What is the secret to providing perfect customer service? I can safely say that there is no magic formula to answer such an objective question. But on our quest to achieve this nirvana, why not boost your knowledge and skills with the ideas and teachings of the industry’s leaders?
In the past, you would have had to sign up for a bunch of seminars and expos to get this information. Now you have it all. In the palm of your hand. For free. So why not use it?
Blogs are the perfect way to sharpen your mind and keep up to date with trends, theory, and practice in the customer service industry. They will answer your ‘what if’s’ and ‘how come’s’ or questions you may be too embarrassed to ask your team.
There are a lot out of blogs out there, so to save you some time I put together a list of 10 of my favorites to get you going:
1. Win The Customer
WinTheCustomer is the brilliant, customer-focused mind of Flavio Martins, EVP of Operations and Customer Support at DigiCert, in word-form. Focussing on technology, customer relations, and customer loyalty, Flavio regularly posts simple, yet thought-provoking leadership and best practice guides.
My pick: Empowering Your Customer Service Team With More Mobility
2. Intercom
If you’re not following this blog, then get on it. Like now. Their frequent posts share progressive insights, tips and original big-picture thoughts on the customer support industry. Their multitude of contributors allows for a diverse range of topics from strategies to scale your team to how to train a chatbot.
My pick: How to keep customer support KPIs meaningful for your support team
3. Customer Think
CustomerThink is a global online community of customer service leaders visited by over 100,000 users each month. It’s a great base to keep up to date with the latest industry tech, news, interviews, and tips on team development.
My pick: Customer Service Transformation: The Role of AI & Intelligent Process Automation
4. Relate by Zendesk
Relate by Zendesk is Zendesk’s multi-platform content community dedicated to making customer service about relationships. With an outside the box approach to leadership behaviors, customer connections and the development of technology in a human-based industry. The articles are simple, fun to read and often put theory into practice with examples.
My pick: Would you pay for customer service from a human?
5. Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken is a world-renowned customer service author and keynote speaker. His blog is filled with both original, leading content and articles he’s reading that gives progressive insight into the customer support world. He focusses on customer-based strategies and new technologies that teams can implement in their daily work.
My pick: The customer-free zone
6. Hubspot Service Blog
In typical Hubspot style, their Service Blog is an absolute goldmine when it comes to customer service content. Featuring original research, tactical strategy, and thought leadership content, their posts focus on investing in customer happiness and retention as a business development tool. Posting regularly on everything from metrics to case studies, it is a must follow.
My pick: What Good Customer Service Looks Like at 9 Companies
7. HelpScout
Not only are HelpScout’s graphics super impressive, so too is their written content. Boasting 75,000 subscribers, their posts break down information into the simplest form, making it accessible to everyone from new agents to team managers. Common themes include customer loyalty and employee empowerment.
My pick: Elevate Your Team With an Inspiring Customer Service Philosophy
8. Churn Zero
Churn Zero is the perfect blog for both managers and agents to sharpen their minds on best practices in customer support. With a heavy focus on customer engagement and retention, their posts provide great case studies and “how-to” guides to ensure customer delight.
My pick: 5 Tips For Dealing with An Angry Customer (The Right Way!)
9. Capterra
With a focus on customer support software, Capterra’s blog gives great insight into the tools available for industry professionals. Many of their posts provide updates on new alternatives for existing platforms but also post quality content on creating a customer-centric culture.
My pick: Building a Customer Service Culture: Tips From Pros Who’ve Done It
10. Kaizo
Not to toot our own horn, but we try to provide a fresh, outside the box approach to customer support. Backed by a startup team of customer support experts, our blog takes a light-hearted yet insightful approach to thought leadership, best practices, and advances in technology. The weekly posts are very digestible, informative and might even make you laugh along the way.
My pick: Customer Retention: 7 expert-backed proactive & reactive strategies
