How would you like to increase customer loyalty? Shep Hyken interviews Nick Francis, CEO of Help Scout and thought leader in the customer service support world. First Up: Shep Hyken’s opening comments focus on introducing Nick Francis and his company Help Scout, and the recent fireside chat they had at a recent customer service and support conference. Featured Interview: Shep begins the interview by asking Nick Francis about Help Scout, which provides customer support assistance to small businesses. They discuss how important customer service is to your business and why it’s vital to set yourself apart from your competition. After all, word-of-mouth is by far the best advertising you can get. Nick shares his tactical steps to creating a better customer experience. They discuss the importance of customer trust and how to regain it if it’s lost. Top Takeaways: • Tactical Steps to Improve Your Customer Service 1. Create a customer service vision – or as Shep calls it, a customer service mantra. This is a vital step for anyone who wants a customer-focused organization. 2. Make it easy for your customer – don’t just make it easy for the customer to find you and contact you but make it easier by providing different methods of contact. Nick suggests focusing on only a couple of channels to start until you master those, then expand to the channels where your customers are. 3. Don’t just collect data – do something with it! You not only need to get customer feedback, you need to do something with it. Eliminate pain points for customers, create a list of FAQs. Leverage the customer feedback – Pay attention to both the qualitative and quantitative data, as these will help with ensuring adequate staff and by preventing potential customer complaints from being repeated. • Ensure your interactions are human. Be empathetic and most importantly be authentic when speaking with your customers. • Trust is key – Don’t make anything about you. Make it about the customer. If you make a mistake own it, and then do everything you can to regain their trust. Nobody’s perfect - mistakes are bound to happen. It’s how you handle them that counts. • Content is important to any business. It enhances the customer experience. Help Scout has a customer service blog they post at least twice a week. About: Nick Francis is Co-founder and CEO of Help Scout, where he is on a mission to make every customer service interaction a more human one. Nick lives and breathes product design, customer experience, and building a thoughtful, thriving company. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, “New York Times” best-selling author, and your host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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