The Ultimate Guide to Customer Service Books: Boost Your Skills and Delight Your Customers
As a customer service professional, there are many skills you can learn on the job. However, it’s equally important to learn from experts and successful individuals who have excelled in the field. By studying their insights and experiences, you can adapt their strategies to improve your own processes and become an expert in your own right.
In this comprehensive guide, we have curated a list of the best customer service books that cover a wide range of topics and provide valuable insights from industry thought leaders. Whether you’re an employee looking to enhance your customer service skills, a leader aiming to build a customer-centric team, or an IT professional seeking to optimize customer support systems, there’s a book here for you.
Customer Service Books
1. The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence: Creating a Values-Driven Service Culture (2017)
Authors Robert Spector and BreAnne O. Reeves delve into the exceptional customer service culture of Nordstrom, a company that has set the standard for customer happiness in the retail industry. This book provides valuable insights on empowering self-motivated employees, prioritizing ease-of-use for customers, and building a customer-centric brand across all teams and functions.
2. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers (2016)
Jay Baer, a certified customer service expert, explores the modern landscape of customer service, where social media and messaging apps have become crucial channels for interaction. Baer emphasizes the importance of building a customer service organization that embraces digital platforms, and provides strategies for effectively handling customer complaints and turning haters into loyal customers.
3. What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint (2016)
Nicholas Webb highlights the shortcomings of most customer experience programs and offers practical solutions for creating exceptional customer experiences. By reviewing each touchpoint a customer has with your business, both online and offline, you can optimize each stage of their journey and exceed their expectations. Webb’s insights will help you understand the importance of treating customers as unique individuals rather than data points.
4. Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business (2012)
Authors Frances Frei and Anne Morriss present a unique perspective on achieving exceptional customer service. Instead of trying to excel in every aspect of your business, they advocate for identifying what your customers value most and prioritizing excellence in that specific area. By focusing on delivering outstanding service, you can differentiate yourself in a crowded market and truly connect with your customers.
5. The Amazement Revolution: Seven Customer Service Strategies to Create an Amazing Customer (and Employee) Experience (2011)
Shep Hyken, a renowned customer service thought leader, shares seven practical strategies for improving customer happiness and loyalty. From cultivating partnerships with customers to providing unique membership awards, Hyken provides actionable ideas supported by real-world examples. His definition of amazing service as “consistently and predictably better than average” serves as a guiding principle for all service teams.
6. The Thank You Economy (2011)
Marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk emphasizes the importance of personalized, 1:1 communication in customer service. He explores how the rise of social media enables businesses to engage with customers more intimately and provides insights on leveraging technology to build and scale customer relationships. Vaynerchuk’s book will inspire you to harness the power of technology to effectively connect with your customers.
7. The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (2008)
Joseph Michelli explores the legendary customer service policy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, where every employee has the authority to spend up to $2,000 per day to enhance the customer experience. Michelli explains how other brands can build a similarly memorable brand and customer experience by empowering employees through trust, leaving a lasting footprint, and defining and refining the desired customer experience.
Customer Service Books for Employees
8. Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur (2015)
Derek Sivers shares his entrepreneurial journey with CDBaby, emphasizing the importance of focusing on customers. By adopting a customer-centric mindset, Sivers grew his business to great success. This book is a must-read for any customer service professional looking to understand how customer satisfaction directly contributes to business success.
9. The Art of Explanation: Making your Ideas, Products, and Services Easier to Understand (2012)
Lee LeFever provides expert guidance on explaining complex topics simply. As a customer service professional, effective communication is essential, and this book offers valuable tips on planning, packaging, and presenting information in a way that is easily understood by customers. Mastering the art of explanation will make you a trusted resource for solving customer queries.
10. Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service (2011)
Disney is renowned for its exceptional customer service, and this book provides insights into their customer-centric strategies. From consistency and adaptability to innovation, Be Our Guest highlights the significance of each moment in the customer experience. By applying the lessons from this book, you’ll have the tools to create memorable interactions with customers and foster loyalty.
Customer Success Books
11. Customer Success: How Innovative Companies are Reducing Churn and Growing Revenue (2016)
This book, authored by pioneers of the customer success movement, offers a comprehensive guide to improving customer loyalty and decreasing churn. While primarily focused on subscription-based businesses, the principles and ideas explored are relevant to any industry. Understanding the difference between behavioral and attitudinal loyalty will help you design strategies that foster long-term customer success.
12. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (2013)
Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, shares the company’s journey to success through exceptional customer service. By prioritizing customer experience and building a unique company culture, Zappos has become a household name. Hsieh emphasizes the importance of company culture in driving customer satisfaction and loyalty, urging businesses to focus on one thing and excel at it – customer service.
13. Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It (2002)
Jill Griffin offers practical advice on earning and maintaining customer loyalty. Each section of the book focuses on a different stage of the customer experience, providing strategies for turning first-time buyers into repeat customers and preventing customer loss. By prioritizing loyalty in every customer interaction, you can build lasting relationships and create brand advocates.
14. The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value (2001)
Frederick Reichheld, one of the creators of the Net Promoter Score®, explores the power of customer loyalty. He highlights how loyal customers are more cost-effective to serve, more willing to pay higher prices, and valuable marketing agents who recommend your business to others. Reichheld’s insights provide a compelling case for prioritizing customer loyalty in your business strategies.
Customer Service Leadership Books
15. Chief Customer Officer 2.0: How to Build Your Customer-Driven Growth Engine (2015)
Jeanne Bliss, an expert on customer leadership, outlines the five competencies required to turn customers into a growth engine. By honoring and managing customers as assets, aligning around customer experience, building a customer listening path, ensuring proactive experience reliability and innovation, and fostering leadership, accountability, and culture, you can build a customer-centric organization that drives growth.
16. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2011)
Simon Sinek’s book explores how successful leaders inspire others by focusing on the “why” rather than the “how” or “what”. By understanding and communicating the purpose behind your customer-centric approach, you can build rapport and trust with both your team and your customers. This book offers valuable insights for leaders looking to inspire action and create a customer-centric culture.
17. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (2009)
Patrick Lencioni highlights the importance of building cohesive teams in achieving success. By addressing trust, commitment, and conflict resolution, leaders can create an environment that fosters collaboration and drives results. This book provides practical guidance for leaders aiming to build effective, customer-focused teams.
18. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (2009)
Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves, and Patrick Lencioni provide tools and frameworks for enhancing emotional intelligence. As a leader in customer service, understanding and managing the needs and feelings of both your team and your customers is crucial. This book offers practical advice for developing the interpersonal skills necessary to build strong relationships and deliver exceptional service.
19. The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner (2008)
Peggy Klaus emphasizes the importance of soft skills for career growth. Effective workload management, feedback, and interpersonal skills are essential for leading a customer-focused team. Klaus provides practical advice for developing and honing these skills, enabling leaders to drive their teams towards success.
20. How to Win Friends and Influence People (1998)
Dale Carnegie’s timeless classic offers guidance on building strong relationships and influencing others. For customer service leaders, the principles of giving sincere appreciation, active listening, and making others feel important are invaluable. By applying these principles, you can inspire loyalty and create lasting connections with both your team and your customers.
Customer Service Writing Books
21. Everybody Writes: Your Go-to Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (2016)
Ann Handley’s book is a must-read for any customer service professional involved in content creation. Her actionable tips and guides make it easy to improve your writing skills and create engaging content across various platforms. From social media copy to blog posts, Handley’s advice will help you communicate effectively with your customers.
22. May I Have Your Attention, Please? Your Guide to Business Writing That Charms, Captivates and Converts (2016)
Mish Slade challenges the notion that business writing has to be boring. This book offers a wealth of ideas and techniques for making your copy remarkable and captivating. Slade’s tips on clarity and enthusiasm will help you create content that answers customer questions clearly and effectively, positioning you as a trusted resource.
23. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (2016)
William Zinsser’s classic guide teaches readers how to write nonfiction effectively. By communicating with authenticity and providing helpful information, you can engage your readers and deliver impactful messages. Zinsser’s principles will help you craft sentences that leave a lasting impact on your customers.
24. Several Short Sentences About Writing (2013)
Verlyn Klinkenborg explores the power of sentence structure in effective storytelling. By mastering the art of concise writing, you can deliver strong, balanced, and clear messages to your customers. Klinkenborg’s book will help you enhance reader clarity and ensure your writing resonates with your audience.
Customer Service Books for IT Professionals
25. Age of Invisible Machines: A Practical Guide to Creating a Hyperautomated Ecosystem of Intelligent Digital Workers (2022)
Robb Wilson and Josh Tyson provide insights into leveraging conversational AI to drive high-powered growth. While not specifically focused on customer service IT, this book offers valuable strategies for creating tools that enhance internal support systems and optimize customer-facing technologies.
26. Digital Customer Service: Transforming Customer Experience for an On-Screen World (2021)
Rick DeLisi and Dan Michaeli explore the impact of digital service on customer experience. This book provides guidance on leveraging technology to provide effortless customer service across various digital channels. For IT professionals, understanding the digital transformation in customer service is crucial for optimizing support systems.
27. The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win (2018)
Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford use a fictional organization to teach DevOps principles. While not specifically focused on customer service IT, this book offers valuable insights into aligning IT with customer needs and driving business success. IT professionals can apply the lessons from this book to optimize customer support systems.
28. The 5 Principles of IT Customer Service (2016)
Robina Chatham argues that interpersonal skills combined with technical competence are key to succeeding as an IT professional in customer service. By developing empathy, active listening, and a sense of pride in your work, you can effectively support your team and assist customers in resolving technical issues.
29. Customer Experience 3.0: High-Profit Strategies in the Age of Techno Service (2014)
John Goodman explores the evolving landscape of customer experience in the digital age. This book highlights the importance of leveraging technology to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. IT professionals can gain valuable insights into delivering exceptional customer experiences through digital tools and systems.
Conclusion
With this extensive guide to customer service books, you have access to a wealth of knowledge from industry experts. Whether you’re an employee, a leader, or an IT professional, these books offer valuable insights and strategies to enhance your customer service skills. By continuously learning and applying these principles, you can boost customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business success. Remember, the key to exceptional customer service lies in constant improvement and a customer-centric mindset.