20 Customer Service Blogs Every CX Professional Must Follow in 2022
In today‘s hypercompetitive business landscape, it‘s no longer enough to simply meet customer expectations – you need to exceed them consistently. Research shows that companies that excel at customer experience (CX) grow revenues 4-8% above their market. It‘s clear that investing in your service organization is a sound business strategy.
For customer service leaders and practitioners, that means continuous skill development is a must, not a nice-to-have. According to Harvard Business Review, 76% of executives cite improving CX as a high or critical priority. To stay current on rapidly evolving trends and emerging best practices, regularly reading industry blogs from CX experts and innovative brands is an easy yet impactful habit to adopt.
We‘ve curated a list of the top 20 customer service blogs to follow in 2022, organized by category. Our picks offer a diverse mix of thought leadership, actionable advice, and data-backed insights. Find your new favorites, subscribe to get fresh content delivered to your inbox, and jump start your growth today.
General Customer Service
1. HubSpot Customer Service Blog
HubSpot‘s Service blog offers a robust library of content covering all facets of customer service and experience. From high-level strategy to step-by-step guides, you‘ll find valuable information whether you‘re a support rep, manager, or executive.
Must-read post: The State of Customer Service in 2022
HubSpot‘s annual report analyzes trends across the services industry. See how 1,000+ global companies approach key priorities and metrics.
Who it‘s great for: Anyone who wants a well-rounded perspective and a variety of educational formats including articles, ebooks, templates, and courses.
2. Shep Hyken‘s Customer Service Blog
Shep Hyken, a renowned customer service expert and keynote speaker, uses his blog to share learnings from his 30+ years of experience working with top brands. Expect a mix of his own insights and curated wisdom from his network.
Must-read post: Ten Customer Service Tips for 2022
Hyken‘s top pointers reflect the shift toward digital-first, personalized customer experiences. Short and sweet but impactful.
Who it‘s great for: Customer service professionals of all levels looking for bite-sized, actionable tips to uplevel their game.
3. Zendesk Blog
As a leader in customer service software, it makes sense that Zendesk‘s blog would be a treasure trove of information on support operations. Their frequent "Zendesk on Zendesk" series offers a transparent look at how their own global team functions.
Must-read post: How to structure your customer service team
This comprehensive guide walks through common support team org structures, key roles and responsibilities, and models for scaling.
Who it‘s great for: Support leaders interested in benchmarking their current operations against other successful teams for inspiration and ideas for improvement.
Customer Success
4. Totango Blog
Totango‘s blog reflects their expertise in proactive, data-driven customer success. While some posts are specific to their software, most are universally applicable to CS teams looking to drive more value and impact.
Must-read post: 6 essential skills of great customer success managers
Learn the core competencies you need to develop to become a standout CSM your customers love.
Who it‘s great for: Customer success managers and leaders focused on optimizing customer health and mitigating churn in a SaaS environment.
5. Gainsight Blog
Gainsight coined the term "customer success" back in 2013, and their blog remains one of the definitive sources on the topic. Look for in-depth guides, thought-provoking opinion pieces, and data-packed reports.
Must-read post: The Ultimate Guide to Driving Customer Success at Scale
If you only read one piece from Gainsight, make it this one. It‘s essentially an entire ebook on maturing your CS organization.
Who it‘s great for: CS practitioners and executives looking to stay on the cutting edge of the field.
6. Planhat Blog
Planhat‘s blog delivers a nice mix of high-level thought leadership and hands-on tips for CS professionals. Their resource library also includes handy templates and checklists to make your job easier.
Must-read post: The What, Why, and How of Customer Lifecycle Management
This article approaches CS from the customer‘s perspective and lays out a framework for engagement across the entire journey.
Who it‘s great for: CSMs and leaders who want highly tactical resources to help them excel in their roles.
Support & Help Desk
7. Help Scout Blog
Help Scout‘s support content embodies their human, helpful brand. Expect inspiring customer stories, psychology-backed communication tips, and thoughtful long-reads on the future of service.
Must-read post: 9 Memorable Customer Service Stories to Inspire Your Team
These real-world examples will spark ideas for delighting your own customers in simple yet powerful ways.
Who it‘s great for: Support professionals at all levels who want to sharpen their soft skills and learn from outstanding service stories.
8. Groove Blog
Groove‘s blog hits on universal customer service challenges like increasing first contact resolution, saying no to customers gracefully, and keeping remote teams engaged. Their relatable, conversational style makes potentially dry topics fun to read about.
Must-read post: A Quick Guide to Saying "No" to Customers While Still Providing Great Service
Master the gentle art of denying customer requests while still providing a positive experience. Tips are easily adaptable to most common scenarios.
Who it‘s great for: Frontline support reps and managers keen to build practical, emotionally intelligent communication skills.
9. Intercom Blog
Intercom approaches customer support as an ongoing relationship, not a series of one-off transactions. Their blog content spans opinion pieces, data-backed best practices, and lessons learned from their own team.
Must-read post: 6 unconventional ways to improve your customer support
Get creative ideas for leveling up your support operations, backed by behavioral science and real results.
Who it‘s great for: Support, success, and experience leaders looking to foster customer relationships, not just resolve tickets.
CX & Design
10. CX Journey Blog
Annette Franz, founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc, has been writing on customer experience for over a decade. Her blog examines CX through various lenses including culture, leadership, and employee engagement.
Must-read post: Customer Journey Mapping: 10 Tips for Beginners
Franz shares her top recommendations for getting started with one of the fundamental tools of CX design.
Who it‘s great for: CX practitioners of all levels looking for a veteran perspective on important topics and methodologies.
11. UX Collective
UX Collective is a community publication sharing stories from UX and product pros around the world. With a variety of voices and specialities represented, you‘re bound to find inspiring, cutting-edge ideas.
Must-read post: The most important principles in UX design
Seasoned designer lists their top UX priorities, many of which overlap with good CX practices. The lively debate in the comments is a bonus!
Who it‘s great for: Anyone curious about the intersection of customer and user experience design, especially in digital, product-driven organizations.
12. CMSWire
CMSWire provides news, analysis, and insights on digital CX and its related disciplines. While not solely focused on service and support, their articles are consistently relevant, well-researched, and discussion-provoking.
Must-read post: Are You Engineering the Customer Experience Out of Your Customer Experience?
This piece challenges practitioners to ensure the pursuit of digital CX doesn‘t come at the cost of genuine, human connection.
Who it‘s great for: CX generalists who want a big picture understanding of experience across the entire business.
Thought Leaders & Research
13. Forrester CX Blog
Forrester, a leading global market research company, maintains a blog devoted to customer experience. Given their reputation for rigorous research, these posts carry a lot of weight and frequently spark broader industry conversations.
Must-read post: Predictions 2022: Trust, Safety, And Inclusion Will Be At The Core Of Customer Experience
Forrester analysts detail 5 key trends that will shape CX this year and beyond. Forward-looking and grounded in data.
Who it‘s great for: CX decision-makers who want to keep a pulse on where the field is heading and position their companies for success.
14. Bruce Temkin‘s Blog
Bruce Temkin is an experience management visionary and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). On his personal blog, he shares musings on the past, present, and future of CX.
Must-read post: It‘s Time for Resiliency-Fueled Experience Design
Temkin explains why resiliency will be a key factor in experience design and delivery going forward. Insightful and prescient.
Who it‘s great for: Experienced CX pros who want high-level perspective on the evolution of the field from one of the original pioneers.
15. Smarter CX (CXPA)
The CXPA‘s official blog features articles from their global network of CX leaders and professionals. In addition to practice and strategy pieces, posts often center on career pathing and development.
Must-read post: Empathy in CX: An Essential Ingredient for Success
Learn why empathy is a crucial skill for experience professionals and how to cultivate it within your organization.
Who it‘s great for: Ambitious CX pros charting their course and looking to learn from experienced mentors.
Honorable mentions
A few other noteworthy blogs that cover customer service and experience:
- CustomerThink – CX thought leadership from a wide range of contributors
- Customer Bliss – CX strategy and insights from bestselling author Jeanne Bliss
- CX Accelerator – Community blog for CX professionals pioneered by Nate Brown
- 360Connext Blog – Advice on connecting employee and customer experience from Jeannie Walters
- Wootric CX Blog – Data-centric CX content and guides from the Wootric team
Reading for continuous growth
Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than non-customer-centric companies, according to research from Deloitte. Clearly, focusing on the customer pays dividends. But in a rapidly changing world, what delights customers today may leave them unsatisfied tomorrow.
That‘s why a commitment to continuous learning is a must for any customer service professional serious about advancing their career and driving meaningful results. When you make a habit of reading industry blogs, you expose yourself to new ideas, soak up knowledge from experts, and keep your skills sharp.
To get the most out of your blog reading habit:
- Set aside 30-60 minutes per week to read and block the time on your calendar. Make it a non-negotiable meeting with yourself.
- Subscribe to your favorite blogs so new content is delivered directly to your inbox. Save interesting articles to a "read later" folder.
- Take notes on key takeaways and save the best posts for future reference. Consider tagging or organizing them by topic for quick retrieval later.
- Share great articles with your team and discuss them. Did you learn something new? Disagree with a conclusion? Have results to add? Talking it through with others deepens your understanding.
- Choose one insight to implement each month. Turn your learning into action and see how it impacts your customers.
Don‘t let your professional development stagnate. With incredible, free content at your fingertips, you can constantly evolve your customer service mastery.
The stakes are too high not to. PWC found that 51% of customers say most companies fall short of their expectations for great experiences and 61% have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer experience. Every interaction counts, and your customers count on you to get it right.
Follow the blogs on this list. Join online communities of fellow customer-centric professionals like CX Network, Support Driven, and Customer Experience Professionals Association. Attend virtual or in-person events to learn from the best in the biz. Never stop striving for better.
Your customers will thank you, your company will thank you, and your career will thank you.
