Posts by Shep Hyken

We’re quickly approaching a pretty important date for customer service: the quarterly “Get to Know Your Customer” Day! This time around it’s on April 15. So what should you be doing to get the most out of this business “holiday”? I have three suggestions I want to share right now: focus on feedback, conduct a…

The ER strategy is a great way to improve your business’s processes and customer experience. No, I’m not talking about the Emergency Room, so don’t worry! It’s like this. Do you return customers’ calls quickly? Try to return them quickER! Are you worried about making your communication clear? Go the next step to make it…

What causes the most problems in your business? Is it that your employees are not living up to your expectations? Or (hint hint…) is it more likely that there’s something wrong with your process, your system, that is causing the problems? While people can fail (and you can help and coach them when they do),…

As you think about your relationship with a customer, when does the customer experience start? A common mistake some people make is to think of customer service as really only beginning once the sale is made. But in actuality, that’s just the encore. What do I mean by that? It’s something I’ve learned from my…

I think that anyone whose job includes dealing with other peoples’ problems or questions needs three specific traits: empathy, communication skills, and resilience. This can include not just customer service, but also those tasked with handling the “inside customer,” people inside the organization. In this week’s video, we’re especially focused on resilience, and how it…

When you hear stories about spectacular customer service, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you have to come up with something BIG to deliver a great experience. But really, you just need to focus on small changes, at each step in the customer journey. Each one may not seem like much…

Have you empowered your team to create a great experience for your customers? One thing I’ve pointed out frequently is that your customers aren’t just comparing you to your direct competitors; they’re also comparing your customer experience with every other company they do business with. And there are some companies that have set an incredibly…

The way to create an excellent customer experience isn’t just to compare yourself to your direct competitors, but to the companies that provide the best service to your customers, no matter what industry they’re in. Customers don’t just compare you to the alternative down the street; they compare you to every company they do business…

We talked last week about how important it is to find ways to get your customers to tell your story. They can make a big difference in reaching more customers! But those stories from customers can also impact your internal team, too. Reviews, good or bad, can motivate and inspire. They can even help you…

When customers are looking at different products or services and trying to make a decision, a compelling story can be the critical factor that sets one option above the others. As a business owner, you’re looking to share stories of what kind of experience your customers will get…and the most compelling stories of all are…