Top Takeaways:-      It’s important to consider and optimize CX across the board, but especially within three key areas: digital channels and e-commerce, sales and the frontline, and especially new product development. -      Very few companies take the customer experience into consideration when designing new products. Incorporate the customer’s voice throughout that process and give them a seat at the table from the very beginning. -      Poll the customers and personas to whom you’re marketing and find out their wants and needs. Create your product using that information. -      Customer service is a key component of the customer experience. Ensure every employee understands their role within the larger customer experience, even if they never interact directly with the customer. -      Celebrate your customers and the employees who create excellent experiences. Make it a part of your culture. If you choose to celebrate and devote a day or a week to CX (similar to National Customer Service or CX Week), don’t forget that it’s still a year-round effort. -      Positive change within customer experience and company culture must start from the top. Executives must be fully on board for it to become a part of the culture. They must be role models and champions of the CX initiative. Quote:“Business to business or business to consumer, at the end of the day, it’s human to human. People buy from people.” About:Stacy Sherman is the Director of Customer Experience & Employee Engagement at Schindler Elevator Corporation. She designs and implements successful customer-centric programs and other projects for well-known brands. (Please note that all views expressed are Stacy’s and do not reflect the opinions of or imply the endorsement of employers or other organizations.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways:-      You don’t need to have an out-of-the-ordinary or “exceptional” background to do exceptional things in business and your life. -      Business has the potential to be the most powerful force for good in the world. It begins with companies truly caring about their people. -      The most important thing for any business is to develop a sustainable business model in which people feel valued. -      Many businesses make the mistake of only caring about numbers. Leaders instead should care about their people, making them the number one priority. -      Create a work environment where people feel safe and valued. Give them hope for the future. That will make them feel engaged and give them the desire to contribute. -      A leader’s job should be to help the people they have the privilege of leading grow and develop in line with the company’s vision. -      Customers ultimately benefit from the good treatment of employees. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of their customers. -      Find ways to make work fun. Fun is an excellent motivator that increases employee engagement and productivity. -      The way employees are treated at work affects their behavior outside of work. Therefore, it is a leader’s responsibility to take the best care of the people within their stewardship. This has the potential to make the entire world a better place. -      For more from Bob Chapman, check out his appearance on Shep’s TV show, Be Amazing or Go Home. Quote:“Business could be the most powerful force for good in the world if we simply cared about the people we have the privilege of leading.” About:Bob Chapman is the Chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller. He developed management practices known as “Truly Human Leadership” and co-wrote Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Takeaways: -      The economy has evolved over time from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy, then to a service economy and finally to an experience economy, where the experience a customer has is the most valuable component. -      Service and experience are two different but related things. Service is what you as the company do. Experience is the customer’s time and perception of the interaction and relationship that occurs through that service. -      Experience goes beyond the product being sold to customers. A good example of this is Starbucks. They are able to sell coffee at a premium because of the ambience, environment, and relationship they create for and with their customers. -      Customization and personalization are key components in staging an experience. Customers today want to spend less time with goods and services, but will spend more time with events and places that engage them with a personalized and memorable experience. -      Today, every business must compete against the smartphone for customers’ attention. It allows customers to instantly disengage from a place, product or service. -      People are consuming experiences today in smaller chunks, which can be referred to as the miniaturization of consumption. People may not take large vacations, but they do seek out and take “mini-vacations” that last just an hour—or two or three. It may be in the form of a fun afternoon at an escape room or even spending time in a coffee shop. -      Experiences are inherently personal and differentiated. Challenge yourself to constantly see things anew through the lens of the customer. This ensures you’re delivering the best possible experience all around. Quote: “Time is the currency of experiences. If you get people to spend more time with you, they will spend more money with you.” About: Jim Gilmore is co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP. He has authored and co-authored several books, has been published in many leading business publications, co-edits Markets of One and teaches/lectures at several colleges and universities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Matt Gillin. They discuss the secrets of driving customer loyalty and a good customer experience (CX). Here’s a hint: it’s all in providing a secure, personalized, and frictionless channel of communication. Top Takeaways: -      The biggest challenge facing business today is how to more effectively engage and connect with customers. Companies must find innovative solutions if they hope to overcome this obstacle and find success. -      Every organization’s goal should be to get their customers to say, “Wow, thank you!” Customers expect this now more than ever before in addition to a more personalized experience. -      The best way to connect and engage with customers is through a channel that is personalized, on-demand, secure, and most importantly, frictionless. If your customer’s experience is not easy, they will not remain loyal to you or your brand. -      A technical advantage alone is not enough to satisfy and delight your customers. Make sure you invest in your core services and customer engagement. That is what will ensure a competitive advantage for your company. -      It can be difficult for businesses to make the shift to a better customer experience due to legacy systems, infrastructures, and thinking. Solutions must also be easy and frictionless. -      Information and the channel through which it is delivered must be relevant to customers. Customers resist technology and AI when it is not relevant, secure, or personalized to them. -      There must always be a human element to each relationship. Customers want to do business with companies that know them and that allow for effortless communication. -      The goal should always be to create a better connection with your customers. At the end of the day, that’s what drives a good CX and customer loyalty. Quote: “When you know your customers and maintain flowing, frictionless lines of communication, that’s when you win as an enterprise. That’s when customers stay.” About: Matt Gillin is the CEO and co-founder of Relay Network, a Gartner-designated “Cool Vendor” in CRM Customer Service and Support. He has over 20 years of experience as an active entrepreneur, pioneer and inventor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews David Meerman Scott. They discuss his new book, Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans, and strategies for businesses to turn their customers into fans and vice versa. Top Takeaways: -      Human beings naturally crave connection and the feeling of belonging. That’s where the concept of the “fandom” comes into play. Companies must figure out how they can utilize this to their advantage. Every organization is capable of developing fans. -      Companies can turn fans into customers by tapping into an already existing fanbase. For example, an auto insurance company found a fanbase for old cars and began catering to that market. -      Companies can also turn customers into fans. If you can find a way to connect to your customers on a deeper level, they will feel more connected to you and your business. This is where fandom begins. -      The neurology behind fandoms explains how and why they are so successful. The closer you are to people physically, the stronger the shared emotion. This is the secret to creating deep, authentic connections. -      Other factors can contribute to the creation of customer “fans” and a loyal fanbase, such as the exclusivity factor, subscription, and the ability to share on social platforms. These can all give customers the feeling of belonging and connection. -      Avoid creating an adversarial relationship with your customers. Remove barriers for your customers to access your content. For example, provide the free ebook first and later ask for the customer’s email, instead of the other way around. This will generate more interest and hotter leads—and create fans. -      Be passionate. Even if the person you’re interacting with doesn’t share your passion, they can feel it. Passion is infectious. Customers like doing business with people who are passionate. Quote: ·        “Fandom is all about a true human connection—a personal connection. It’s hard-wired into our brains as humans that we want to be part of a tribe, that we want to be together with like-minded people.” About: David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, entrepreneur, advisor to emerging companies, VC strategic partner and bestselling author of 10 books, including Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Lindsay Pedersen. They discuss strategies for how brands can differentiate themselves by creating authentic, genuine connections with their customers. Top Takeaways: -      A brand is its customer experience, and vice versa. The brand and the experience are built on the relationship between a business and its customers. -      Advertising and marketing may attract new customers, but it’s rarely the real reason why customers like doing business with a brand. Customers like doing business with companies because of how those companies make them feel. -      Many companies focus too much on acquiring new customers rather than retaining the customers they already have. -      Every company should ask itself why it is in business. This question becomes especially important if the company keeps losing customers. Create an experience that reduces customer churn. -      You must differentiate yourself from your competitors. Be wary of doing this through your product alone; that method is too easy to copy. But if find a way to meet a unique need for your customers, you will find success. -      The most important question a company can ask itself is what emotional reward they want the customer to enjoy by choosing to do business with them. There is emotional value in the connection between a company and its customers, and brands must tap into that. Quote: “Businesses don’t make money by impressing people with cool ads. They make money by attracting and retaining customers.” - Lindsay Pedersen Lindsay Pedersen is a brand strategist and owner of Ironclad Brand Strategy who recently authored Forging an Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide. She has advised companies from burgeoning startups to national corporations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Katie Mares. They discuss her C.O.R.E. Methodology and how it can improve the customer experience in addition to gender inequality in the customer service world. Top Takeways: -      In order for your organization to succeed, it must have a strong, solid core. The core is made up of your systems, your processes and most importantly, your people. -      Strengthen your organization’s core using the C.O.R.E. Methodology, which has four steps: create, operationalize, results and evaluate & evolve. -      Create: The first step is to create systems and processes that involve your entire team, creating greater total buy-in. -      Operationalize: Once you create your processes, you must operationalize them. It’s one thing to create something, but it’s another to actually follow through with it. -      Results: Monitor your results—as the saying goes, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Give your customers a voice as a part of this step. -      Evaluate & Evolve: Customers and their expectations are constantly and rapidly changing. You must evaluate your progress by constantly asking how you can get better and evolve to keep up with changing demands. -      Companies need to be more aware of the purchasing power of the female consumer. More often than not, the shopping experience is designed and, in many industries, delivered by men, and yet women are the ones ultimately saying yes or no. -      Statistics show that women influence 90% of all household purchases, yet 85% of the world’s executives are still men while only 3% of creative directors are women. -      When something in the customer experience goes wrong, more often than not it’s due to lack of consistency. When expectations are unmet, it causes disappointment. -      Consistency and accountability are vital to an organization’s success. You must be accountable for your own actions if you hope to create a consistent experience. Quote: “Customer experience most often fails because we don’t do it consistently.” - Katie Mares Katie Mares, CTDP, MCATD, CPS is the Chief Inspiration Officer of Alkamey Group. She has over 15 years of experience in customer service and leadership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Rupesh Patel. They discuss Rupesh’s “secret sauce” to creating an amazing guest experience across his hotels, and how those ideas can translate to the larger customer service world. Top Takeaways: Don’t make the mistake of caring more about money than customer service. Focus on customer service and the money will follow. The first step to creating an amazing experience is raising your brand standards. Define the standards for your business and focus on improving your operations to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations. Ask yourself what you can do to make your customers feel special and elevate the experience they have with you. Note: The answer doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to be effective. Find ways to personalize your customers’ experience. Customization can go a long way toward satisfaction and amazement. Providing good customer service can be some of your most powerful marketing. Invest in your team members; make them feel important and like they’re part of the process. When building your team, find people who genuinely care and are willing to go above and beyond. Reviews are hugely important for any and every business. Create a great experience first and foremost, but don’t expect that to be enough to encourage customers to write good reviews. Quote: “At the end of the day, how you make your team feel and how they feel about their job is huge.” - Rupesh Patel About:Rupesh Patel is a hotel owner/operator and the founder of www.SmartGuests.com. He has over 20 years of experience and has held titles such as entrepreneur, investor, business consultant and more. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Joel Makhluf. They discuss the need for more awareness and empathy among customer service agents and how AI and technology can provide that. Top Takeaways: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool. When used correctly to support customer service representatives and call center agents, it can help humans be “more human.” It’s important to identify the behaviors that annoy customers the most over the phone, whether it’s talking too fast or too slow, interrupting them, speaking in monotone, etc. AI platforms now have the ability to search for and recognize the “empathy cue,” which occurs when a customer is in a heightened state of emotion and therefore needs more empathy from the agent. Pay attention to the nonverbal cues your customers give you. It’s not just what they say, but how they say it that matters. Because AI is able to handle many easy, basic calls, the calls that reach contact center workers tend to be more complicated and more stressful. This leads to agents experiencing cognitive overload and “compassion fatigue.” AI technology and software can guide contact center agents through these pitfalls in real-time, empowering them to take better care of customers through empathy. Identify your best-performing employees and mimic their behavior. Train the rest of your employees to that exemplary behavior. This will result in a more consistent customer experience. Remember that everyone has bad days, even your top performers. Be there to empower and coach your employees through those bad days. “Automation fatigue” is settling in across industries. There needs to be a balance between humans and AI. AI is great for handling simple tasks, but customers crave empathy when dealing with their most personal problems. Quotes:“Model the behavior of your best employees and coach the rest of your employees to that behavior.” - Joel Makhluf About:Joel Makhluf is the Director of Demand Generation at Cogito, an artificial intelligence company that provides real-time conversational guidance and analytics.  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

Shep Hyken interviews Robert Glazer. They discuss his practice of employee “wish-granting,” common service mistakes businesses make and his book, Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others. Top Takeaways:-       Find ways to do something meaningful for your employees around the holidays—or anytime of year. Experiences often are better remembered and make a bigger impact than money. -       By investing in your employees, you are investing in the culture of your organization. With a strong culture, you will attract and keep the kind of employees you want. -       Customers will not love your company until your employees love your company. Focus your efforts on the employee experience and the customer experience will follow. -       “Capacity building” is the method by which individuals seek, acquire, and develop the skills and ability to consistently perform at a high level in pursuit of their innate potential. -       The four elements of capacity building are spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional. Focus on each of these elements individually and you will improve your entire being. -        “Spiritual” does not necessarily mean religious. In business, it’s about knowing who you are, what you want, and the standards by which you want to live each day. This is crucial to be a successful leader. -       Three common service mistakes even top businesses make are not establishing rapport with customers, over-responding to a single piece of feedback, and not offering customers full explanations. -       You don’t have to tackle 100% of change all at once. Tackle 1% every day, and soon you will see it add up into big, positive change. -       To sign up for Robert Glazer’s weekly newsletter that inspired his book, go to http://www.fridayfwd.com. Quote: “If you really want to impress people, listen to them. You will be amazed by how much they appreciate that.” About: Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners. He is a serial entrepreneur and author of Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Alyona Medelyan. They discuss how natural language processing can help companies focus on the most important problems to drive up customer satisfaction. Sound a little technical? It is, but it’s fascinating. More important, it’s relevant. The future is here today!  Top Takeaways: Natural language processing is an analytic tool that helps programs and AI (artificial intelligence) analyze and understand “everyday” language.   Using natural language processing allows companies to understand what customers are saying in their own words, link it to NPS (Net Promotor Score) and, most importantly, identify the most important problems their customers are facing.  Once companies have identified the problems that are most important to their customers, they can prioritize the order in which they fix them. Too often executives focus on things that matter less to customers rather than fixing the most pressing issues.  More often than not, customer service is not the root of the problem. Broken processes are often the culprit for low NPS scores, while good customer service is the only thing that keeps those scores above 0.  Surveys in general should be kept on the short side. However, they can be a little longer if you allow your customers to opt out of them and also offer them a way to share their thoughts and opinions freely.  Above all, the most important thing is for companies to give customers the chance to explain what they like and don’t like in their own words. Open the channels of communication a little wider and you will reap the rewards.  Quotes: “If you are running a business, think about how you get feedback from customers. Make sure you let customers explain in their own words what matters to them. - Alyona Medelyan  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Antony Brydon. They discuss the role of automation in customer service, and how companies can best use it to improve their customers’ experience. Top Takeaways: When companies switch to AI and other new automation technologies, more often than not it is the customers who suffer. Companies must make this switch without sacrificing the customer experience. AI has the capacity to transform practically every job within the knowledge sector, especially customer service jobs. The key is making it work. The shortcomings of AI include understanding customer intent and using creativity to solve problems. These are areas where people excel. Integrating the human touch into automated systems will allow the AI experience to improve dramatically. Rather than AI supporting humans, humans must support and train AI so it gets better. Connecting automation to a network of human subject matter experts is a good way to start. Technology is changing incredibly fast, so adaptability is key. Humans are good at adapting to new situations and can therefore help automated systems adapt to best serve the customer. The future is conversational, meaning customers are choosing to connect with companies through more casual conversational channels like texting and instant messaging. AI needs to adapt to this. Poor automated systems end up costing far more than efficient ones. The more a company invests in automation and AI, the better the experience will be all around. Don’t associate automation with a poor customer experience. Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to switch to AI and automated processes that improve the customer experience at the same time. Quote: “So much of a good experience comes down to the investment in that experience.” - Antony Brydon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Dennis Snow. They discuss how to define an organization’s level of service and company culture by looking at examples from the Walt Disney World Company. Top Takeaways: There are two steps to defining your organization’s level of service. Step one is to ask yourself what you want your customers to say about their experience. Step two is to ask yourself what you can do to get your customers to say those things. When considering step one, narrow it down to three things you want your customers to say. This helps you focus in on what differentiates you from others. Your culture is defined by step two. Reinforce the behaviors that elicit the desired customer response. Your company culture is not what you say but what you do. Good company culture starts with the hiring process. Get to know your standout employees and find out what qualities contribute to their success within your organization. Then, hire individuals who are similarly hard-wired to succeed within your culture. Training begins during the hiring process. You must demonstrate your company’s values from the beginning, and that includes the hiring process. The first day of training should focus on company culture. Additionally, this training should never end. Identify behaviors that detract from the brand and culture you have worked so hard to craft. Be on the lookout for these and create processes that prevent them from happening. As a leader, never let a coachable moment pass you by. Seize opportunities to continually coach your employees toward improvement. Similarly, never let a moment of recognition go by. Give praise and credit where it’s due, and positively reinforce the behavior that defines your brand. Leaders must demonstrate and embody the values and culture they want to see throughout their organization. They must not only talk the talk but also walk the walk; leaders are the ultimate role model for company culture. “What people say is your brand; what your employees do is your culture.” - Dennis Snow About:  Dennis Snow is a full-time speaker, trainer and consultant. He worked with the Walt Disney World Company for over 20 years, where he developed his passion for service excellence. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Augie Ray from Gartner. They discuss the importance of investing in the customer experience and how to build a CX that will benefit both customers and companies alike. The Interview with Augie Ray: The emergence of new technology and the rise of social media have changed the way customers interact with brands, giving them more channels of communication than ever before. Brands need to pay attention to the entire customer experience across all channels to stay relevant and successful. Simply acquiring new customers isn’t enough, especially if you experience high customer churn. Create an experience that focuses on retaining customers and building loyalty—and that experience is the result of not just what we say, but what we do. There are two different definitions of customer experience, and they are two sides of the same coin. From the customer’s perspective, CX is their accumulated experiences and perceptions about a brand through every interaction, both direct and indirect. From a managerial perspective, CX is the discipline of understanding and reacting to customer interactions with the goal of meeting and exceeding expectations, creating loyalty and building advocacy. As customer expectations rise, budgets for customer experience need to rise as well. Data shows there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and financial gains for businesses. Prioritizing the customer experience benefits the top and bottom lines. Both segments and personas are marketing tools that allow companies to group individuals together in a meaningful way. Segments demonstrate how customers are meaningful to a company, whereas personas flip the perspective and examine how a brand can be meaningful to customers. To access the research that Augie quotes, listeners are invited to connect with him on LinkedIn and to subscribe to Gartner’s newsletter, “Smarter with Gartner.” Quotes: “We are not what we say we are. We are the experience we provide to customers and what they say we are.” “When it comes to the customer experience, we have to look not just at what we say, but at what we do.” “When you succeed for the customer, you succeed for the brand as well.” About: Augie Ray is a Vice President Analyst at Gartner, a research and advisory firm. He covers customer experience for marketing and CX leaders and helps them launch and manage successful CX programs. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Blake Morgan. They discuss her new book, The Customer of the Future: 10 Guiding Principles for Winning Tomorrow’s Business, focusing on the psychological, technical, and experiential components of building a good customer experience. The Interview with Blake Morgan: If you don’t get the simple stuff down, you will lose customers. The “basics” includes knowledge of your customers and their wants and needs. Above all, seek to make their lives easier rather than more difficult. Psychological components of CX are the invisible pieces of your strategy. These include a CX mindset, company culture, and leadership development. Everyone in a company, from executives to frontline employees, must have a CX mindset—an attitude of service and a desire to make their customers’ lives better. There is a correlation between how employees feel at work and the quality of work that they do. Studies show that companies that invest in the employee experience are 4.2 times more profitable than companies that don’t. Don’t leave training up to chance; it must be intentional and consistent. Leaders must understand company culture and what happens at every level of the organization. One person cannot turn a company around alone. There is often a disconnect between technology and human connection. It’s rarely technology that is missing from a company; it’s human connection and a service mindset. On an experiential level, design a friction-free customer experience, consider customer-focused marketing, and, above all, design and commit to a code of ethics. This is especially important in today’s fast-paced world of technology and AI. The most important thing when thinking about the customer experience is simply to make others’ lives easier and better. This extends beyond customers to employees as well. In the end, the companies who “have a soul” in this way will be the ones that succeed. Quote: “Don’t make life harder on your customers to make it easier on your business.” - Blake Morgan About: Blake Morgan is a keynote speaker, customer experience futurist, and author of two customer experience books. Her latest is The Customer of the Future: 10 Guiding Principles for Winning Tomorrow’s Business. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Maria Ross. They discuss her new book, The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success, why empathy creates a competitive advantage in business, and how companies can foster empathy from the inside out. The Interview with Maria Ross: Authentic empathy can create a competitive advantage for companies and can reap huge rewards and bottom-line benefits. In an empathetic culture, employees are more innovative and productive, while customers are more loyal and result in more revenue and good press. Empathy must be authentic for it to be effective. Avoid the “empathy veneer,” which is the mere illusion of empathy without the reality of it. Companies cannot pretend to be empathetic to reap the rewards that true empathy provides—if they try, it will backfire spectacularly. For empathy to be believable on the outside, it must start and be built from the inside out—just like a good brand. This means hiring the right people, training them correctly and continually, rewarding them appropriately, and creating and preserving an internal culture that fosters empathy. Set up internal processes and structures that support the culture of empathy you want to build and preserve. This includes rewards structures—appropriately incentivize the action and behavior that reflects the culture you’re trying to foster. You get the culture you endorse and reward. Empathy can start now, and it can start with one individual. It won’t happen overnight, but rather through small steps that will result in big change. There are five ways leaders and teams can take action now to create empathy: Practice presence. You can’t be empathetic if you’re not present. Listen more; stay humble. Focus on what you hear without being prescriptive. Be curious. The most empathetic people are the ones who ask questions, especially why. Cultivate confidence. You cannot be empathetic toward others if you are not empathetic toward yourself. Create an environment of trust. You cannot have an empathetic workplace if everyone is living in fear. It’s important to facilitate intergenerational understanding. Millennials and Gen Z’ers are some of the most diverse and empathetic people in the workforce. Differences between generations can cause friction and reduce productivity. Embrace communication and work to understand others’ experiences. Quote: “You get the culture you endorse and reward.” - Maria Ross About: Maria Ross is a brand strategist, speaker, and founder of brand consultancy Red Slice. She has authored multiple books, including her latest book, The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Laurie Guest. They discuss her recent book, The 10¢ Decision: How Small Change Pays Off Big, which focuses on small, simple things leaders and team members can do to enact big, positive changes in their customer service. The Interview with Laurie Guest:Business leaders don’t always need to spend a lot of time or energy to improve their customer experience. Small, simple changes can go a long way toward positively impacting customers.Consider your word choice when speaking with customers. For example, you should only say “sorry” in two scenarios: when you have made a mistake and when you want to authentically express empathy. Otherwise, find alternative language that will positively enhance the customer’s experience.Your body language also says a lot. Be aware not only of how you present yourself, but also of what your customers are communicating to you through their body language.One of the most important things for leaders to consider is packaging. How you put together and present the product or service you will influence your customers to buy more from you.Much of customer service comes down to common sense—be nice! You must constantly train to the concepts and cultures you want in your organization, even if it seems like it should be “common sense.”Every person’s level of common sense is different, and is based on five factors: the environment in which they were raised, the era in which they were born, their previous work culture, their personality, and their current work atmosphere.Take an integrated approach to customer service training. Your whole team and organization must approach it as a whole in order to see results and drive success.These concepts and more can be found in Laurie’s book, The 10¢ Decision: How Small Change Pays Off Big. Listeners who purchase the book from her website may use the code PODCAST to receive 20% their copy.Quote: “Business owners do not need to do radical, expensive things to impact their customers. Often they can make little changes to make a difference.” -Laurie Guest About: Laurie Guest, CSP is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author and “go-to-resource” for customer service excellence. Her latest book is The 10¢ Decision: How Small Change Pays Off Big. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Sam Lessin of Fin Analytics. They discuss the changing needs and expectations of customers, and how to keep customer service simple while delivering satisfaction. The Interview with Sam Lessin:The world is becoming more customer-centric, but not every company is keeping up. There must be more training and coaching present within contact centers and customer-facing roles.Measurement is everything. You can only change what you measure. You must measure and collect data across multiple areas of your business so you can understand which moments in the customer journey need review and repair.Executives are in danger of being too far removed from their customers’ journey. Data can help bridge this gap. The right data can help executives make the best decisions about how to create healthier relationships, improve workflow, and create better customer service.Consumers’ expectations of companies they do business with have never been higher, especially when it comes to communication and availability. Customers now expect companies to be as easy to reach as their friends are.Social customer care involves customers communicating with companies through social media channels. Companies need to be aware of the increased visibility that comes with these territories; it can be good, but it can also be a huge liability.Technology, systems, and processes will continue changing and getting more complicated. Keep it simple by remembering that it’s really about serving people well. Customers just want their questions answered and their problems solved quickly and easily; this has remained constant and will not change.Understand the lifetime value (LTV) of your customers and examine how customer service impacts it. Focus on this aspect more than any others.Customer service is not a separate department or something that only happens in contact centers. It is present throughout the entire customer journey. It drives value for your organization just as much as—if not more than—sales, marketing, product, etc.Quote:  “Your customer service isn’t just a call center; it’s driving value for your organization.”- Sam Lessin About: Sam Lessin is the co-founder and co-CEO of Fin Analytics. Formerly, he was Product VP at Facebook and founded drop.io. He also writes a column for The Information. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Tom Goodmanson. They discuss trends in digital customer service, including hyper-personalization and fast, frictionless self-service. The Interview with Tom Goodmanson:The “CX revolution” is only just beginning. The trend across industries is toward elevating the customer experience. This has become critical for organizations to focus on, as 9 in 10 businesses say they’re competing primarily on the basis of customer experience.With all the recent advancements in technology, AI can provide more insights and support to the customer service world than ever before. Technology helps make contact centers smarter, faster, and better and paves the way for proactive customer service.Human interaction will never be entirely eliminated or replaced by AI. However, digital technologies can help support humans—both the reps serving customers and the customers themselves—by making processes easier, more efficient, and more frictionless. Data and analytics empower agents to engage customers in a way that brings humanity back into the equation.Customers’ expectations are higher than ever. These changing and growing expectations drive the biggest trends and most critical focus points for the future of CX. These focal points include hyper-personalization and fast, frictionless service.Hyper-personalization happens when you are able to collect and analyze enough data to get to a very deep understanding of the individual consumer. It allows for exceptional customer care.Find ways to provide your customers with fast and frictionless service. This starts by saving them time. Give your customers the ability to connect with you the way they want to, not the way you want them to.The Calabrio Customer Connect (C3) conference takes place on October 13-16, 2019 in San Antonio. The conference, where Shep will be a keynote speaker, focuses on the challenges of managing growing contact centers, solutions for increasing customer and employee engagement and voice-of-the-customer innovations happening in contact centers today. Learn more at Calabrio.com.Quote:  “At the end of the day when we build all this software to run and drive, we still believe in the humanization of the contact center. We think it needs to become even more human.” - Tom Goodmanson About: Tom Goodmanson is the President and CEO of Calabrio, a workforce optimization and management company. He has more than 20 years of experience leading fast-growing dynamic software and technology companies. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Annette Franz. They discuss her new book, Customer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the “Customer” in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business. They also talk about the crucial role the employee experience plays in the customer experience. The Interview with Annette Franz:Customer understanding is a cornerstone of a customer-centric culture. You must understand who your customers are, the experience they’re having, the problems they face, their goals, and how your business helps them achieve their goals.Communication is crucial in the customer experience. You must communicate openly and honestly with your customers, especially if you need to make changes and decisions that will affect their experience.Everything that affects the customer experience is related to the employee experience. Use the same tools to measure and map the employee experience as you do for the customer experience. Employees, after all, are “internal” customers, and what happens on the inside of an organization will be felt on the outside by external customers.It’s important to eliminate friction for both customers and employees. Be wary of making decisions that will eliminate friction only for customers, while creating more difficulties for employees. That friction, though not direct, will eventually be felt by the customers, too.Happy employees result in happy customers. If you treat your employees well, they, in turn, will treat your customers well. The result is a win-win for your business.Without customers, you have no business. But in order to have happy, loyal customers, you must treat your employees well. At the end of the day, your business focus should really be on the people that drive your business—both customers and employees alike. Quote: “Out of a great employee experience comes employee engagement, productivity, and quality. This translates to a great experience for customers.” - Annette Franz About: Annette Franz, CCXP, is founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc., as well as an internationally recognized CX thought leader, coach, speaker, and author of Customer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the “Customer” in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business. Her website is cx-journey.com. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Paul Selby of ServiceNow. They discuss the evolution of customer service and customer needs in a digital world, and how companies can employ self-service and proactive service to meet customer demands. The Interview with Paul Selby:Self-service is all about empowering customers and giving them the ability to solve their own problems. This often allows resolutions to be reached faster, which makes the customers happy and eliminates extra work for customer support agents.Most of today's customer service is reactive instead of proactive. Proactive service is about being aware of you customer's world anticipating problems, and solving them before the customer has a chance to contact you. The goal is to be so good that no one ever has to call customer service.Even if the issues that arise are not your fault, you still need to provide your customers with access to you for support.Despite some customers’ and companies’ preference for AI and chatbots, voice-to-voice (as in, human-to-human) interface remains the fastest and most frictionless way to provide that support. Technology is not yet at a place where it can include and convey empathy in its responses.At the end of the day, customers drive every aspect of a business. Therefore, it is crucial that you focus on creating genuine, authentic connections with your customers.Customer service is a part of, and encompasses, all other departments. Make sure you train and empower all employees to deliver the best experience possible.Quote: “We’re always expecting more as human beings. Customer service will never go away; there will always be a need for it.” - Paul Selby About: Paul Selby is a product marketing director for Customer Service Management at ServiceNow. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Steve Farber. They discuss how to implement love into every aspect of your business to drive customer success. The Interview with Steve Farber:Even if you love what you do, there will still be days that feel like work. You must do the necessary things you dislike in order to be able to do the things you love in your business. Doing only what you love is called retirement—but you don’t necessarily need to be retired to feel this way.Societally, we are unaccustomed to using the words “love” and “business” in the same sentence. Using the word “love” in relation to business raises the standards and expectations in a way that promotes positive growth. However, you shouldn’t use this verbiage if you don’t intend to follow through with it; if you talk the talk, you must also walk the walk.We want customers to love our products and services. If they don’t, we will have no competitive advantage. Achieving this starts on the inside with the company’s culture. You must first create an environment people love working in; do it right, and this love will be felt on the outside by the customer.A cultural focus can begin on any level of an organization and needs to happen on every level. However, you can’t create this as a leader if you don’t love it yourself first. You must love the environment you create so your employees will also love it—and then customers will feel that love too.To kickstart your cultural change, ask yourself the important questions, like what love looks like in business, why you love what you do, and how you can show it. Then ask those around you what you can do to demonstrate customer love and implement those new ideas. Many good ideas already exist within your organization. Ask the right questions so you can have the right internal conversations.Business, like love, is incredibly personal. This is the most important but also the most overlooked aspect of business.Quote: “As businesspeople, we want our customers to love what we do for them. If they don’t love the product or service, then we have no advantage at all.”  - Steve Farber About: Steve Farber is the president of Extreme Leadership Inc., a speaker and consultant, and the author of several books including Love is Just Damn Good Business and The Radical Leap. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Peter Fader and Sarah Toms. They discuss their new book, The Customer Centricity Playbook, and the “Customer Centricity Manifesto,” which teaches individuals and organizations how to build a customer-centric culture. The Interview with Peter Fader & Sarah Toms:A key term is CLV, which stands for “customer lifetime value.” Taking this into account, it is almost always more profitable to retain existing customers versus acquiring new customers.There are high-, mid- and low-value customers. In your customer base, there are fewer high-value customers and losing them could drastically, negatively impact your business profits. There are more low- and mid- value customers. They are easier to acquire and losses don’t hurt your business as much.The paradox of customer centricity is that despite these facts, many companies still expend a lot of effort into acquiring and retaining the risky high-value customers rather than retaining the dependable low- and mid-value customers. Be careful with how you manage your customer base.Don’t prioritize price over customer experience. Focus your efforts into creating a valuable experience first and foremost, and you will find that a loyal and profitable customer base will follow.Wait to create loyalty programs until you learn more about your customer base, their spending habits, and their wants and needs. Also assess the kinds of customers you’re attracting from your marketing campaigns. Then build your loyalty program using this data.Most loyalty programs are really marketing programs. For instance, “Buy nine and the tenth one is free!” True loyalty involves an emotional connection.Customer heterogeneity refers to differences between customers. You must recognize these differences and not attempt to create a one-size-fits-all approach to use across your entire customer base. Celebrate the differences that elevate your customers above “average.”The Customer Centricity Manifesto consists of four major areas:Customer HeterogeneityCross-Functional Uses of CLVMetrics That Reflect Customer EquityClear Communications with External StakeholdersQuote: “Be careful with how you manage your customers. Make sure that you’re not accidentally firing your customers. That’s not what customer centricity is about.” – Sarah Toms About: Sarah Toms is the executive director and co-founder of Wharton Interactive. She works with The Women in Tech Summit and techgirlz.org to support women and girls in the technology field. Recently, she coauthored The Customer Centricity Playbook with Peter Fader. Peter Fader is a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He is the author of Customer Centricity: Focus on the Right Customers for Strategic Advantage. Recently, he coauthored The Customer Centricity Playbook with Sarah Toms. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Chris Bauserman. They discuss how emotions and personalization play a large role in the customer service and experience of today, and how we can use data analytics to harness that knowledge for improvement. The Interview with Chris Bauserman:The experience economy has changed dramatically over time. Today, who we choose to do business with has much more to do with emotion than with products, technology, or even price point. The companies that differentiate themselves through their service are the ones that stand out and succeed.What is the difference between customer service and customer experience? Customer service is part of the customer experience. Bad service can cause a customer to walk out on you and your company, but it’s not the only factor anymore. You must ensure as much as you can that the customer’s entire journey with you is a positive one.A customer may begin their journey with you in a variety of different ways. What matters most to them in the end is that you know them, have their best interests at heart, and resolve their issue quickly.There is a difference between multichannel and omnichannel. They both allow customers the choice of how they want to connect with you, but omnichannel allows for a seamless connection between platforms, which is a crucial element in creating a frictionless, convenient experience. The most important thing is making yourself available to customers on their terms.91% percent of consumers desire a frictionless, convenient experience, but less than a quarter of business focus on or provide that for their customers. This huge disconnect needs to be addressed. Design your customer journey in a way that is truly customer-centric.Be proactive as much as you can. It’s important to provide a fast and easy resolution to a problem, but it’s even better if you can avoid that problem altogether before it becomes an issue or the customer becomes aware of it.Contact centers are a wealth of information. AI and data analytics can help you measure and understand the emotions of the customers and employees to identify the root of common problems. From there, you can make changes and improve, creating a better experience for everyone involved.Quote:  “Your customer experience is your product.” - Chris Bauserman About: Chris Bauserman is the VP of Product and Segment Marketing at NICE InContact. He has over 20 years of experience helping companies improve their customer service. 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

Shep Hyken interviews John Rossman. They discuss John’s new book, Think Like Amazon, and how to utilize the key factors that drive Amazon’s success.  The Interview with John Rossman:Innovation and success come from developing and committing to systems. Be deliberate in how you approach your work and have a “playbook” you can pull from for any situation. Even though your business may change, a consistent system will drive you to success.Identify the durable customer needs in your industry—the things customers will consistently desire and seek out from companies regardless of other changeable factors. For Amazon, these are low prices, large selection, and fast delivery. It’s helpful to phrase these needs as something like, “I can’t imagine a world where customers would want higher prices.”Once you develop a core set of beliefs about your customers and brand, allow these to act as “swim lanes.” Focus on innovation within those areas; some ideas will work and some won’t, but you will learn from your mistakes. This approach will serve you well over a long period of time.Most companies say they want to change, but very few companies are actually committed to following through with it. Change starts with being honest about who and what you are and whether or not you’re building for the future. Once you’ve done that, you can begin moving forward.Are you a “day one company” or a “day two company”? Day one companies focus on tomorrow; lean forward and look at each day as a chance to grow and improve for the future. Day two companies focus on today; they maintain the status quo and optimize for the short term rather than the long term. They’re often more concerned about money than the customer.A great way to drive change and innovation is to become customer-obsessed. When you’re obsessed, it drives you to do hard things on behalf of your customer. It can lead to more financial gain tomorrow.Be relentless in your approach to innovation. Most innovation comes from every day, operational work. If you approach that relentlessly and put in the hours necessary, you will become better and make a positive impact on your customers.Be willing to adopt change personally as well as professionally. Challenge your own internal status quo in addition to your company’s. This will help you go far.Quote: “When you’re obsessed, you’re willing to do  hard things on behalf of your customer. Building a true customer obsession is a great way to challenge your status quo.” - John Rossman About: John Rossman is the author of Think Like Amazon: 50 ½ Ideas to Become a Digital Leader. Formerly an executive at Amazon, he now heads Rossman Partners, a niche business advisory firm. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jim Tincher. They discuss journey mapping and how it can be used to improve both the employee experience and the customer experience. The Interview with Jim Tincher:What is a journey map? A journey map is a graphic representation of every interaction a customer has with you and your business. Journey maps can be used as effective tools to drive change and improve the customer experience.It is important to make the journey map highly visual. This will help people remember the key points and takeaways, which will help drive the positive changes that are needed in your organization.Jan Carlzon coined the phrase “Moment of Truth,” which is any and every interaction the customer has with an organization that gives them the opportunity to form an impression. These points of contact can come in many varieties, and they all form part of the customer journey.One of the biggest touchpoints is actually Google, which allows customers to form an impression of your company before interacting with it directly. This is a good reminder that much of the customer journey may not directly involve your company, but it still forms an important part of the bigger picture.Before you begin journey mapping, there are five questions you should ask and answer:What’s the problem you want to solve?What’s the right journey for your customers/business?Who is the customer?How do you get customer feedback?Who is on your team?It’s crucial to obtain feedback and get your employees to listen to the customer. And once you get that feedback, you must do something with it. If you don’t, you will betray your customers’ trust and ruin the relationship.In addition to mapping the customer journey, it’s also advisable to map the employee journey. The employee journey behind the scenes has direct impact on the customer.Quote: “You can spend all your time focusing on the customers, but if you don’t enable (empower) your employees to create a great customer experience, it’s going to be a long road.” - Jim Tincher About: Jim Tincher is the founder and Mapper-In-Chief at Heart of the Customer. He co-authored the recent book How Hard Is It to Be Your Customer? Using Journey Mapping to Drive Customer-Focused Change. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jeff Gothelf. They discuss how companies must build a culture around listening and responding to customer need. The Interview with Jeff Gothelf:Do work that has an impact on your customers. Don’t measure your work based on completion; measure it based on growth and the positive impact you can have on those around you—especially your customers.Leaders need to start managing product teams differently, putting the focus on the customer rather than on products and deadlines. If you build a customer-centric product, it will help you attract the best people and have the biggest impact on customers. This is the way to succeed in today’s world.Organization leaders must empower all employees—but especially those closest to the customer and in customer-facing roles—to make decisions that best impact the customer. The employees in customer-facing roles are going to have the best understanding of the customer’s experience—their wants, needs, problems, and potential solutions to those problems.Exemplary companies and technologies have universally raised customer expectations to a higher level. If you and your company don’t meet and exceed those expectations, you will lose customers to a company that does. Find out what your customers like about those exemplary companies, and incorporate some of their practices into your own business.Use the concept of “sense and respond” when delivering your customer service and experience. You must listen to your customers and use what you hear to actively and rapidly grow and change. The rate of change in all industries is faster than ever, and it happens continuously; if you fall behind, you’ll lose customers.Talk to your customers and listen to what they say. Have a real conversation with them instead of merely relying on surveys. This will help you understand them and get more qualitative data that will help you learn, grow, and succeed.Quote: “The faster you can build learning into the culture of your organization, the faster you can build the response mechanisms to adjust course to the wildly changing market conditions and customer expectations.” - Jeff Gothelf About: Jeff Gothelf works as a coach, consultant, and keynote speaker. He founded Sense & Respond Press and co-authored the books Lean UX and Sense & Respond. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Josh Ginsberg. They discuss crisis management and why brand integrity is important to customers. The Interview with Josh Ginsberg:When a problem or crisis occurs, it’s essential for customers to see the company take action. However, that action must come from a place of authenticity. If a company has already established a track record of integrity when there is no crisis, it will be much easier for customers to trust they will fix a problem.There are three main components of crisis management. You must act quickly, you must be authentic, and you must communicate consistently.66% of all consumers say that transparency is the most important quality for a brand. That means communicating even when you’re at fault or don’t have answers, being honest in your communication, and being authentic in yourself and your brand.A crisis can have positive outcomes. If a crisis is handled well, it can increase the visibility and reputation of your brand. This, in turn, can lead to customer loyalty.Social media has changed the landscape of brand identity and customer relationships. The many platforms allow anyone and everyone to be an influencer and to spread information quickly.There is a fairly new expectation of companies and brands to tackle issues that may or may not be related to their product. Customers like and trust companies more that publicly take a stand on hot-button issues.Employees have similar expectations of their company’s brand identity and integrity. When employees’ values line up with their companies’, it results in higher employee retention. It’s in companies’ best interests to consider the things their employees value. Employees can be a brand’s best advocates.Quote: “It’s important for customers to see companies take action in a crisis. But that action has to be authentic.” - Josh Ginsberg About: Josh Ginsberg is the founder and CEO of Zignal Labs, a media analytics platform. Previously, he served as a senior public affairs executive for Fortune 500 companies and political campaigns. 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

The Interview with John Brandt: There’s often a disconnect between organization leaders and customers. Leaders live in a “customer-free zone” where they don’t interact with customers on a daily basis and therefore don’t know what customers most desire. The most important factor to customers is that they feel heard and cared about by the company and its representatives.Get to know your customers. See your organization through their eyes, and take time to shop, work, and even live alongside them. Learn about their struggles and discover their biggest pain points. Then, devise a solution that eliminates multiple headaches for the customer at once. Make their lives more convenient. Sales follow convenience.Nincompoopery is not usually the fault of any individual; its roots often lie with the company or organization. Friction needs to be eliminated at the source and on a larger scale. This starts with training, defining values, and building culture on the inside, which creates a consistent experience for the customer on the outside.Build real, human connections with your customers. Relationships should go deeper than the transactional. This is where AI falls short. Customers still crave that person-to-person interaction.Another definition of a Moment of Truth is “when something happens that can dramatically change the arc of the relationship between you and the customer.” Relationships are formed in these moments, in moments of crisis—both in business and in life. These moments are when you learn who you can trust and who you cannot. Prove to your customers that they can trust you.One of the biggest gifts you can receive is a customer complaint. This is direct feedback from the customer about something that isn’t working in your organization. Use that feedback and do something with it. Make changes and improve.Everyone falls victim to nincompoopery, but you’re only truly a nincompoop if you make no effort to grow. Consistently analyze your own performance by looking through your customer’s eyes—always look for ways to improve. Otherwise, you’ll stay stuck in nincompoopery, and there’s no future for anyone there. Quote: “You can’t improve customer experience and value unless you go live with your customers. Go be a customer with your customers.”- John Brandt About: John R. Brandt is the author of Nincompoopery: Why Your Customers Hate You—and How to Fix It. He is also the CEO and founder of The MPI Group. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Cameron Mitchell, Founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. They discuss Cameron’s customer service philosophies and his new book, Yes is the Answer! What is the Question?. The Interview with Cameron Mitchell:Be goal-oriented. Know the difference between working for a paycheck and working for your career.Define your company’s core values and culture first. Then, build the company for the people, by the people.Rather than putting the guests/customers first, put your employees first. This sets up a triangular relationship: you take care of your employees, your employees take care of your customers, and your customers take care of your company. This all stems from an internal people-first culture.Mitchell shared his company’s Five Pillars of Culture, which are in the form of questions. These questions must be answered with authority and conviction. They are as follows:What do we want to be?How do we define ourselves?What is our mission?What is your role?What is our goal?There should be an almost even split between cultural and fiscal responsibility, the scales tipped in favor of culture. The number one goal should be to maintain your company’s culture and values. Making a profit should be second to that. Never sacrifice your culture for the sake of profit.Your company will have many goals that come and go, but the one constant goal should be to be better today than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you are today. This creates a culture of positive change within your organization. Stagnation is a death sentence.The phrase “yes is the answer; what’s the question?” creates an attitude of action. It motivates people to find creative solutions to problems rather than just saying “no.”Attaching an image, symbol, or picture to your company mantra can make for a powerful reminder. Implement and integrate this company-wide to ensure everyone is on the same page.Quote:  “We take care of our people, our people take care of our guests, and our guests then take care of our company.” - Cameron Mitchell About: Cameron Mitchell is the founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. He has enjoyed success as a lifelong entrepreneur, accomplished businessman, culinary expert, and nationally recognized restauranteur. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Michelle Hayward. They discuss how to create and cultivate the core values and culture that keep companies strong.  The Interview with Michelle Hayward:Michelle is a firm believer in the culture and values of a company. She shared the five most important tenets of company culture. They are:Intentionality – It is important to approach your work with intention every day. This helps you be bold, confident, and prepared. Intentional people know what’s expected of them and have a desire to answer questions, make deliberate choices, and move the conversation forward in a positive, productive way.Curiosity – Foster insatiable curiosity in your work. Curiosity allows for creativity, which creates growth. You never want to get to a place where you’re stagnant because there’s no curiosity. Curiosity helps you solve tough problems.Purity of Heart – In many lines of work, you will be given tough problems with strict deadlines. Even when caught in “the struggle,” it’s crucial to be pure of heart and be driven by the notion of service and the desire to help others.Agility – Nothing is ever predetermined, so there will always be a need to be agile. This means being able to “pivot” and adapt to every new challenge that arises.Freedom, Transparency, Accountability – The final tenet is three concepts in one. These three qualities allow for the creation of a platform where people own their work and are accountable for their decisions. This helps with employee engagement because it makes them feel involved and valued.It’s important to recognize a misalignment of values. Team action should be taken to try and rectify the issue, and during this time, everyone involved should remain open and willing to learn and pivot.Never stop learning. Always stay open to new information and lessons. Be willing to take risks with your clients. The reward will be worth it in the end.Be transparent with your clients. Your relationship with them will become a more productive partnership. When done right, values will cross over and positively affect the relationship.Quote: “Culture is steeped in values. Values shape behaviors.” - Michelle Hayward About: Michelle Hayward is the CEO of brand and growth consultancy Bluedog Design. She is a graduate of The Kellogg School of Management’s Chief Marketing Officer Program and Dartmouth’s Executive Women Entrepreneurship. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Adrian Swinscoe. They discuss his new book, Punk CX, and talk about how to apply punk sensibility to the customer service world. The Interview with Adrian Swinscoe:The speed of change is unceasingly fast, but true progress can be impeded by too much to quickly. Many organizations, in fact, make it difficult for their people to deliver good service. The punk movement, inherently, was born out of a desire to disrupt and simplify. That’s what needs to happen with customer service and experience.Customers notice small details and these have a huge impact on their overall experience. For example, let’s say a customer is enjoying everything about a restaurant, but when they go to the bathroom, it is horrifically dirty and smelly. That will affect their overall experience and enjoyment of the restaurant; they may wonder if the kitchen is as dirty as the bathroom, for instance. Make sure every detail is customer-ready.The customer experience is about more than just metrics, and metrics are not always the best way to measure whether or not the experience is a good one. For instance, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to measure being kind to someone or doing the right thing. But just because these things can’t be measured doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be done. And more often than not, this will have a greater effect upon the customer than anything else.Surveys can be helpful, but quite often they are problematic because they’re a selfish venture and don’t truly make the experience better for the customer. The “Six Deadly Sins of Surveys” are making your survey relevant to your company instead of the customer, lengthy surveys, delivering surveys at an inappropriate time, not giving your customers a true voice, not thanking your customers for their time and effort, and surveying your customers too much.There is a lack of real meaning in customer service and experience these days. Many representatives merely paint within the lines of customer service, rather than venturing outside the lines to provide truly exceptional customer service. In order to make a difference and provide an amazing customer experience, you must be willing to try new things—paint outside the lines of your CX.Quote: “Listen to your customers. People will say the most amazing things if you let them talk.” - Adrian Swinscoe About: Adrian Swinscoe is a best-selling author and Forbes contributor who has 20 years of experience growing and developing customer-focused companies. His latest book is entitled Punk CX. 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. This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions … and more:What is punk CX?How can I improve my customer service/CX?How do I conduct effective customer surveys?What will turn customers away from my business?How important are metrics to CX?    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shep Hyken interviews Ford Blakely. They discuss pursuing your passion, creating convenience, and balancing technology with human connection. When faced with a problem, it’s important to approach it from the standpoint of convenience. How can you fix things to make them more convenient for your customers and employees?The concept of convenience has come more front and center over the past few years. This is largely due to two main factors. First, the review economy put control in the hands of consumers and allowed them to advocate for what they wanted from companies. Second, the immediacy of convenience created an expectation of on-demand service, placing the importance on how companies deliver their service rather than just what their product is.Even if they’re not your direct competitors, companies like Amazon and Uber have created an expectation of a certain level of guest experience thanks to technology and convenience. Your customers will come to desire and even expect this same level of service and guest experience from you, too.There needs to be a balance with technology use. Some companies implement too much technology, sacrificing the human connection their customers crave. This can prove detrimental to business.As with technology, there needs to be a balance between convenience for customers and convenience for employees/businesses. The goal should be to create convenience for all, but it should definitely be skewed in the customer’s favor. When in doubt, always do what’s best for the customer. Quote: “It’s simple. If you can combine two things that take extra effort into one… that’s convenience.” - Ford Blakely About: Ford Blakely is the founder and CEO of Zingle. He has been involved in startups, finance, and various entrepreneurial projects for over 20 years. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Mary Drumond. They discuss Mary’s recent article, “Bad Experiences Aren’t Always the Problem for Companies” as it pertains to customer feedback, customers’ expectations, and the entire customer experience. The Interview with Mary Drumond:It’s important to look into the reasons why customers make their decisions. Most metrics only look at recommendation potential and satisfaction instead of examining customers’ motivation. That means a huge piece of the puzzle is missing.Customers stop doing business with companies for a number of reasons. The number one factor that drives customers away is when their time is not respected. Customers don’t like having to wait or being kept on hold; do this too much, and you may find your customers leaving to do business with someone who has a higher respect for their time.Why do companies with poor customer service continue to flourish? For certain business models, the most important factor may not be CX—it could be time and/or money. Customers expect an experience equivalent to the company’s price point, whether that is high or low. Additionally, if the starting price is lower, customers using the service who are not price-sensitive will pay more for upgrades.Humans make decisions on a cost vs. benefit and pain vs. pleasure basis. For customers making purchase decisions, this means weighing time and money against quality, product, customer service, etc. The lowest price may not always be the best value.Many companies either ignore or miss out on the most important aspect of feedback: the voice of the customer. Survey questions need to be redesigned to allow the customer to voice the issues that matter to them rather than giving data the company wants. Additionally, surveys need to be conducted in a way that eliminates bias entirely, or the data will be skewed.When customers are inundated with too many surveys, they will be less likely to participate and may become irritated. This phenomenon is known as “survey fatigue.” This also happens when customers feel as though companies aren’t doing anything with their feedback—they don’t want to make the effort to complete the survey if their voices are going to be ignored. Quote: “There’s nothing worse than asking for a customer’s feedback and then doing nothing about it.”- Mary Drumond About: Mary Drumond is the Chief Marketing Officer at Worthix, editor of the Science Behind Decisions blog, and host of the Voices of CXpodcast. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Randy Frisch. They discuss how content marketing has changed and what businesses need to do to create the best content experience for their customers. A good content marketing strategy is part of a good customer experience. The Interview with Randy Frisch:Content marketing, and consumers’ expectations of it, has changed drastically in recent years. No longer are content marketers responsible for sales only; now, they influence the entire customer experience.In order to create a great customer and content experience, there needs to be personalization. The content that the customers come into contact with must be customized to fit their wants, needs, and interests. Companies like Amazon and Spotify are already doing this well.Before you build and market your content, you must understand who you want to connect with. Who is your intended audience? What do they want and need? Your content must be personalized and meaningful to that audience—think of it as “contextual content.”Successful content personalization can lead to customer loyalty. When customers feel that you truly understand them, they are more likely to make a purchase - and more likely to make repeat purchases. Customers want to do business with companies that understand them.It’s better to have less content that is truly personalized rather than more content that is too general.Quote: “It’s not the type or size of audience you care about, but the impact you want to make on them.” - Randy Frisch About: Randy Frisch is the CMO and co-founder at Uberflip, a content experience platform. He is also a host of the Conex: The Content Experience Show podcast and the author of F#ck Content 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jamie Gilpin. They Discuss how the role of marketers has expanded to include the customer experience, and how social media can positively affect the customer journey. The Interview with Jamie Gilpin:      •The advent of social media has opened new channels for marketers. Marketing is no longer concerned with sales alone; now, marketers must take the whole customer experience into consideration. Social media can provide invaluable insights to marketers for every stage of the customer journey.      •A company’s brand is not determined by first impressions and advertising alone. It is now affected at every interaction and experience a customer has with a company and is comprised of that customer’s feelings toward the company. Marketers can use social media as a tool to manage customers’ impressions and define the company’s brand.      •There are many areas in which marketers no longer have control of a company’s brand. Social media puts control into the hands of the customers, which can create problems when customers use social media as a megaphone to advertise their issues with a company. However, handled well, this also creates an opportunity for marketers to take back control, using those channels to steer the impression other consumers will form of the brand.      •There is a difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer. Customers become loyal when they’re not only satisfied, but when they feel a true connection to the company. Loyal customers then become advocates for a brand by recommending it to their friends and family.      •Customers crave authentic, human connection more than anything else, and this is ultimately what drives sales and loyalty. Social media is arguably one of the biggest connection points in the customer experience. Companies must realize this and take advantage of this opportunity to create connection.      •It’s important to identify and uphold a purpose for your company. If your purpose aligns with your customers’ values, this will drive connection and loyalty. However, the purpose must be authentic; otherwise, it will drive customers away. Listen on social media to what your customers are saying to learn what their values, wants, and needs are.      •It’s crucial to truly know and understand your customers. Social media is an under-utilized treasure trove of information; use this tool to get to know your customers and connect with them on an authentic, human level. Quote: “The largest, most unfiltered source of business intelligence for customer knowledge and connection is social media.” - Jamie Gilpin About: Jamie Gilpin is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sprout Social, a leading provider of social media analytics, engagement, and advocacy solutions for business. She received her MBA from Northwestern University. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Roger Dooley. They discuss his new book, Friction: The Untapped Force That Can Be Your Most Powerful Advantage, and how it applies to the customer experience. The Interview with Roger Dooley:Friction is “any unnecessary expenditure of effort to accomplish a task.” This effort can include both time and money and affects both customers and employees. Not eliminating friction can cost you the loyalty of both your customers and your employees alike.Businesses need to develop a “friction-aware culture.” Once you’re aware, not only will you see friction everywhere, but you can start to fix it. A smoother CX results in happier customers, higher sales, and a more productive and engaged team.Trust and friction work in direct opposition to one another. Sometimes we will put up with extra friction to trust in security (i.e., a safety deposit box). But there is often a mismatch between trust and friction, such as complicated online security measures that only frustrate the customer. For your customers to trust you, you must demonstrate that you trust them.Sometimes adding friction can have beneficial results. For instance, moving a candy dish just a few feet further can help someone change their diet. Alternatively, adding a high-friction option results in consumers choosing the low-friction option.Friction and human behavior are linked. Changing friction (usually reducing it) allows you to steer human behavior. It is rare to see positive results from adding friction; if you do add friction, it can’t be too much or you will see adverse effects. There must be a balance.Opportunities can be greater for small businesses because they are less likely to have internal friction and can therefore be more creative.It is crucial for executives and organization leaders to observe their customers, rather than making disconnected assumptions about what’s working and what isn’t. Observation allows you to see where friction exists for your customers so that you can make changes where necessary.Quote: “Wasting your customers’ time and effort will cost you their loyalty.” - Roger Dooley About: Roger Dooley is an author and international keynote speaker. He founded Dooley Direct, a consultancy, and co-founded College Confidential, the leading college-bound website. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Wharton School professors Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch. They discuss their new book, Connected Strategy, and how any company can use the concept to improve their customer experience. The Interview with Nicolaj Siggelkow & Christian Terwiesch:Connected strategy is a concept that allows companies to connect to customers more holistically. By connecting to and anticipating customers’ needs on a deeper level, more value is added to every interaction and transaction that customer has with the company.Customers may be nervous about giving you and your company data. In order for them to feel comfortable enough to share with you, you need to show them a clear value proposition. It is crucial that they feel their data is helping you provide a better experience for them, otherwise they will feel exploited.There is much friction caused by infrequent customer connections. Repeated connections create a positive feedback loop where you are able to add personalization and eliminate friction.Not every customer will appreciate or desire a connected strategy. Predictive analytics can inform you how much connectivity each individual customer wants. It’s important to not create just one type of connected strategy; there need to be options to suit each type of customer.Connected strategy can drive up efficiency and create a more convenient experience for everyone.Parents are the ultimate example of a good company. Their customers are their children. Not only do they take care of their customers’ wants and needs, they are able to predict those needs ahead of time. They are also able to provide what is best for their customers, whether or not their customers are aware of what that is, because they have their customers’ long-term interests at heart. A good company should operate in much the same way.Quotes: “Connected strategies are not just about technology or data. They’re about relieving your customers’ pain points by creating an information exchange.” – Nicolaj Siggelkow “Every business has to answer two questions: the what and the how. What are the needs of the customer and how do you fulfill those needs?” – Christian Terwiesch About: Nicolaj Siggelkow is a Professor of Management and Christian Terwiesch is a Professor of Operations and Information Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. They co-direct Penn’s Mack Institute for Innovation Management and cowrote Connected Strategy: Building Continuous Customer Relationships for Competitive Advantage. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jill Nelson. They discuss her company, Ruby Receptionists, and how to use both technology and humanity to deliver an amazing customer experience.  The Interview with Jill Nelson:The driving force behind good customer service should be human engagement and connection. Technology can allow employees to be more helpful, but it should not be the only layer to the customer experience.Even with the many ways a customer can connect with a company, there is still an expectation of instant availability. Customers increasingly prefer to connect with companies via the phone, and phone calls have the highest conversion rate of interaction to sale.The money you spend on marketing will be wasted if you don’t inject care into the customer’s experience beyond getting them to connect with you. Companies need to communicate that they are there for their customers, that they care, and that they’re human, too. At the end of the day, people want to do business with people.It’s important to hire right from the beginning, as is continuous training. Be careful not to “untrain” or demotivate your employees; assume they want to succeed and help their customers succeed, so empower them to do so.Cultivate a mindset where the customer’s needs supersede your own. Use the customer’s success as your compass, and ask yourself what you can help them accomplish and how you can go about doing so.Quote: “Hiring right is important, but it’s a waste if you don’t also give your employees the freedom, space, and ability to be human and do great things beyond following the rules.” - Jill Nelson About: Jill Nelson is the founder and CEO of Ruby Receptionists. She is a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and was honored as the Oregon Technology Executive of the Year in 2017. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Karen Jaw-Madson. They discuss her company, Design for Work Experience; her book, Culture Your Culture; and the most effective work cultures for customer service. In Shep’s opening monologue, he talks about the difference between a repeat customer and a loyal customer. The Interview with Karen Jaw-Madson:Karen’s book, Culture Your Culture, is intended as a step-by-step how-to guide for organizations looking to design, customize, and sustain their company culture.It’s important to plan your culture with intention rather than letting it happen by accident. Customization also needs to happen instead of copying what other companies have done; culture is nothing without contextual framework. Culture must be intentional and relevant to its intended context.Companies must do three things to hone their culture. First, they must practice organizational mindfulness—i.e., pay honest attention to what’s in front of them at all points of the process. They must have a willingness to follow through on processes. Finally, and most importantly, they must actually change.Changes need to be implemented consistently for companies to get “good”. Organizations need to commit to ongoing behaviors, mindsets, and processes in order to see results.Organizational leaders must demonstrate the changes they wish to see implemented. Culture starts at the top and is felt throughout the whole company and then by the customers.Treat customers as a part of the company, an internal force. The best customer service cultures are flexible, people-centered, and consistent. Remember: we’re all Think about your company’s top goal and priority for culture, and imagine potential consequences if nothing were to change in one year’s time. Let that drive your commitment to change and develop your company-wide culture.Quote: “See customers as co-designers of the mission of your company.” - Karen Jaw-Madson About: Karen Jaw-Madson is an organizational expert and versatile leader across multiple fields. She is principal of Co.-Design of Work Experience and the author of Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences at Work. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Patrick Campbell. They discuss subscription models, company culture, hiring right, and becoming “customer-obsessed.”  In Shep’s opening monologue, he talks about innovative ways to use a subscription model to enhance your business. The Interview with Patrick Campbell:Any and every company should consider implementing a subscription model. It brings the relationship with the customer to the forefront and ties it directly to company profit, which has been the trend since the beginning of business.Subscription is the future of business regardless of industry. It creates more convenience for your customers and generates a steady source of income for your business.Companies who nurture and prioritize their relationships with their customers are more likely to succeed and win in business. Companies need to build a culture that is “customer-obsessed.”The two major factors in success are hiring and culture. Culture begins with good hiring; everyone needs to be on the same page so that culture can permeate through the whole business. What’s felt by employees on the inside of a business will be felt by customers on the outside.It can be difficult to hire the right people, but you must prioritize this. Seek employees who are “obsessed with the pursuit of truth.” This means they will be less arrogant, more driven, and more open-minded—all important qualities that will spell out success for your business.Having a relationship with your customers gives you a competitive edge. It grants you a better understanding of what customers want, what they need, and what they value. In an increasingly competitive environment, this can either make or break your company; more often than not, “whoever gets closest to the customer wins.”Quote:  “Whoever gets closest to the customer wins.” - Patrick Campbell About: Patrick Campbell is the co-founder and CEO of ProfitWell (formerly Price Intelligently). Previously, he has worked at Strategic Initiatives, Google, BridgeBright, and the United States Department of Defense. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Mike Grande, the founder and CEO of Rock Out Loud and The Staten Island School of Rock. They discuss Mike’s successful philosophies of providing an outstanding experience to his customers.  The Interview with Mike Grande:Focus on a simple growth philosophy: to grow your business one customer at a time. If you do your job right, you will earn loyalty and then your customers will help your business grow by recommending your business to friends and family.Know the real purpose of your business and how it can impact your customers. To Mike, music is secondary at his school. He and his fellow teachers—called “coaches”—focus on creating leaders and building self-confidence in their students using music as a tool.Change the customer’s state of mind—break the customer’s preoccupation when they walk through your door or call you. For example, whenever Mike’s students enter one of his schools, a motion detector triggers a crowd chant to pump them up and prepare them for a stellar lesson. Prime your customers in a similar way to ensure their interaction with you is the best it can be.Personalization is a vitally important concept in business. Consider giving your customers personalized gifts to show appreciation for their loyalty. Don’t brand the gifts or turn them into a sales ploy; this is an opportunity to insert some humanity into a service interaction. Have the mindset of “this gift is the least I can do for a loyal customer.”It’s crucial for everyone you work with to be on the same page when it comes to your mission statement. Everyone must be in alignment with the vision of the company, and there needs to be total buy-in from all employees. This comes from creating, cultivating, and defending your company culture.Quote: “For the leader of an organization to be truly successful, you must know your ‘why’ and your mission.” – Mike Grande About: Mike Grande is the founder and CEO of The Staten Island School of Rock and Rock Out Loud. When he’s not teaching or playing music, he is the CTO and a Certified Ethical Hacker for Owl Rock. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Sandy Rogers. They discuss his new book, Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion, and the importance of empathy, responsibility, and generosity in the customer experience.  The Interview with Sandy Rogers:During Sandy’s tenure at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the company focused on improving customer service to drive loyalty. They measured service quality and strove to improve from the bottom up. Over ten years, the company’s customer satisfaction rating grew from 67% to 80%, service quality became more consistent between all branches, and sales tripled. The employees may have stayed the same, but changes in management and expectation directly lead to the improvement.The biggest factor in customer loyalty is empathy. Loyalty is an emotion that can’t always be explained by numbers and figures. Companies need to remember to include the human element when dealing with their customers if they hope to win their hearts, which is the key to winning their business.Empathy and emotional engagement begin inside the company within the employee experience. Companies must respect and empathize with their employees if they want and expect their employees to do the same with their customers. What is felt on the inside of an organization will be felt on the outside.Implement a regular “loyalty huddle” with your team. Use this time to focus on one of the principles of loyalty outlined in the book, such as empathy, responsibility, or generosity. Celebrate successes and create a safe space to discuss things that aren’t working and ideas for improvement.Empower your employees to come up with ideas for improvement and to deliver the best level of customer service they can, even if that means deviating from established policies. It falls to management to lead this charge and advocate for change. Allow good ideas to come from every level of employee, from frontline representative to CEO.Loyalty programs and rewards points may help with customer loyalty, but they’re too easy for competitors to copy. At the end of the day, loyalty will be more driven by empathy and customers’ emotional engagement with a company.There will always be people who will try to cheat the system and take advantage of you. You can’t let those few dictate your business practices, because you will alienate the rest of your customers and lose their loyalty by being difficult to work with. This will only end up hurting your company in the end.As a leader, you must choose to center your company’s culture around the principles of loyalty. Reward and demonstrate the practices you value as central to your goal. You will start to see positive changes not only in your business, but also in your personal life.Quote:  “We must start by earning the fierce loyalty of our employees by treating them with empathy, responsibility, and generosity.” - Sandy Rogers About: Sandy Rogers is the co-author of Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion and the leader of FranklinCovey’s Loyalty Practice. Formerly, Sandy was the senior vice president at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jeff Nicholson. They discuss self-service, points of friction and effort, and Jeff’s newest whitepaper, “Achieving Digital Customer Service Transformation.” The Interview with Jeff Nicholson:Practically every industry is experiencing a shift to self-service. The result is that previously unknown points of friction are being eliminated, which is good, but it also throws a spotlight on the points of friction that remain.“57 % of consumers dread calling customer service.” Because of self-service, customers now have an expectation that they should be able to find answers on their own via the channels they prefer—social media, texting, websites, etc. Only when they fail to get the information they seek themselves are they finally forced to pick up the phone—and by that time, they’re already frustrated.Friction is a two-sided phenomenon; when a customer experiences friction, employees do too. For example, agents who deal with frustrated customers all day in turn are frustrated themselves. This is one of the reasons why agent turnover is so high. Neither the customer nor the employee wins in this scenario.Companies need to re-think self-service strategies altogether. Ideally, self-service should be integrated and “channel-less”, allowing customers and employees to move seamlessly between channels of communication without the need to repeat information again and again.Customers don’t want self-service; they want proactive service. They want companies to get closer to their moment of need, anticipate problems, and intervene before the need ever arises and they have to reach out. This is also called “predictive maintenance.”Nothing will get solved overnight; friction cannot be eliminated immediately. But you have to start somewhere. Technology is no longer the barrier. You simply need to pick a direction and make changes to move towards results.Quote: “57% of consumers dread calling customer service.” - Jeff Nicholson About: Jeff Nicholson is Vice President of CRM Product Marketing at Pegasystems. He is a recognized customer engagement thought leader who frequently presents at CRM industry events. 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

Shep Hyken interviews Jeff Toister. They discuss his book, Getting Service Right: Overcoming the Hidden Obstacles to Outstanding Customer Service, and Jeff offers immediately applicable advice on how to improve your customer service.  In Shep’s Opening Monologue... He discusses the importance of caring for your employees so they can better care for your customers. The Interview with Jeff Toister:It’s difficult to not take angry customers personally. The instinct is either fight or flight, neither of which is helpful in a customer service situation. The key is to recognize this instinct, take a pause and a breath, and choose to respond in a different way.Employees are trained to jump straight into offering solutions to angry customers rather than focusing on the emotions at play. Often, angry customers need to vent first. Once they’ve calmed down, they will be more receptive to your ideas for solutions to their problem.Transform your approach from an adversarial stance to the mindset of a partner. If you approach the problem with the customer as a team, they won’t be on the defensive and will be more open to potential solutions.Organization leaders and executives usually don’t spend much time dealing with customers and can therefore be out of touch with their company’s quality of customer service. They may make the mistake of assuming that customer service is both easy and common sense, which it isn’t.People assume that customer service is getting worse when in reality, it’s getting better. The issue is that “good” customer service is what’s expected, and people remember negative experiences more because it’s a deviation from the expectation.When you witness an employee fall short of an expectation, don’t jump straight to conclusions and solutions. Instead, ask “why?” and suspend judgement. Have a conversation with the employee and involve them in problem solving for the present and the future.Quote:  “Great customer service leaders make it easy for their employees to deliver great service.” - Jeff Toister About: Jeff Toister is a top customer service and experience influencer and the author of three customer service books. He has also created video-based training courses for LinkedIn Learning (a.k.a. Lynda.com). 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

Shep Hyken interviews Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. They discuss AI in business—what works and what doesn’t work, how it can help companies and employees succeed, and how we can best utilize it. They also discuss the need for diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace. In Shep’s Opening Monologue... He discusses the pros and cons of chatbots. The Interview with Natalie Petouhoff:Companies that become too enamored with chatbots, AI, and other technologies can risk losing touch with their customers.AI shouldn’t replace humans; it’s meant to aid and augment both the employee and customer experiences.AI might be more useful to employees rather than customers. It can eliminate mundane, repetitive task for support center agents and help them build better rapport with their customers, which thereby improves the customer experience.Social media has transformed how customers and businesses interact. Having multiple methods of contact, or channels, removes effort from customers, which customers really like.Contact centers and companies alike need to reorient themselves so that the customer is at the center of their operations. They should be less concerned with statistics and more concerned with people.You don’t have to go above and beyond to create an exceptional customer experience. Most customers simply want a quick, easy, and efficient answer or solution to their problems. Providing that is going above and beyond when that isn’t the standard.Companies and employees need to be able to guide and train their AI so it learns better. AI is not meant to operate in an isolated environment; its intelligence is human-inspired.Companies are no longer competing solely against their direct competitor; they’re now competing against the highest standard for service across the board. AI can help power that without customers even realizing it.When companies don’t have an agile mindset, it can be difficult for them to adjust to how rapidly technology changes. Failing to adapt can spell doom for companies if they don’t respond with urgency and a willingness to learn.Quote: “AI is meant to augment the problem-solving process.” – Dr. Natalie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fostering Good Customer Service Habits to Make Your Business Stand Out Shep Hyken interviews Mark Copeman. They discuss his new book, Helpdesk Habits, which teaches employees how to turn good customer service practices into routine habits. They also talk about the importance of humanity within the employee and customer experience. In Shep’s Opening Monologue... He discusses if and when you should approach the CEO of a company about a problem you’ve experienced. The Interview with Mark Copeman:Copeman’s book is written for agents and other employees on the frontline of businesses. Its aim is to help those agents build habits that will result in excellent customer service.One of the habits the books talks about is the “Service Recovery Paradox.” The principle here is that sometimes things will go wrong. What matters most is how you recover from and fix those problems.If something goes wrong in the customer experience, customer loyalty will dip. However, customer loyalty will increase over time if the issue is resolved.Copeman introduces the concept of the “Habit Loop,” which consists of three steps: trigger, routine, and reward. The most crucial step toward building a habit is reward, which must be associated with the routine.Another habit is called “Lay It Out.” Copeman describes this as taking a little extra time to format emails so that the crucial information recipients need is easily accessible at a glance, whether by using bullet points or bold or italic text.Copeman’s overarching theme throughout the book is “Human Customer Service.” The companies that thrive are the ones that allow and encourage their customer-facing employees to be themselves and let their personalities shine through. It takes very little effort, but the human element is what makes the biggest difference in the customer experience.Quote: “Stuff goes wrong; what counts is how you fix it.” - Mark Copeman About: Mark Copeman is the founder of Wisecurve, a content and product studio. He refers to himself as a “serial entrepreneur” and just released his first book, Helpdesk Habits.  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

Shep Hyken interviews Todd Hopkins. They discuss how having a company-wide culture can lead to better customer service and success for your business. In Shep’s Opening Monologue... He talks about what you should do with customer feedback once you get it. The Interview with Todd Hopkins:Core values can work like a filter to influence every decision you and your employees make. When faced with a difficult situation, employees can think about the core values and compare them to possible courses of action to determine what will best uphold the company’s values.When a company has a set of core values, the entire organization can align itself together. This allows employees to create a better experience for their customers.To motivate your employees, find out what their dreams and goals are. Help them connect the dots between those dreams and job they have with you, and passion and motivation will follow naturally. Integrate that human connection and you will create loyal, hardworking employees.Establish an upfront agreement with both employees and customers that allows for future feedback free from emotion. This helps customers feel comfortable submitting feedback and allows you to have honest conversations with your employees to fix problems without worrying about hurt feelings. The more honest communication you can have inside and outside of your organization, the better.Aim to be better than satisfactory on a consistent basis. That’s how you create amazing experiences, both for your customers and for your employees.Quote:  “I like to hire people that come to us with batteries included.” - Todd Hopkins About: Todd Hopkins is the founder and CEO of Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services, which has over 130 franchise locations in 24 states. He is also the international best-selling author and co-author of four books. 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