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

7 Tactics That Show You’re Getting Customer Service Right by John Boitnott

Every company likes to think that they’re providing great customer service, but that’s not always the case. In fact, research has shown that while 80% of companies think they provide a great customer service experience, only 8% of customers agree. That’s a pretty massive disparity. So how can companies be sure they are providing the type of service that customers want? According to digital media consultant and investor John Boitnott, one of the best ways to do that is to be proactive when communicating with customers. Instead of waiting for things to go wrong, take action and see how you can be of service before things start to get dicey.

Acceptable Customer Service Drives Away Customers by Ian Altman

As mentioned above, a lot of companies think they’re providing a great service experience, but not very many customers agree. And while it’s somewhat unrealistic to expect that every service interaction will be wonderful and amazing, just a passable experience won’t cut it for most customers. In his Forbes article, sales and business development expert Ian Altman explains that you need to take steps to make sure that the customer is satisfied. He details his attempts to buy a freezer and how when multiple attempts to contact the company resulted in inaction, a smart manager deftly handled the issue and satisfied him as a customer.

8 Ways Customer Service Affects Your Business’ Bottom Line by Jana Barrett

Customer service is a huge part of the customer lifecycle. Marketing may attract prospects and sales may convert them to customers, but customer service ultimately helps determine whether a customer will in fact stay a customer. In this way, customer service has a big impact on a company’s ROI. As Jana Barrett explains, one of the ways customer service can contribute to your bottom line is through its power as a word-of-mouth marketing strategy. When customers receive good service, they’ll tell others, creating more interest and hopefully, more purchases.

Embrace Complaints and Hug Your Haters to Keep Your Customers by Skip Prichard

In today’s social world, it’s easy for customers to share their bad experiences with companies and have the whole world see. Most brands will try to pivot the conversation to another, more private channel like email or phone, but by then the damage may have already been done. So what can a company do to mitigate the effect of complaints on social media? Leadership and sales expert Skip Prichard interviewed customer experience expert Jay Baer on this very topic, which Baer covers in his new book, Hug Your Haters. Baer explains that one strategy he uses is the Rule of Reply Only Twice, where you address your hater and let them know you have heard their complaints. If they keep coming back to complain, it’s okay to focus your efforts elsewhere.

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