If this was fwd’d to you, subscribe here.

🤠 Hey, Hey, Howdy! 🤠

This past week has been a crazy whirlwind between CX connect and driving Cybertrucky from LA to AZ with Jackie and back to LA! We’re $4,755 of our way to $110k and just dropped a new roadtrip vlog. 🤭 Check It out!

_zoekahn_

View more on Instagram

In other exciting news, Gorgias AI is launching July 1st and our team is counting down the days!! I learned so much at CX connect and that includes how to work smart with AI because it’s not going anywhere. Are you ready?

Now onto all things CX! 👇

📷️ Digital Experience News 📷️

Point-based reward systems are a great way to increase customer loyalty, especially when there are fun ways to acquire points. As a customer, it’s the ultimate form of girl math. Who cares if I spent $300 for a $5 reward? It’s free money! 💁‍♀️

That’s why Starbucks, known for its beloved loyalty stars, is teaming up with Marriott Bonvoy and allowing members to link their rewards. For example, you can earn extra stars if you make a purchase while staying at a participating Marriott Bonvoy hotel. A reason to go for a coffee run while on vacation?? Say less. 

Starbucks hopes this will drive more transactions, as the coffee chain took a hit in the last fiscal quarter. 

Ultimately, this is a great way to drive sales for both corporations. This alliance can help to boost Starbucks’ sales, while also creating a fun new way for customers to earn stars. Talk about a win - win situation! ⭐

Are you making your customers feel like a boomer?

Personally, I'm on eCommerce Twitter, but another Inevitable Agency team member came across this tweet amidst the memes, and it's the topic of this week's newsletter. It’s sparked some really interesting discussions.

Feeling like a boomer is derogatory in this case, and with 142,000 likes, 13,000 reposts, and hundreds of responses, it's clear this sentiment is hitting home for many. People are fed up with feeling out of touch with how customer service is handled these days. 🤬

We're all about automation these days, but we can't sacrifice the human aspect or make it impossible to reach a live agent. As the replies show, it can make a customer never do business with you again. Automation should make things easier, not more frustrating.

Many of my poor customer support interactions have been with large companies. Just today Walgreens gave me the runaround when my one-hour delivery still hasn't been fulfilled six hours later. And Jackie the VA had a truly atrocious experience with Lyft support this past weekend (a story for another time). It can be so very frustrating and honestly feels impossible. It feels like the bigger the company, the worse the support can be.

By the time they finally reach a live person, that agent is going to face the wrath of a truly pissed-off customer. How many of those can your agent deal with before they're fed up and you're left to staff a whole new team? Burnout is real, and it's costly to keep replacing frustrated staff let alone find good people.

CX is often looked upon as a money drainer in a business and usually the first to get their costs cut. But at what cost to the company? Cutting costs in customer support can lead to even bigger expenses down the line when customers leave and bad reviews spread like wildfire. 💯

How many of your returns were due to the fact that the customer had to chase down a representative? How many canceled orders were because they were tired of talking to an automated voice message? These numbers could be significant, and they're often overlooked.

This reply is great insight for companies. When customers say calling a business is their last-ditch effort, not their first action, it's telling. For the younger generation especially, by the time they dial an actual phone number, you have one angry customer. This goes to show how vital great self-help options are to a business. Customers want to solve their issues on their own but also have the option to talk to someone if needed and feel like they are actually being taken care of.

Tweets like this should be eye-opening to leaders at all brands. This is free information from real consumers! Keeping a pulse on customer experience trends is so important. Listening to your customers (or consumers in general!) can provide invaluable insights that no amount of market research could ever replicate.

Make sure you have a balance of automation and self-help along with real agents so that customers feel heard and not like they are shouting out to the void. (I'm looking at you, Walgreens customer support, who tried to get me to hang up—but I'm a stubborn b*tch in CX!) Balancing technology with a human touch can make all the difference in keeping customers happy and loyal.

🎙️ LET’S LAUGH ABOUT IT 🎙️

CX Job Board 👩‍💻

Here are some jobs in CX we found this week. If you or your company is hiring, let us know and we can add It next week!

• Peachybbies is looking for a Director of CX! Interested? Fill out this form.

📆 Upcoming Events 📆

Stay tuned! 🤭

🚨Inevitable Agency CX Audits 🚨

Apparently we’re giving away TOO much information? We love to do it! It helps the company we’re working with but also gives our team valuable practice.

Don’t wait, book your free audit with the Inevitable Agency team!