How to Use Proactive Communication to Manage Increasing Customer ExpectationsShep Hyken interviews Laura Bassett, Vice President of Product Marketing at NICE, a complete platform for delivering an end-to-end customer experience. Bassett shares how customer expectations have changed over the years and how companies can provide amazing customer experiences through proactive communication. Top Takeaways:  ·      Customers are more demanding than ever because they're learning what excellent service looks like from the best experiences they've had from other companies (not just in your industry).

·      Proactive communication helps both businesses and customers. It will not only help the customers before they ask for help, but it also helps them get more value from the products. It will also help companies retain customers.·      How to convert an un-amazing situation into an amazing experience:o  Walk in your customer's shoes and compare that to what you might expect for your own experience. o  Make your customer support agents (more) knowledgeable. Help them understand that they don't have to go through a script when it is unnecessary. o  Empower your agents. Give them the tools, the options, and the information to actually solve the problem. o  Turn customer support agents into customer service executives who own the experience. Give them their own bot assistants and real-time knowledge bases that they can leverage to solve their customer’s problems.·      A NICE survey found that 80% of consumers will start with digital (website, app, Google search, YouTube, etc.) when they have a question, a need, or want to buy something.Quote: "Companies should understand and predict when they can answer a question before customers even realize they have it."

About:  Laura Bassett is the Vice President of Product Marketing at NICE. She has 20+ years of experience in consulting, development, and delivery. Bassett is an outstanding product marketer, gifted speaker, product ambassador, and strategic thinker.Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices