Customer Service Awards Blog

Jeanne Bliss, president of CustomerBLISS in Los Angeles, California, USA, is often a judge for the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Entries to the 2016 competition are now being accepted. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Earlier this year, Jeanne Bliss published her third book, Chief Customer Officer 2.0, so we talked with her about her book, the publishing process, and how she'll find the time to judge the 2016 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, especially the new categories for Customer Service Success.

Jeanne Bliss is happy to share her experience of being a judge for the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service in past years. “Judging the Stevie Awards is a tremendous experience,” she told us.  “It keeps me relevant and engaged with practitioners. And the ideas and enthusiasm I read in the submissions continues to fuel my optimism and passion for this field of work!”

Jeanne also has words of encouragement and advice for others who might be considering being a Stevie Awards judge: “Commit to the process.  Put aside time for dedicated reading and research the companies and people.  Give time to take it in and celebrate the entrants!”

The Business of Publishing

Having just published her third book, we asked Jeanne for her views on the business of publishing these days. “It's changed a lot since 2006 when my first book was published,” commented Jeanne. “Now, in a wonderful way, we get to bring the reader along throughout the entire process, from engaging on topics; to content; to titles and covers; and more,” Jeanne told us. “In the process of launching a book, it’s extremely important to engage in social media in a way that will add value to people's lives: the message of the book and what it will do for the reader are important to presell a book.”

“PR is no longer traditional in any sense of the word—and I love that,” added Jeanne.

“I've worked with the most wonderful group of people over the past 15 years, engaged in hosting webinars and tweets and book reviews.  The whole process is now about community, adding value, and earning the right to the readers' time.

Following is a shortened excerpt taken from Jeanne’s latest book, Chief Customer Officer 2.0, available now.

The Influence of Customer Reviews

When you deliver a reliable experience, you earn the right to your customers’ story through word of mouth. And your customers will come back because they want to have the experience again.

There are three points that customers repeatedly talk about through social media, which will earn you the right to new customer growth without the acquisition costs, and to organic growth of your existing customers. These are:

• Was their experience consistent and reliable?
• Did their relationship with you improve their life or business? Did your actions prove your commitment to them?
• How did it feel to do business with you? Honored, distrusted, ignored?

All these points come out again and again in tweets, reviews, and message boards. What we know is that the power of social listening—meaning either in person or online—has an increasingly high impact on purchase decisions.

Word of Mouth

In both business-to-business and business-to-consumer organizations, customers yield to the reviews and feedback of others who have experienced your business to drive nearly 80% of their buying decisions. Your promises and messaging only account for about 20% of what customers and clients consider when they are making a buying decision. (These statistics comes from The Keller Fay Talk Track Report, whose information I have used regularly when chipping away at the importance of reliability.)

When your customers’ experience is unreliable, the most powerful way to grow your company—positive word of mouth—will suffer. If the experience you deliver to customers is not consistent and reliable, no matter what channel or silo or location they interact with, then customers won’t vouch for you.

This will impact recommendations and organic growth, because if your customers can’t tell another customer what they get from you, how they get it, how it improves their life, and how you make them feel as a result, then you won’t earn their recommendation. You don’t own the moment–and at any time the customer may go shopping for one that’s more reliable. More important, a lack of reliability will drive them away.

The Wow Moment

With social media becoming a shiny object, along with a lot of Customer Experience tactics, the tendency is for leaders to want to go out and implement the “wow” moment. But reliability has to come first, otherwise money spent on the “wow” is a wasted investment.

When I give keynotes, I tell a story about the hotel experience which resonates: You check into a hotel, and they ask you what type of pillow you’d like, and the kind of chocolate you’d like at turndown; then, when you walk in to your room, there’s hair in the sink and dirt under the bed—and all that “wow” is lost.

Think of reliability as the foundation. For many complex businesses such as healthcare, financial services, or insurance, just moving to reliability will make them stand out. You will differentiate when you are consistent and reliable.

Reliability = Revenue Gain

The London School of Business says that there is a 300% revenue gain to be had by focusing on reliability versus the wow moments. That does not mean that your version of reliability is mundane. Apple is reliable: they have their own way of doing reliability and that differentiates them. Amazon is a reliability engine. Amazon sold their first book in 1995. If they had not sold, shipped, and delivered that book in a reliable way, they would not have earned the right to the over 200 categories that they sell now. Reliability, not wow drives them.

Bottom line, Jeanne’s advice is: Grow your company by improving customers' lives!

About Jeanne Bliss:

Jeanne Bliss pioneered the role of the Chief Customer Officer, holding the first ever CCO role at Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, and Allstate Corporations over a period of more than twenty years. Reporting to each company’s CEO, she moved the customer to the strategic agenda, creating transformational changes to each brands’ customer experience. She has driven achievement of 95% loyalty rates, improving customer experiences across 50,000-person organizations.

Jeanne is now the president of CustomerBliss, where she guides C-Suite executives and Chief Customer Officers around the world on earning business growth by improving customers’ lives. Her clients include: AAA, Johnson & Johnson, Brooks Brothers, Bombardier Aerospace, and Kaiser Permanente. She is a sought-after speaker and thought leader, the author of three best-selling books, and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association. For more information, go to www.customerbliss.com/

More than 51,000 votes were cast in the 2015 People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, part of the 9^th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s top honors for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. 

This worldwide public vote was conducted between January 22 and February 13, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 11 industry categories. All organizations honored in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories of this year’s Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

The winning organizations, which will each receive the coveted crystal People’s Choice Stevie Award at the gala ceremony in Las Vegas on February 27, are:

• Airlines, Distribution & Transportation: DHL Express International (Thailand) Ltd.
• Computer Hardware and Services: Rackspace
• Computer Software (<100 employees): Photodex
• Computer Software (100+ employees): Paycor
• Financial Services: AllClear ID
• Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Related Industries: PetRays
• Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism: Marriott Vacation Club Owner Services
• Public Services & Education: Fujairah Police General Head Quarters
• Retail: Tchibo Kahve Mam. Dag. Paz. Tic. Ltd. Sti.
• Telecommunications: Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.
• All Other Industries: CubeSmart

Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards banquet on Friday, February 27 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.  More than 450 executives from around the world are expected to attend.

Sponsors and supporters of the 9^th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include ValueSelling Associates.

February 13 is the last day to vote in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a feature of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE.

All companies named as Finalists in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals, are automatically included in people's choice voting.  You're invited to vote for your favorites in the following 11 categories:

• Airlines, Distribution & Transportation
• Computer Hardware and Services
• Computer Software
• Financial Services
• Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Related Industries
• Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism
• Public Services & Education
• Retail
• Telecommunications
• All Other Industries

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be celebrated at an awards gala at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 27, 2015.

Past winners include Apple, CardioVet, Constant Contact,Cvent, Marriott Vacation Club, PetRays, Rosetta Stone, and Vonage.

Voting for the 6th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service is now open. Voting will conclude at 11:59 pm ET on Friday, February 13.

All companies named as Finalists in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals, are automatically included in people's choice voting.  You're invited to vote for your favorites in the following 11 categories:

• Airlines, Distribution & Transportation
• Computer Hardware and Services
• Computer Software
• Financial Services
• Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Related Industries
• Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism
• Public Services & Education
• Retail
• Telecommunications
• All Other Industries

Nominees will have the opportunity to win two awards: a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, as determined by professionals on the sales awards, customer service awards, and contact center awards peer-review judging committees, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as determined by the public vote.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be celebrated at an awards gala at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on February 27, 2014.

Most people are taking some time at the end of the year to relax and reminisce about the year that has passed.  We here at the Stevie Awards, however, are busy preparing for a busy 2015.  Among the things that will keep us busy right after the turn of the year is the January 13 final entry deadline for the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top contact center and customer service awards program.  Each year this competition attracts more than 1,500 nominations from top organizations all over the world.

There are many categories to choose from in the competition, and you'll find a complete listing of the customer service and contact center categories and their requirements below.

It's pretty simple to submit entries to this or any other of our awards programs. Before we get to the subject of how to win two Stevies with a single entry, here's a brief description of the entry process.

1. Choose your categories.

The question we get most often from prospective entrants is, How do I choose the categories that are right for me? We answer that question with another question: What do you want to be recognized for? Your answer to that question will steer you to the appropriate categories. We invite you to contact us at help@stevieawards.com for suggestions if following that bit of advice doesn't do the trick, though.

2. Prepare your entries according to the category instructions.

Most categories in the 2015 Sales & Customer Service awards require only the submission of an essay of up to 650 words, describing the nominee's achievements since the beginning of July 2013. (Depending on the category, the nominee can be an entire organization, a department or team, an individual... even a product or service or achievement.) You have the option to upload with your essay any number of supporting documents and files to help make your case to the judges. These can include work samples, videos, images, press clippings... whatever you think will convince and impress.

3. Upload your entries through the website.

The website at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales is open 24 hours a day to accept your entries. You can even pay your entry fees online by credit card (or choose to pay by check or wire transfer). If you've already written your entries and gathered your supporting materials, it won't take you more than a few minutes to start and finish the online entry process.

Now, back to that bit about how to win two Stevies with a single entry. One of the most popular features of the Sales & Customer Service awards is called the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. This is a worldwide public vote in which the general public gets to cast their ballots for their favorite providers of customer service in a number of industry categories. (See the list of 2014 winners here.) All entries that are chosen as Finalists in any of the Customer Service Department of the Year categories will automatically be included in people's choice voting, which will open to the public on January 22, the day that the Finalists are publicly announced. People's choice nominees will receive from us a set of tools they can use to encourage their customers, employees, shareholders, friends and followers to vote for them. The top vote-getter in each category will receive a beautiful crystal People's Choice trophy.

So that's how you can win two Stevies with a single entry:

1. Submit a great entry to any of the Customer Service Department of the Year categories in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. If that entry is chosen as a Finalist, it's assured of ultimately being named a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winner.

3. Promote the heck out of your automatic People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service nomination to all of your customers, employees, friends and followers, and you might also walk from the awards gala on February 27 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with a People's Choice Stevie Award as well as a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie.

Categories

Here are all the categories related to customer service and contact centers in the 2015 Sales & Customer Service awards. There are many other categories as well in the competition, for sales, business development, new products and services, and suppliers. (Look here for a complete list of categories.)

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES
The customer service and contact center individual categories recognize individual contact center and customer service professionals.
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013. 
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

55. Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who directly engage customers. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of professionals in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of professionals in all industries not covered by the other Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year categories.

56. Back-Office Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals who work behind the front lines of customer service organizations for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

57. Young Customer Service Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service professionals under the age of 30.

58. Customer Service Manager of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of customer service managers and service professionals with a managerial role at organizations of any size, of any type.

59. Customer Service Leader of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of senior customer service and call center executives.

60. Contact Center Professional of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of non-executive professionals who work in a call or contact center.

61. Contact Center Manager of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of contact or call center managers for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

62. Contact Center Leader of the Year
Recognizing the achievements of senior contact or call center executives for their achievements since the beginning of July 2013.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER TEAM CATEGORIES
The customer service team and contact center awards categories recognize the members of individual teams within your overall customer service department or contact center organization.   For example, the team may service a particular customer segment or a single client, or may work in a particular call center. 
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the customer service team’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

65. Customer Service Team of the Year – Recovery Situation
Recognizing service teams who have demonstrated exceptional skill in recovering either an individual case or in rebuilding an underperforming service department.

66. Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year
Recognizing service teams whose primary focus is to address and resolve customer complaints.

67. Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year.
Recognizing service teams that directly engage customers. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of teams in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in all industries not covered by the other Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year categories.

68. Back Office Customer Service Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that provide service functions that do not directly engage customers, such as billing, credit and collections, payments, security and support services. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of teams in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of teams in all industries not covered by the other Back-Office Customer Service Team of the Year categories.

69. Contact Center of the Year (Up to 100 Seats)
Recognizing call and contact centers that have no more than 100 seats. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of contact centers in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in all industries not covered by the other Contact Center of the Year (Up to 100 Seats) categories.

70. Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats)
Recognizing call and contact centers that have more than 100 seats. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Business Services Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in business services industries such as advertising, consulting, marketing, public relations, recruiting, etc.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes the achievements of contact centers in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in services industries such as financial services, healthcare, hospitality & leisure, legal, media & entertainment, real estate, retail, etc.
   d. Technology Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in technology industries such as computer software, computer services, computer hardware, internet/new media, and telecommunications.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievements of contact centers in all industries not covered by the other Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) categories.

71. Customer Service Management Team of the Year
Recognizing the leadership teams of customer service organizations and contact centers for their achievements.

72. Customer Service Training Team of the Year
Recognizing teams that develop and deliver training to customer service organizations and contact center personnel.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTER ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013 in the area covered by the category.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

75. e-Commerce Customer Service Award
Recognizing customer service and contact center organizations for their innovative use of online technologies and social media to service the needs of customers.

76. Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Recognizing customer service and contact center organizations for their use of technology that has directly improved customer service delivery, provided real business benefits, and shown system adoption across the entire customer service function.

77. Award for Innovation in Customer Service
Recognizing new ideas and developments within customer service that enabled organizations to meet the needs of their customers more effectively, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. This category is split into five separate categories:
   a. Computer Industries: recognizes achievement in the internet/new media, computer hardware, computer software, computer services, etc. industries.
   b. Financial Services Industries: recognizes achievement in the accounting, banking, financial services, insurance, etc. industries.
   c. Other Service Industries: recognizes achievement in all service industries except for financial services.
   d. Telecommunications Industries: recognize achievement in all telecommunications industries.
   e. All Other Industries: recognizes achievement in all industries that are not covered by one of the other Award for Innovation in Customer Service categories.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT CATEGORIES
In addition to the possibility of receiving a peer-reviewed honor in these categories, all nominated customer service departments that are chosen as Finalists also will be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service.  Online voting will open to the public worldwide in mid-January and will continue through early February.  We will provide Finalists in these categories with tools to help you encourage your fans, followers and customers to vote for you.  The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a special crystal People's Choice Stevie Award.

The customer service department categories recognize everyone who works in customer service in your organization, regardless of their role or location. 
Information required for entries in these categories include:
(a) An essay of up to 650 words describing your customer service department’s accomplishments since July 1, 2013.
(b) Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. At the very least you should provide a link to the organization's website.

80. Customer Service Department of the Year – Airlines, Distribution & Transportation
81. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Hardware
82. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software. This category is split into two separate categories:
   a. At Organizations With Up to 100 Employees
   b. At Organizations With 100 or More Employees
83. Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Services
84. Customer Service Department of the Year – Financial Services
85. Customer Service Department of the Year – Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Related Industries
86. Customer Service Department of the Year – Leisure & Tourism
87. Customer Service Department of the Year – Public Services & Education
88. Customer Service Department of the Year – Retail
89. Customer Service Department of the Year – Telecommunications
90. Customer Service Department of the Year – All Other Industries

Need help with any of this? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com or +1 703-547-8389.

Final tip: Check out our free tipsheet on How to Win Customer Service Awards.