A Standout Customer Experience

Regardless of the industry, all businesses face competition of one sort or another. You might be tempted to think that you have no direct peers if you own a unique business in the area—like if you have your town’s only movie theater—but that’s a superficial distinction. You’re still competing for…
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Understanding the Labor Pool

Writing for Forbes, Emmy Lucas posted an article this week titled, “Five Types of Talent Behind the Great Resignation,” in which she details some of the personality types of people who’ve left their jobs in recent years. While many market watchers have attributed the Great Resignation to factors like early…
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Becoming the Standard

Many trademarks and company names have become so successful that they are now synonymous with their class of products or services. There’s even a term for this process: genericide. You know of many examples and might not even realize: Kleenex is often substituted for any facial tissue, Aspirin for any…
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Elevating Your Customer Experience

Shep Hyken is back at it again with another great blog about the difference between good and great, and why this is an important distinction when trying to maintain customer loyalty. As he cites, his “customer service research found that the top reason customers are most likely to come back…
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Good Intentions

The rationale behind why businesses should offer a superior customer experience is fairly practical. Great customer service begets stronger customer loyalty, increased sales, and greater revenue. Moreover, most of us believe that we should treat others the way we would want to be treated, i.e., with respect—in the hope that…
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The Horrors of Calling Customer Support

No one likes calling customer support. We’ve all had experiences where we waited on hold forever, been transferred multiple times, talked to support staff who didn’t understand what we needed, and on and on. Some industries are especially notorious for this, including telecoms, airlines, and financial institutions, but it’s no…
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Hire for Attitude

You might think it’s a bad time to be picky when hiring. Given factors like the so-called Great Resignation, the shrinking labor pool, and how competitive businesses have to be with one another to even attract job seekers, it’s no wonder that managers are just thrilled to receive qualified applications.…
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Preparing for Stagflation

Market volatility has certainly caught everyone’s attention recently. The Dow Jones is down over 5,000 points year-to-date, purchasing power is down over 8%, and the economy shrunk 1.4% in the first quarter. Former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, as well as an alarming number of economists, are now…
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Customer Service by Example

Leading by example is one of those philosophies that most of us know and firmly believe in, even if we sometimes joke, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Concepts like taking responsibility, being a good teammate, and always giving your all, seem so much more valid when the…
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