Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken is a customer experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. Learn more here .
Articles by Shep Hyken
- Practice Growth
93% of Customers Agree: These 5 Service Experiences Keep Them Coming Back
Customers value kind and helpful employees, convenient experiences, knowledgeable support, reaching the right person the first time
- Practice Growth
Customer Experience Starts Long Before Customers Reach Support
What are the three most important customer service and CX suggestions every CEO must follow?
- Practice Growth
The One Word That Explains Why Some Companies Fail
Some companies fail to keep customers because they lack consistency, which weakens customer confidence, trust, and loyalty.
- Practice Growth
Customer Service Gamification That Improves Culture, Loyalty, and Performance
Companies can gamify customer service by having employees compete against themselves, not against others, which builds CX awareness
- Practice Growth
What Great Companies Do After Customer Service Fails Determines Customer Loyalty
How should companies prepare for customer service failures and complaints?
- Practice Growth
Great Customer Service Comes From Standards, Not Good Intentions
Do customers care about your intentions or results in customer service?
- Practice Growth
Eliminate These 7 Pain Points To Improve Customer Experience and Retention
This article answers the question: What are the biggest customer friction points businesses must eliminate to create a better customer experience?
- Practice Growth
Turn Complaints Into Loyalty by Eliminating Excuses
This article answers the question: Why should you avoid making excuses in customer service?
- Practice Growth
A Customer Experience Lesson from Spider-Man
This article answers the question: Why is personalization so important in customer experience today?
- Practice Growth
The Fastest Way to Stand Out in Client Service? Just Answer the Phone
This article answers the question: Why is answering the phone a critical customer service skill for employees today?
- Practice Growth
Stop Saying “It’s Company Policy” if You Want Better Customer Experience
This article answers the question: What is the second most expensive phrase employees can say to a customer?
- Artificial Intelligence
AI Customer Support Improves Fast, Yet Most Customers Still Want a Human Voice
AI is not a strategy. Experience is. AI can support your customer service strategy, but it won’t replace it.
- Practice Growth
10 Customer Experience Mistakes That Drive Customers Straight to Competitors
What are the top 10 reasons customers will stop doing business with you or leave for another brand?
- Practice Growth
If Customers Can’t Describe Your Value in One Word, Messaging Has a Problem
If you can’t describe what you do in one word, your customers probably can’t either.
- Practice Growth
Companies Winning Loyalty Focus on One Thing: Customer Transformation
Pine eloquently shows in his book how any business, regardless of what it sells, can add transformation to the customer experience.
- Practice Growth
Customers Say Service Is Easy To Get Right—so Failures Cost More Than Ever
I bring you good news regarding the overall sentiment toward customer service and customer experience CX.
- Practice Growth
“It’s Not My Department” May Be Costliest Phrase in Customer Service
This article answers the question: What phrase may be the most expensive to use in business, and why?
- Practice Growth
The Future of CX Is AI-First — But Still Human at the Core
The future of customer experience isn’t AI versus humans. It’s AI working for humans.
- Practice Growth
Anticipation Beats Reaction in Modern Customer Experience
May not love that there is a problem, they love the information and have confidence that the company is doing something about it.
- Practice Growth
Customer Frustration Is a Design Problem, Not a People Problem
I’ve been monitoring my customer service experiences with the brands I do business with a little more closely than usual.
- Practice Growth
Fixing the Same Customer Problem Twice Is a System Failure
They know there are problems, but they can’t always tell you how often they happen, or what they cost the organization.
- Practice Growth
The Reality Rule of Customer Service: Why How They Treat You Shouldn’t Matter
A rule in customer service that I called the Reality Rule: Treat customers well, regardless of how they treat you.
- Practice Growth
12 Things Companies Must Stop Doing To Deliver Better Customer Experiences
I’d like to offer up something to consider. Twelve New Year’s resolutions in the form of what you should STOP doing!
- Practice Growth
The Future of Customer Experience: Proactive Service, Trust, AI—and the Human Touch
It’s that time of year when I write articles featuring my customer service and customer experience predictions and trends.
- Practice Growth
Consistency Beats ‘Above and Beyond’ Every Time
His idea of an amazing experience was to go above and beyond, always exceeding the customer’s expectations.
- Practice Growth
AI Got This Wrong—and It Explains Why Humans Still Matter in Customer Experience
That’s definitely a strange mix-up – and something Amazon should fix quickly. Here’s what to do:
- Practice Growth
The 10 Behaviors That Instantly Build Customer Trust—and Keep Them Coming Back
Let’s say the customer gives you a 10 on a scale of 1-10. Why do they give you that perfect score? Here are ten reasons why
- Practice Growth
How To Outrank Your Competition Without Ranking on Google at All
Unless you’re willing to pay and advertise, you have to naturally get there, and that typically takes quite a bit of expertise and effort.
- Practice Growth
Stop Wasting Your Customers’ Time: The TIME Framework Every Business Needs Now
When you show respect for a customer’s time, it pays dividends in the form of repeat business, customer loyalty, and word-of-mouth referrals.
- Practice Growth
The Customer Support Revolution: How AI Is Erasing the 10 Things People Hate Most
So, with that in mind, here are the 10 reasons customers hate calling for help
- Practice Growth
You Can Train for Competence — But You Can’t Train for Caring
I recently heard a version of this that captures the essence and further emphasizes the importance of attitude versus skill.
- Practice Growth
Personalization Isn’t Enough Anymore — Why Individualization Wins Every Time
This personalized experience results in customers feeling recognized and valued, rather than just being treated as a generic transaction.
- Practice Growth
How One Luxury Car Dealership Nearly Lost a Loyal Customer Over Windshield Wipers
Sometimes these low-commission sales cause employees to treat customers differently than they would for a high-commission sale.
- Practice Growth
Can Happy Customers Make Employees Happier?
Do happy employees make happy customers, or is it the other way around? Do happy customers make employees happy?
- Practice Growth
From Trust to Transactions: How Measuring Confidence Drives Repeat Business
Put another way: Does more trust lead to higher confidence, or does a higher level of confidence lead to more trust?
- Practice Growth
Want Repeat Customers and Free Marketing? Hit the Customer Service Trifecta
Here’s a bet you can always win: taking care of your customers. And when you do it right, you hit the trifecta