Happy Friday! Best day of the week, right? To celebrate, we’ve decided to start a weekly series highlighting the best articles of the week discussing customer service, customer experience, mobile and more. Here’s our five picks for the best articles of the week, in no particular order.

How to Close the Gap In Digital Self-Service by Larry Alton

More and more customers are warming up to the idea of self-service—over 40% would now prefer to use self-service for their customer service needs. In fact, by 2020, 85% of customer service interactions will be managed without a human. But how exactly do we get there? Business consultant Larry Alton breaks it down in his five-point plan. One key factor he suggests is making your self-service known.

It’s your responsibility is to make sure your customers know this self-service platform exists. While some users will find it naturally through their own means, you need to be there for the remaining portions of your audience. Link to it and advertise it on your social media profiles. Mention it in your user manuals or in your service contracts. Refer people to it when they’re on hold.

People may prefer self-service, but if they don’t know that you offer it, it’s a wash. Follow the tips and tricks in this article to design a great self-service experience.

Read the original article at desk.com.

Awesome Customer Service Requires the Complete Package by Jeremy Watkin

Try as we might, we’ve all had unpleasant experiences with customer service representatives at some point. It could stem from a bad attitude, an overly pushy demeanor or a genuine lack of understanding. For Jeremy Watkin, it was the latter, as he tried to work out billing with his internet service provider, who charged him for a service without informing him of the upfront cost. Then, when he called, they politely told him they would only give him a partial refund.

The whole exchange felt a whole lot like hitting my head against a brick wall and I eventually ended the call with some sort of, “Ok. Fine. Whatever. Bye.”  I then proceeded to give that customer satisfaction survey a piece of my mind.  For all I know, it fell on deaf ears.  I certainly haven’t heard anything from the manager I directed my ire at.

Customer service shouldn’t make you want to bang your head against a wall—it should be seamless and effortless. Learn from this experience and keep in mind that agents have a responsibility to meet customer needs, no matter the cost.

Read the original article at gofcr.com.

How to Create Customer Trust by Shep Hyken

Having a customer by your product once is nice. Having them come back to buy it multiple times is exceptional. But how do you foster that sense of loyalty and trust? Customer service aficionado Shep Hyken explains that it’s more than just being nice and respectful to your customer—you have to follow through. One of the ways you can create a sense of trust is to create consistency.

Some would argue that [consistency] is the same as being predictable, but hear me out. I may deal with Bob on one day and Sally the next. I don’t expect these two people to be clones of one another. But, I do expect a consistency in their helpfulness and enthusiasm for taking care of me. This is more about the culture and personality of the organization than the actual experience. And, the personality is an important part of the experience.

Nice is great, but being consistently nice is better. Do that, and you can create a loyal customer for life. Follow Shep’s five steps to create customer trust.

Read the original article at hyken.com.

Will Robots Be Able to Provide Effective Customer Service? by Dave Matson

At OneReach, we’re all about creating a great customer experience through automation. However, we don’t think humans should be taken out of the equation altogether—there’s always going to be a need for a human touch. In this article by Dave Matson, Matson explains his uneasiness with robots taking over the customer service process but acknowledges that there’s a time and a place for them.

As with any profound change or disruptive technology, there will be a period of transition. There will be early adopters and industry laggards. At the end of the day, JP and other analysts are not suggesting that all of our jobs will be replaced by robots tomorrow. Rather, they are indicating that robots will change the way we work and will change the types of jobs that we humans perform.

Robots, and by extension automation, are powerful tools, but they’re no replacement for human interaction at the end of the day. Check out what else Matson had to say about robots’ role in customer service.

Read the original article at emc.com.

Can’t Get to Future State Without Knowing Current State by Annette Franz

Journey mapping is an essential part of the customer experience—it outlines each and every touchpoint the customer will encounter and what is will be like. It’s essentially a roadmap for you for your customers. But sometimes, the map will get redesigned with input from the customer to create a “future map.” Luckily, we have Annette Franz to guide us through the process.

When creating a future map, your next step is to ensure you bring the customer voice into the map, validate the current state, and talk to customers about what they are trying to achieve, what problems they are trying to solve, what their expectations are, and more… Let customers know that you’re looking for their ideal experience and that this exercise is informative and will help direct your thinking as you move into ideation, innovation, and redesign.

You can’t move ahead in the customer journey if you don’t have the customers come along for the ride. Learn about the rest of the process to improve your customer’s journey.

Read the original article at cx-journey.com.

Want to learn more about providing great customer service? Download our consumer report detailing why 64% of customers would prefer to text your business.

Dalek, handshake and painter photo credit. Edited.