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!