These days, customers are savvier than ever. Generic, sales-heavy marketing campaigns no longer have the same impact they once did. Thanks to social media platforms, customers wield more power than ever before. Customer service and call center agents are certainly feeling the effects of this power: They are working harder than ever to successfully meet customer demands to earn rave reviews rather than damaging social media rants from customers. This can place a great deal of pressure on call center agents, so companies must find ways to keep their morale high.
So, how can companies make the most of these emerging trends in marketing? Let’s take a closer look at some of the strategies today’s largest companies have successfully used.
“I just want to speak to a real person” has become a token phrase used by people during almost any type of automated customer service experience. Even so, gone are the days when talking to ‘a real person’ is the customer’s preference: Today, 
Most marketing decisions today are driven by data. With CRMs, social analytics, Google analytics and e-commerce platforms readily available to most companies, marketing teams are able to pore over and analyze enormous amount of statistics, numbers, charts and trends. From product development to launch strategies and content planning, data is often behind many key decisions being made by company leaders.
The rise of digital commerce and the growth of social media have given consumers powerful tools to share their thoughts and feedback with brands. The ability for customers to tout their distinct opinions with far-reaching audiences is a new phenomenon that has shifted the way brands must think and operate. Excellent customer service must become a central component of companies’ strategies if they hope to survive and thrive in this digital age. 
As in any field, it’s important to be aware of key trends and best practices in customer service to ensure that you are delivering an experience that is on par with the best players in the game. From servicing customers on social media, to curating unique “real life” opportunities for consumers to interact with your brand, there are many emerging standards in the world of customer service that companies are striving to meet. 
Whether we’re talking about relationships, leisure, or work, gender differences play a significant role in the way we interact with the spaces and places around us. It is, after all, a marker of identity that helps us make sense of ourselves, and the world. The way we engage with or provide customer service is no exception to that.
As the weather warms up in the West and many take off for their summer holidays, customers are increasingly dealing with big-brand companies in the business of travel: Airlines. Modern airline customer service (CS) is a far cry from the days when Don Draper-like marketers were designing prime service experiences for anyone who could afford to climb aboard (as marketed in the below 1954 ad for American Airlines).
Goal setting and self-improvement often go hand-in-hand, and nowhere is this more true than in the world of business and retail. Executives and managers understand that by setting goals both as an organization, specifically as departments and teams, a company is able to move in a measurable and targeted way, and even be able to make projections and pivots in the direction they want to grow. 
Motivation is the key to accelerating whatever it is you’re looking to improve or optimize. But, motivation doesn’t necessarily come naturally to most people. Whether it’s a personal or professional goal, like trying to lose weight, organize your garage, or exceed sales targets, motivation is a tough nut to crack. 
