomy include self-service, real-time, personalization, channel-of-choice, and low effort.”About:Gabe Larsen currently leads Kustomer’s worldwide marketing efforts, including advertising, brand, communications, demand, and digital. Prior to joining Kustomer, Gabe was the VP of Marketing for XANT where he helped create the sales acceleration category and grow the company to nearly one-hundred million in revenue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Scott Harris defines creating ‘wow’ as helping your customers always get more out of CX and going over and above in delivering for your customers.-      If you wait until the end of an interaction to survey your customers, you are essentially surveying the memory of an experience.-      CX for years has been about collecting and analyzing data to make great business decisions. Now that same data can be used as a behavioral driver powering better customer experiences in the immediate moment.-      Legacy CX is telling your customers that their feedback matters because you will be using their feedback to shape the experience for future customers.-      CX feedback in real-time empowers the brand to fix the experience immediately for customers that report problems, which in turn creates confidence and trust in your brand and the experience.-      We’re now seeing a paradigm shift in CX that empowers not only the customer but also the employees to shape the experience.-      Customers who leave positive reviews in a survey allow for opportunities to automatically send follow-up messages and offers for these happy customers to join your rewards program, for example.-      Even small businesses can take the concept of sending immediate surveys to help create a better experience for their customers. Not every company needs data-driven software to fix customer issues and improve CX overall.-      In the enterprise world, there is ROI everywhere and with billions of dollars lost from poor customer service every year, companies cannot afford to use the old paradigm of CX anymore.-      Companies are evolving to systems, processes and connectivity that allows them to interact with their customers and improve CX in real-time. Quote:“Legacy CX is asking your customers for their feedback so that you can try to do better for customers in the future. What if that feedback could make you better right now?”About:Scott Harris is the CEO and founder of Experience.com, a game-changing Experience Management Platform (XMP). Harris is also the author of CX 2.0: Create WOW Customer Experiences, which outlines the future of real-time experience management, released in 2020.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Certain insights from AI and data can be brought down to the call center to help agents improve the customer experience in real-time.-      Abusive behaviors from customers do exist and companies need to be more aware of these harmful interactions.-      Of the 82 million customer interactions CallMiner examined, just under 50% of those interactions had some form or mention of profanity. Of those that had some form of profanity, almost 87% had profanity throughout the entire duration of the call.-      Customer experience tends to lead people to be concerned only with the customer and less about the contact center agents providing that experience.-      Agents are often expected to jump from one call, where a customer uses profanity and exhibits heightened aggression, to another, where the agents are expected to have an upbeat and positive attitude.-      Research has found that agents typically require about 30-40 minutes to mentally recover from offensive calls with angry customers.-      When customer service agents experience racist and sexist remarks, it can have an impact on those individuals as well as, at an aggregate scale, impact on the company.-      Organizations can leverage offensive instances to learn, operationalize a response, change business processes for the better, and create fairer experiences for everyone.-      Providing support and loyalty to your employees is just as important as providing support and loyalty to your customers.Quote:“When we think about customer experience, we’re always thinking about the customer and not about the agent’s experience working in the contact center.”About:Eric Williamson is CallMiner’s Chief Marketing Officer, with more than 20 years of experience in both the technology and consumer product marketing. Eric oversees all global marketing functions from brand and events, to demand generation as CMO of CallMiner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Companies and brands are connecting in new and different ways.-      The companies that will win are one’s that can deliver consistent, on-brand experiences in every channel, 24-7, because that’s what consumers demand.-      Next-generation chatbots and automation technology allow brands to deliver concierge-like experiences for consumers across every channel empowering the consumer 24/7/365 at a global scale.-      It’s a myth that automation (via chatbots and workflows) and great customer experience (highly personalized, intelligent, on-brand, human agents) are mutually exclusive. They used to be, but that’s not the case anymore. -      Technology is now at the point where you can deliver what customers want, immediately when they want it.-      There are 3 key elements of a ‘concierge-like experience’: Personalization, Human + AI, Omnichannel.-      Brands can build a truly concierge-like personalized conversational experience very fast with platforms like Solvvy.-      Traditional chatbots, the ones you’d see a few years ago, didn’t deliver the type of CX top brands have been needing to incorporate.-      The future of CX involves the potential for combined human and AI experiences in customer support. Together is better.Quote:“The future of CX involves a digitally guided journey to the best possible solution.”About:Mahesh Ram is the founding CEO of Solvvy, the next-gen chatbot and intelligence CS automation platform. He’s been CEO, founder or early employee of three cloud-based software companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      There are two halves to customer-centricity. One is the great leaders of CX, who are inspirational catalysts for creating a customer-centric culture. The other half is the people in the trenches, who connect those leaders and companies with solutions.-      Any customer experience tactic or strategy you try to implement should be supported by your customer record, which is all the information you can (legally) gather about your customer. -      If you want senior leadership to invest in customer experience, you must show them the ROI (return on investment).  -      The best way to position customer experience to leadership is to highlight the increase in productivity, efficiency and agility.-      Touchless and contactless payments have existed since 1997, but have been accelerated and more widely adopted over the past year. -      The employee experience has a huge impact on the customer experience. If employees are happy and well-supported, they are able to better support customers and deliver a better experience.-      Employee needs will continue to change moving forward. Make the voice of the employee a central part of the decision-making process.-      Become a partner to your customers and clients, rather than another vendor. If you’re not a partner, you’re in a potential churn zone where someone else could come along and build a better relationship with your customers.-      The inspiration and innovation that comes from teamwork is what drives a customer-centric culture. And that is available to executives free of charge!Quote:“What is at the center of the productivity conversation is this notion of employee experience. Employee experiences are central to customer experiences.” About:Dennis Wakabayashi is the VP of CX Solutions Delivery for RR Donnelley, a global business communications firm. He is among the top 50 CX influencers globally and provides relevant customer experience content on many social channels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      If you send a personalized item to your customers, whether it’s a note or other gift, don’t put your logo on it. Ask yourself, “Is this a gift or a promotional item?”-      In today’s world, there is so much mass digital communication—emails, texts and more. That makes a handwritten note stand out even more.-      When someone receives a handwritten note, they are more likely to keep it—and even display it. That’s the emotional impact it has.-      Define a clear schedule for when you want to connect with your customers. This will give you a series of touchpoints with them throughout the year.-      Staying top-of-mind for your customers helps you make your follow-up sale and can make customers come back to do business with you again and again.-      There is a lot of ROI to be had from sending handwritten notes, but that can’t be your sole agenda when sending them. It will make the notes come across as insincere, which will drive customers away.-      Handwritten notes are great for showing gratitude to your customers. They can also be used to ask your customers to write you a review, to remind them to schedule annual appointments or to apologize for mistakes.-      If you do make a mistake with your customer, fix it and send a handwritten note as follow-up. Fixing the problem the right way can increase customer loyalty and the lifetime value of the customer, more than if the mistake had never even happened!-      Personalization is crucial for companies of every size. Even massive companies should feel as though they are small and personal to the customer.-      Gratitude matters. Show your customers that you appreciate them! It goes a long way.Quote:“People keep actual handwritten notes. When someone receives a handwritten note from somebody, not only would they read it, they might even put it on display.”About:David Wachs is the Founder and CEO of Handwrytten, a platform for writing and sending handwritten notes at scale. He is a serial entrepreneur and frequent speaker on marketing technology. Previously, David was the Founder and President of Cellit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer centricity happens when everyone in the organization is focused on customer engagement. That engagement is more than just satisfaction—it’s about an emotional connection with your customers.-      There are three components involved in getting everyone in an organization aligned: leadership, culture and talent.-      In order for leaders to be truly customer-centric, they must be immersed in the customer experience. That means spending time on the frontlines of customer service. -      Give your customers a voice in your company. Actively involve them in problem-solving and give them a seat at the table.-      Leaders must model the company culture they wish to see.-      Customer centricity must be part of an organization’s values. These values must be visible to all employees and felt by customers. Define the behaviors you wish to see and empower those frontline employees to deliver on those values.-      Even internal employees who may never directly interact with customers still have an impact on the customer experience. Every employee must recognize their place in the customer journey.-      Emotional engagement is driven by three metrics: pride, passion and confidence. -      Engaged employees lead to engaged customers. Fully engaged employees and customers translate into greater profit and success for your company.-      Service values are similar to core values. They define standards of service on how to delight customers and should ignite and inspire employees, not stifle their initiative.-      Recognize the difference between skill, talent and knowledge. Skill can be transferred, knowledge can be learned, but talent is innate. Part of hiring right is finding that talent.-      Much of driving customer-centricity boils down to measurement. Measurement alone isn’t enough, though—you must use what you learn to improve the process and drive a better customer experience.Quote:“A customer-centric culture is one where everyone is engaged in creating engagement for our customer. That engagement is emotional engagement, not just satisfaction or loyalty.”About:Vibhas Ratanjee is a Senior Practice Expert with Gallup who specializes in organizational development, culture change and executive-level engagement strategies. Vibhas is an executive coach and a leadership consultant to senior executives and CEOs, as well as a well-known speaker and author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      You may not always be able to keep doing things the same way you have always done them, especially under time constraints. The ability to adapt is crucial.-      Difficult, frightening and challenging times can become opportunities to really shine as a brand and as a company.-      Show appreciation to your customers! Call them to thank them for their recent purchase without any sales agenda. This gesture goes a long way.-      Look for ways to adapt and translate the customer experience without sacrificing the quality of the experience.-      A “luxury” experience does not mean a slow experience. Focus on creating an elevated sensory experience by meeting your customer where they are.-      Not every moment within the customer experience is equal. Focus on managing the beginning, end, high points and pain points.-      Brand promises of customer centricity were put to the test once the pandemic hit. Leaders and companies will be remembered for how they behaved during a crisis.-      You don’t need to be perfect. Be honest and own your mistakes, and keep working to improve the world around you.-      One of the most powerful things a leader can do is listen. That’s much of what customer service is all about.-      The word for 2020 is empathy—followed by “you’re on mute!” Don’t lose hope, find the humor, and keep moving forward.Quote:“Leaders throughout the pandemic said they were moving between front, middle and back more than they’ve ever had to before. You have to have a fluidity of leadership style to a greater degree than prior to the pandemic.”About:Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., is a certified customer experience professional, international keynote speaker and the bestselling author of nine business books. He helps leadership teams improve the experiences they provide for team members and customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer success and customer support are related, but different. Customer success is about proactively helping customers to get the most value out of a product or service, while customer support is about reactively solving customer issues.-      Almost every company today is seeking ways to build and deliver connected customer experiences using technology. Having an online business presence is not an option—it’s a necessity.-      Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not replace human agents. Instead, it augments the capabilities and ingenuity of human experts. The result is a more efficient—and delightful—customer experience.-      AI comes in many forms (chatbots, voice systems on phones, etc.) and cab be a quick, easy and convenient way for customers to get a solution to a simple problem.-      AI needs to be able to recognize when it should transfer the customer to a live agent. This can happen when the customer asks to be transferred, when the AI recognizes it doesn’t have the right knowledge to help, or when it detects customer frustration.-      When transferring to an agent, AI should deliver as much information as possible to that agent. This includes the issue the customer is calling about, who they are and their history with the company.-      Executives should regularly take customer support cases and calls so they know exactly what it’s like on the frontlines of their organization’s customer experience.-      Don’t sacrifice the emotional, human connection you have with your customers in favor of the latest tech.-      The future of customer service and experience is more of the ‘know me’ desire. Customers want an experience that is personalized to them as individuals.Quote:“Customer success is proactively helping achieve what they need. Customer support is reactively helping customers whenever something is not working.”About:Gabriele Masili is the Global VP and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Customer Experience & Success at Microsoft. He leads the Digital Customer Experience Council across Microsoft and is responsible for enhancing customer and employee connected experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Customer service is what ties all other aspects of a business together. It is the marriage of sales, marketing, product management and more.-      Customer success and customer service are not the same, but they are closely related. Success is about proactive outreach, whereas service is reactive. But they are both part of creating a great customer experience.-      Never leave the customer entirely alone or cease communication with them, even after the initial onboarding process. Maintain communication to ensure they get the most value out of your products and services.-      Don’t wait until it’s time for the customer to renew their subscription or contract with you to reach out to them.-      Renewal isn’t the goal; the goal is helping the customer get the most value. If you do that, the renewal follows naturally.-      Collect and use data to personalize and contextualize your interactions with your customers.-      COVID-19 has changed customer service. It’s still about helping customers through their entire journey, but individual needs may have changed. Meet customers wherever they’re at and help them recover and plan for the future.-      Care for your employees just as well as you care for your customers. The employee experience directly affects the customer experience.-      Give customers a voice in your company. This is possible for companies of every size and greatly improves the customer experience.Quote:“Our goal shouldn’t be about the customer is buying from us. Our goal should be about them getting value.”About:Teresa Anania is VP of Global Customer Success and Renewals at Zendesk. She helps customers realize maximum value across the customer lifecycle, resulting in renewal and customer satisfaction.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      Now more than ever, it’s incredibly important to pay attention to your digital customer experience. Most organizations have made the move to virtual, and all should understand how their customers are connecting with them.-      The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated what was already starting to happen in terms of technology. We have been thrust 3-5 years into the future.-      Technology allows brands to reach customers where they are rather than forcing customers to come to brands. It also helps brands communicate more effectively with their customers for a faster, better experience overall.-      Both customers and chatbots must be able to decide when to switch from AI to a human being. And, it should be an easy and seamless transfer. Otherwise, customers may end up frustrated with the experience.-      People use AI all the time without realizing it. It’s important to remember that even big, well-known bots (such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home) that are powered by massive AI can still make mistakes.-      Bots can be just as—if not more—effective in supporting agents behind the scenes as assisting customers on the front line.-      Train your agents how to interact with and interpret your chatbot. Working together, agents and chatbots can provide a much better experience to the customer.-      Your chatbot should work side-by-side with your CRM to help agents better understand your customers. A single pane of glass, with all the customer’s information, is ideal!-      Chatbots will not replace agents. Instead, the roles of those agents will change and evolve alongside chatbots.-      Both humans and chatbots have their strengths. Chatbots are good at automation, speed and efficiency, whereas humans excel at critical thinking and relationship development. You can’t automate a relationship!Quote:“Think about your customers’ digital experience as the first solution, the first frontier and the thing your company wants to solve for.” About:Philippe Mesritz is the first VP, Customers for Life at Khoros, a tech company that helps companies better connect with their customers online. He has over 20 years of customer-facing experience and previously ran the support services organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      The goal of customer service should be to answer questions, eliminate confusion and become your customer’s trusted advisor.-      Customer service training is your most valuable asset. It is always worth investing in.-      More often than not, customers leave companies due to a lack of transparency or authenticity. -      An amazing customer experience can translate directly into word-of-mouth marketing.-      The customer experience doesn’t start after a customer makes a purchase or even on the first sales call. It begins at the first interaction the customer has with your company, which could be as simple as them browsing your website.-      The sales experience is part of the larger customer experience. It’s what makes the customer say “yes” the first time, and hopefully keep saying “yes” over and over again.-      Sales and service go hand-in-hand. If you’re in the sales process, your goal should be to demonstrate an above-and-beyond level of helpfulness and willingness to help your customers achieve their goals.-      Video is a very powerful and effective tool and can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, send a video proposal instead of a PDF, or send a video recap to a decisionmaker after an important call. Video can also be used to cross-sell or upsell in the right scenarios.-      Take the opportunity to learn what your client’s criteria for success are and position yourself in their future. Just ask: A year from now, what would have to happen for you to feel working with us was a success?-      Ritualizing video into your CX can answer questions, share new information and position you to become your customer’s trusted advisor.Quotes:“If you become a trusted advisor, you become a magnet for new opportunities, because the customer knows that you will take care of them at a very impressive level.”About:Todd Hartley is the Founder and CEO of WireBuzz and a rock star of remote selling, video marketing and sales optimization. He creates effortless, on-demand buying experiences that improve clarity and eliminate confusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices