Everybody knows you only get one chance to make a first impression — which is why I want to start this week’s post with something truly inspiring. Let me direct your attention to the venerable U.S. reality TV show, The Bachelor.

But seriously! Stay with me.

In every season of The Bachelor, there’s a prize in the first episode called the First Impression Rose. It’s offered to whichever contestant makes the best initial impression on the Bachelor or Bachelorette, protecting them from elimination that week. Winning that rose doesn’t guarantee you’re going to win the whole contest, but it does guarantee you’ll at least have a solid chance.

And that’s the lesson for contact center leaders. Not only do customers form split-second judgments about your brand, they’re also comparing your customer service — whether consciously or subconsciously — to your competitors. And those judgments stick; those comparisons lay the foundation for the entire customer relationship. If you botch the first impression, it’s ‘game over’ for the rest of the contest.

So when it comes to CX, good first impressions are table stakes, and great ones are the key to lasting competitive differentiation. The only question is: How can your contact centers keep up? In other words, how do you win your customers’ First Impression Rose?

Tune in to more contact center videos on boosting CX:
Boost Call Center CX Through Video Technology -    • Boost Call Center CX Through Video Te...  

Contact Center Must-Haves For Connecting with Customers -    • Contact Center Must-Haves For Connect...  

Maximizing Call Center Agent Efficiency via CCaaS Technology -    • Maximizing Call Center Agent Efficien...  

Learn more about CxEngage - The Human-centric Contact Center - https://www.lifesize.com/cxengage​