shep hyken
The Story Tells The Story
Shep Hyken | December 3, 2020
By Shep Hyken What’s your story? What reasons compel your customers to do business with you? What gets them excited about doing business with you? Consider this. If you’re selling a trip to Hawaii, you probably try to paint a vision of a day on the beach, an amazing luau and a beautiful oceanfront balcony that includes a gorgeous sunset. The story you don’t tell—at least I hope you don’t—is the one that includes the technical specs of the engine on the plane that’s flying you to that exotic location, the type of tires on the resort’s van that will be waiting at the airport or the number of parking spaces in the resort’...
Thanksgiving Week Special: A Recipe for Amazing Customer Service
Shep Hyken | November 25, 2020
As we approach Thanksgiving, I can’t stop thinking about turkey and stuffing—and all the different ways to prepare them. Always thinking about how everything in life ties to customer service, I wondered, “What is a good recipe for customer service?” So, I’ve listed some of the essential ingredients. I’m sure you’ll have a few more to add to this list. In the meantime, this is enough to get you started. As with any good recipe, feel free to spice it up a little! The Right Culture: This is where it starts. Leadership defines the customer service and CX vision for everyone to follow. Good People: The people on the in...
The Loyalty Question 2.0
Shep Hyken | November 19, 2020
By Shep Hyken If you have been following my work, you may remember something I refer to as The Loyalty Question. It goes like this: What am I doing right now to make sure the customer comes back the next time they need whatever it is we sell? Most people think customer loyalty is about a lifetime. That’s a pretty big goal—making a customer stay for a lifetime. But if you break it down into smaller parts—as in the next time—it becomes much easier. As you ask yourself the loyalty question, think about the next time every time. Eventually, it can become a lifetime. That question is still relevant, now more than ever, but le...
The Mike Moment
Shep Hyken | November 12, 2020
By Shep Hyken We’ve all heard the old adage: “It’s better to give than to receive.” That’s what customer service people do. They give and give and give. They help solve problems and resolve complaints. What they get in return—hopefully—is a nice thank you, which, when you think about it, is fairly insignificant, though appreciated, for the work they do. Yes, they are paid for the job they do, but the people who are amazing at this role aren’t doing it just for the money. The opportunity to serve is fulfilling. They are customer service heroes. This brings me to a story about Mike, a teenager I met back in t...
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
Shep Hyken | November 4, 2020
By Shep Hyken This is a crazy idea, but hear me out. When I was a kid, we had home-cooked meals almost every night. I thought my mom was the greatest cook in the world. She could make the best chicken. As a matter of fact, she made chicken almost every night. It turns out she could follow a recipe and had bought a book that had 365 chicken recipes—one for each day of the year. I remember the day she came home with the cookbook. As a kid, I never tired of the taste of chicken. Can’t say my adult pallet would enjoy such monotony, but I digress. I started thinking about all those chicken recipes. There were so many: fried chicken,...
The New Executive Position: CLO (Customer Love Officer)
Shep Hyken | October 30, 2020
By Shep Hyken The word love is not used that often in the corporate or business world. It may have been Tim Sanders in his revolutionary book, Love Is the Killer App, who helped bring the word love to the forefront for leaders trying to build a stronger culture and create a better experience for their customers. People were scared to use the L-word in business. Some still are. Some people say it’s “too soft,” but my take is that it just makes you real. If you truly love your people, love your customers and love what you do, it shows. It’s obvious. Love becomes part of the culture. My buddy and professional gifting ge...
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...
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