hyken
Compare Yourself to the Best
Shep Hyken | October 22, 2020
By Shep Hyken Stop comparing yourself to the competition. It’s okay to ask yourself, “What are they doing that we aren’t?” However, that can be a dangerous question. I use the word dangerous to warn you that all you are doing is “baseline thinking.” I call it that because it’s at the base. Realize that others in your industry are probably asking themselves the same question. If all you do is copy your competitor, then you risk being the same as them—not an organization that’s different, and ideally better. In worst-case scenarios, you become a commodity. It doesn’t matter if you’re B2B or B2C, you become just ...
Ritualizing The Customer Experience
Shep Hyken | October 15, 2020
By Shep Hyken I love hanging around smart people, and my friend Todd Hartley is one of the very smartest. He runs WireBuzz, an agency that uses videos to help their clients sell and service their customers, clients, guests, etc. He was interviewing me for his podcast and used the phrase, “ritualize the experience.” He used it in passing, but I realized this is a rock-solid concept that is appropriate for everyone in any company and any industry. I wrote those three words down so I wouldn’t forget them and then thought about them for the next few hours. Ritualizing the experience starts by understanding the process around y...
Be Nice—It Doesn’t Cost You Anything
Shep Hyken | August 12, 2020
By Shep Hyken What does it cost to be nice? Some would say, “Nothing.” When it comes to people interacting with people, that’s probably true. It’s a smile, a wave, a head nod or some other gesture. It’s a genuine “thank you” or another comment to share your appreciation for your customer. None of that has any cost associated with the idea of being nice. I’m in the process of writing a new book. I’ll share more about that another time, but one of the chapters is entitled, “Be Nice.” That’s a great customer service strategy—just be nice! As simple as that sounds, there is a lot to being nice. I’ll share exam...
You Can’t Automate Your Customer Relationship
Shep Hyken | July 1, 2020
By Shep Hyken I recently wrote an article in Forbes about how three out of four customers are more loyal to your employee than your business. This research came from OnePoll on behalf of DaySmart Software. They surveyed 2,000 Americans and found that in many businesses, customers are more loyal to the employee—so much so that almost half (48%) will follow their favorite employee if they leave to work at a competing business. What does that mean for you? Dr. Bobby Low, co-founder of alignXM, a company that that helps its clients understand the human experiences that impact their long-term success, commented on the article and wrot...
Don’t Let Your Customers Fall in the Expected Experiences Gap
Shep Hyken | May 6, 2020
By Shep Hyken I’ve written about the concept of a “gap” a number of times over the years. Each time, the gap was different. The first time, I shared Dan Sullivan’s principle about the gap between the goal you wanted to achieve and your actual results, if you didn’t hit the goal. The difference was the gap. Another time I wrote about the competitive gap, which is about the gap or distance you put between you and your competition. The bigger the gap, the bigger your advantage. Then there was the gap between the service you want the customer to experience and the actual service they receive. Often when leader...
A Reason to Smile During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Shep Hyken | April 29, 2020
By Shep Hyken I’m going to switch up my typical customer service and experience content to share a little motivation. My buddy and fellow professional keynote speaker, Joey Coleman, is one smart dude. He made a great observation about the way people are reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. He noticed that the quarantine and stay-at-home orders are magnifying people’s personality traits. For example, if you are an optimistic person, you may be showcasing that side of your personality more than ever. If you’re a giver, you may be exhibiting more generosity than usual by supporting—financially or any other way—healthcare workers,...
How Do You Really Know If You’re Doing a Good Job?
Shep Hyken | April 14, 2020
By Shep Hyken I could have titled this article “Box of Donuts Research,” but you would have no idea what that means. I’ll explain in a moment. There are plenty of ways to get feedback. You can survey customers over the phone, via email, in focus groups and more. You can get objective and subjective feedback. You can use tools such as Net Promoter Score and Customer Effort Score. I could go on and on about the different ways to measure your customer’s feedback. My good friend and speech coach, Patricia Fripp—who happens to be the top speaking coach on the planet to professional speakers and executives—shared a great story abo...
20 Ways To Create An Amazing Customer Service Experience In 2020 (Part Two)
Shep Hyken | December 19, 2019
Last week, I shared ten ideas to drive a better customer experience in 2020. As promised, I’m back with ten more tips. If you haven’t read part one yet, you can do so here. Or, you can see all these suggestions at once by reading my recent Forbes article. Without any further delay, here are ten more ways to create a better customer experience in 2020. Create your customer service mantra. This is a big one. We often spend a month preparing for a full-day meeting to help our clients create their mantra. For those that don’t have one, now is the time to create one. The mantra is a simple phrase—one sentence or less—that sums up yo...
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