Connecting with advocates doesn’t happen by accident. You need a plan, and a person or a team who’s responsible. And they should be collaborating with and part of the same efforts you’re putting into motion internally to improve customer experiences. Connecting and engaging with advocates is a strategic decision. It takes leadership to define its importance, and how you’ll approach …
Customer service initiatives have enormous potential to improve customer experience and boost strategic value. For example, customer service can provide the broader organization with powerful insight on customers, products, services and processes. When this information is captured, identified, assimilated and turned into usable knowledge, it can literally transform an organization’s ability to identify and meet customer expectations. I love discovering …
As you begin to explore the value and ROI of customer service, I encourage you to ask your team, “How does customer service create value?” You’re probably going to get a range of answers. Some may say, “Customers that get great service tell others, so that’s like free marketing, right?” And someone else may suggest that service is a way …
Establishing the right quality standards for your organization is essential to delivering efficient and effective service. In my LinkedIn Learning course “Quality Standards in Customer Service,” I outline four quality standards that can help you define what quality and value mean. Standards for the service operation: Quality and value from Quality Standards in Customer Service by Brad Cleveland
Ensuring that your organization is getting maximum benefit from the effort and investments you’re putting into customer service is an important leadership opportunity. In this video, I explore three levels on which effective service creates value. This video is from my LinkedIn Learning course “Customer Service Leadership.” During these difficult times, leadership is crucial. You may find this course can …
The best contact centers continually work on the root causes of turnover. There are many common causes of turnover, such as insufficient development opportunities, pace of effort required, feeling of not being appreciated, the list goes on. What is most important in retention efforts is determining what is important to each individual employee on your team. One powerful tool in …
I’m going to say something that may be a surprise. You will not, now or ever, be able to motivate your team. It’s not going to happen. You can, however, help motivate the people who are a part of it. Yes, it’s true, many of us refer to “motivating the team,” but what we’re really talking about is something that …
Organizations that consistently use their strategies to help guide decisions tend to go from strength to strength. They make better decisions and then have a better read on how well those decisions ultimately support their vision. How can you best use your strategy to guide decisions and direction? I have found four best practices that can help. Explore these best …
In May, I wrote an article for Smart Customer Service. The article describes seven metrics that every contact center should have. It also provides suggestions on using an overall KPI. The article begins: The disruptions that the COVID-19 crisis is bringing to economies around the world is truly unprecedented. Many contact centers are grappling with both increased workloads and staffing …
How do you know what a customer needs? If you mention customer advocacy and pose that question many executives will say, “Well they tell us, right?” I think they picture a frustrated customer across the counter or perhaps calling or posting a message that describes a problem. But there’s so much more to it. The video below from the LinkedIn …
