240: Matt Dixon, Kick-Ass Customer Service

Bestselling author and customer service expert Matt Dixon to uncovers surprising facts and common misconceptions about delivering low-effort service. Think you’re delivering low-effort service? It seems so simple: Reduce customer effort, then you’ll have more loyal customers! But don’t be fooled by that kind of simplicity. Customers perceive effort in different ways than you think! Today’s guest, bestselling author Matt Dixon, has researched and written extensively on how to deliver a truly effortless experience. Today, he’s sharing many facts that will surprise you, and make you rethink your approach. “The average service interaction is actually not a loyalty-building experience. It’s actually a loyalty-destroying experience.” -Matt Dixon Conventional customer service wisdom (yes, even the more current stuff!) has customer service reps doing all kinds of things that sound great, but harm customer perception. Companies are investing a lot into delivering better experiences, but they’re investing in the wrong resources. “…we actually make it worse during the course of trying to solve the problem. - Matt Dixon What’s more, companies are responding to this conventional wisdom by creating an environment that invites the wrong types of people into customer-facing roles. Meanwhile, the ones who have what it takes aren't empowered to make a difference. “What they want is an org where they’re liberated to use their own judgment…” -Matt Dixon If you want to deliver effortless customer service, then you must understand how customers perceive their own efforts and hire, train, and organize accordingly. What kinds of people do you need on your team, and how can you attract, retain, and provide them with the right environment to deliver? Matt’s going to tell you how to do all of this, so listen in! Interview highlights Matt talks about his extensive research into customer effort and the traits of a “low effort” customer service rep. [4:16] How has customer expectations changed, and what do they want from customer service reps today? [8:00] Matt shares surprising facts about hiring for balance between personality types in a low effort service environment. What types perform best? [13:50] How can you go about finding and keeping the right mix of talent to deliver the low-effort service experience? [22:30] About our guest Matt Dixon is Executive Director of the Financial Services practice and Customer Contact Leadership Council at CEB.  In this capacity, he has management responsibility for the membership programs serving front office and back office financial services leaders and their teams, as well as the programs serving customer contact executives across industry. A seasoned research leader, Matt has overseen dozens of original quantitative and qualitative research studies on topics ranging from customer service strategy to sales effectiveness. In addition to his management responsibilities, Matt is a noted business writer.  His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation was a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He’s been published multiple times in the Harvard Business Review­­, he is a frequent contributor on sales and customer service topics on a number of blogs, and his book on customer service, The Effortless Experience was released by Penguin in September 2013. Matt holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh as well as a B.A. in International Studies from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he graduated summa cum laude.  Matt currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife and four children. Connect with Matt Twitter LinkedIn Related Content 360Connext® post, What Can You Do to Reduce Customer Effort Today? Customers That Stick® post, The Effortless Experience: An Interview with Matt Dixon Episode 045: The Customer Effort Score Episode 176: (Tip) Hiring a Customer-Centric Employee Read "Kick-Ass Customer Service" and more by Matt Dixon in Harvard Business Review We’re on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts Sponsor message Give your team the customer service training they deserve Want to bring game-changing customer service training to your team? CTS Service Solutions offers a half-day in-person workshop designed to motivate and educate your customer-facing team members. Using energy, excitement, and interaction, our workshop helps frontline teams embrace a customer-centric outlook, then — using the principles from our book Be Your Customer’s Hero — gives them the skills and confidence they need to handle any service interaction. Don’t leave your frontline team hanging… Give them the training they deserve. Learn more at customerheroworkshop.com, that is customerheroworkshop.com.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices