HOW TO MAKE UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS HAPPY
The customer is not always right,
but the customer is ALWAYS the customer
It is a fact of business life
(and indeed a fact of life in general) that customers have a tendency to
complain – even if there is not a lot to complain about – This is bad, isn’t
it? Well, not necessarily. A customer complaint is an opportunity
(albeit, disguised, but an opportunity nonetheless)
If a customer complains you have
an opportunity to do something about it.
As many as 95% of customers would just take their custom elsewhere – and
you would be left wondering what went wrong.
So, instead of griping about a customer complaint – rejoice in the
opportunity! View each complaint as ‘’free consultancy’, fix the problems that
they have identified and grow stronger as a result. Not acting upon customer feedback – and in
particular, complaints – in this age of social media, would be a very brave
(but foolish) thing to do. News, and
especially bad news, can spread like wild fire.
Social media channels can reach thousands or even tens of thousands of
people (your customers included) in seconds and can be relayed across the world
in (almost) the blink of an eye
There are few things more
disheartening for a small business owner than being asked for a refund because
your customer is dissatisfied with your product or service – but refusing to
honour your commitments is tantamount to business suicide – word will spread,
ill feeling will be created and havoc will be wreaked!
However, the majority of complaints
do not necessarily stem from a problem with your product or service at all –
instead the issue lies with the customer themselves – they have suffered from
‘buyers regret’ which is often heightened with the size of the purchase
So, what can you do about a
customer who feels a sudden regret about making a substantial purchase?
Reinforcing their decision with positive actions is one of the ways in which
you can reassure your customers that their decision was correct in the first
place. You can do this by sending a
personalised note to each purchaser shortly after their order arrives, by
giving them a call, or by sending a thank you note in with their order
Now, strictly speaking, buyers
regret is NOT a genuine reason for returning goods (according to the Sale of
Goods Act 1979) and herein lies the dilemma – if you have a customer who is
truly dissatisfied with the goods or service that you have provided, but your
goods and services are not faulty and are as described, do you offer a refund
for the sake of goodwill?
What action you take will depend
entirely upon you, your relationship with the particular customer, and your
policy on returns and refunds – but remember, whatever you do is likely to
change or reinforce the opinion that your customer has about you and your
business
10 things you could do to keep
your customers happy (and therefore keep them coming back);
1. Be
better than your competition
2. Set
the standard for customer service – do just be as good as the best in your
sector, be better than the best in an any sector
3. Identify
when things go wrong, admit your failings – learn from them both and move
forward
4. Listen
to your customers
5. Listen
to other peoples customers
6. Understand
your customers, their preferences and habits – and reflect these in your
service
7. Personalise
your customer experiences
8. Walk
in your customers shoes – what is it like to be a customer of your business;
what are the good points and what are the bad
9. Tell
the world about your service
10. Get
your customers to WANT to tell the world about your service
If you want to improve your
customer experiences, you can contact Blue Box by;
Email: info@blueboxconsultancy.com
or by calling 084 3289 3288
We look forward to speaking to
you soon!
