Happy Friday! Here’s our picks for the best customer service, customer experience and mobile articles of the week, in no particular order.

How to Stop Your Customers from Leaving You by Mark Copeman

It’s a fact of life—customers leave. There are any number of reasons why: they may decide not to renew their account because they can’t afford it, or they might stop using your product because it’s no longer the right fit. But what if there were some things you could do to encourage customers to stay for the long haul? It turns out there are a few strategies. In his guest blog post for Kayako, Customer Thermometer co-founder Mark Copeman details several different ways your company can keep customers and encourage loyalty. One of those ways is to make a customer, not a sale. Sales reps should focus on signing up a customer that will last for a lifetime, not just stay to hit their quota. Bringing a customer in and having them realize your product isn’t what they really need makes for a bad customer experience.

5 Customer Service Skills Every Employee Must Have by Christine James

It’s easy to relegate customer service to just one department, leaving service reps as the only ones with a working knowledge of your product and how to help customers when things get difficult. But not having an organization-wide focus on great service won’t work in today’s world. Customers interact with your business in more ways than ever before, meaning everyone in your organization needs to be ready to help should any questions arise. In her article for Business.com, Christine James describes five skills every employee needs to have. One of those is critical thinking skills—employees need to be able to think on their feet and tackle any problem that comes their way. This helps ensure that the customer gets the help they need, regardless of who they talk to.

A Practical Guide to Connecting with Customers by Jeremy Watkin

Every business wants to have a close connection with their customers, and a lot of the time, that connection will take place during customer service interactions. Unfortunately, while 80% of companies boast that they provide customers with “superior” customer service, less than 10% of customers actually agree. That begs the question—what steps can you take in your customer service to ensure that you’re actually connecting with customers? In his CustomerThink article, customer service expert Jeremy Watkin explains that one method is to start and end the conversation the right way. Greeting a customer with a friendly “Hello” can go a long way in fostering a connection with your brand.

How Do You Define Outstanding Customer Service? by Jeff Toister

How do you define good customer service? Is it because wait times are short? Is it because you get your question answered on the first try? Is it because representatives are friendly and knowledgeable? The answer is that it probably depends, because each person has their own definition what makes for good customer service. So, in turn, do businesses. In his ICMI article, customer service expert Jeff Toister explains that businesses like REI and In-N-Out set different service standards for themselves, and that’s okay. As Toister says, your business needs to find a definition that works for you.

To learn from the experts on the best way to improve customer service, download our report here.