Customer Experience Blog
Expert insights on customer experience, employee engagement, and service leadership. Stay ahead with Brad Cleveland’s blog—featuring CX trends, actionable strategies, and real-world solutions to help you improve customer satisfaction, streamline operations, and drive business success.
Three Overarching Levels of Value in Customer Service
As you begin to explore the value and ROI of customer service, I encourage you to ask your team, "How does customer service create value?" You're probably going to get a range of answers. Some may say, "Customers that get great service tell others, so that's like free...
Principle #4: Fix Root Causes to Make Lasting Improvements
Have you ever been part of this conversation: “I thought we fixed that problem! Why are talking about it again?” Chances are, a symptom was addressed, at least temporarily, but the root cause was not fully identified and resolved. Your proof that a problem has been...
Customer Service Strategy: Avoid Common Pitfalls
Herb Kelleher, co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, once said, "We have a strategic plan. It's called doing things." He makes a great point. Developing strategies shouldn't be an overly academic or formal exercise, with the result being a plan that's...
Principle #3: The Process Is Where the Leverage Is
The third principle in this series, Improving Quality and Performance in Customer Experience, focuses our attention on the bigger picture – the processes within an organization. A process is a “system of causes.” (Note: in the context of quality and process...
Standards for the Service Operation: Quality and Value
Establishing the right quality standards for your organization is essential to delivering efficient and effective service. In my LinkedIn Learning course "Quality Standards in Customer Service," I outline four quality standards that can help you define what quality...
Principle #2: Quality and Access to Service Work Together
In customer experience, when service is required, quality of service and access to it are inextricably associated with, and complementary to, each other. Accessibility is an enabler. When customers wait too long, they will often verbalize their criticisms when they...
Root Cause Analysis in Customer Service
When you encounter a problematic aspect of service or customer experience, the first step is to identify root causes. Typically, several possibilities surface and they all seem plausible. How can you determine which root cause deserves your attention? In this video, I...
Principle #1: Quality Must Be Based on Customer Needs and Expectations
The need to identify and address customer expectations stems from a widely accepted principle: improvements in customer experience lead to increased customer loyalty, better business results and a stronger brand reputation. Consider the old adage about building the...
A Strategic Framework for Managing Customer Feedback
Whether your organization's a print shop with three employees, a government agency with 3,000, or a multinational company with 300,000, six steps are required to manage customer feedback. Together, these steps make up a powerful approach that can drive innovation and...