| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Transforming Disgruntled Customers into Your Biggest Advocates
"I am writing to complain about the widget I bought from your site the other day." Sell anything and eventually you will be on the receiving end of a sentence like this. So how do you turn a disgruntled customer not just into a satisfied one, but - even better - into a powerful advocate for your business? 1. Don't get angry, don't act hurt Reactions are initially emotional. Particularly if you are in a small company or you are the owner of the business, you may take a complaint as criticism - a personal attack. What do humans do when attacked? We want to fight back and justify ourselves. We become angry and act hurt. But this is the last thing you want to do when interacting with your customers - however difficult they may be sometimes. So prepare yourself in advance: Read this article and you will know how to turn these situations around, so make a decision right now to receive any negative customer feedback in a positive way. As my mother would say: "Engage brain!" 2. Save the sale Got your feelings under control? Good. Now you are ready to secure your primary objective - saving the sale. Remember: this is a person who has already bought from you. The vast majority of visitors to your site don't even do that, so just the fact that this person has already made a purchase makes them an instant VIP and their business worth fighting for. How do you it? 1. Prioritize - Remember this sale is a bird in the hand. Yes, enquiries from potential customers are important, but remember you already have this person's money in the bank. Not potential money - cold hard cash! So first prioritize the disgruntled customer with a speedy response. 2. Be respectful - Remember not to get riled. A polite, calm attitude will go a long way to taking the heat out of the rhetoric. 3. Be informative - Reply thoroughly to every point that has been made and add any other information you think could be useful. Misunderstanding or a lack of knowledge rather than a problem with the product itself is often the real issue. Part of being informative is also going out of your way to remind the customer about his or her right to return or replace the product under your (generous) full satisfaction guarantee. Being up front and positive about this will go a long way to diffuse any concern the customer may have about having to wrestle the money out of your hands at some point in the future. Apply the above methods and the chances of securing the sale will increase tremendously. But remember that even if you do lose the sale, your positive approach may well have saved the customer: Part company on good terms and you retain the potential for future sales and have at least neutralized a lot of negative word-of-mouth publicity. 3. Sell more! Now this might sound crazy, but a disgruntled customer is actually a sales opportunity in disguise. Just think about it for a moment: Perhaps they are unhappy because they did not get what they wanted from their initial purchase. Of course, one way they might choose to solve this problem is by returning the goods. Your job is to show them there is an alternative that will be a win-win situation for both parties. Here are two ways you can do this: 1. Offer a higher-spec / revised spec product. 2. Offer an additional product. Just remember not to "sell" but to "help": Show the customer a solution that will meet their needs. Offer a discount and make it as painless as possible for the customer to part with more money. At the same time, always be sure to leave the door open for them to back out from the existing sale so that they don't feel pressured. Follow this simple strategy and they will thank you for helping them out while you pocket the extra profit. 4. Glean Knowledge Let's face it, this particular sale may still sink beneath the waves before you can rescue it. But all is not lost! Anything you learn from this experience can pay you back many times over in increased future revenue. What do the experiences this customer had tell you about: - The product itself? - Your service? - The information on your site? - Navigation on your site? - External factors - such as difficulties with your payment provider? Be sure to bear in mind the following points to get the most out of these questions: - Don't assume your customer is just an idiot: If he / she has made a mistake, it is fairly likely that other people have done and are doing the same thing. - Don't take everything the customer says at face value: For example, it may appear that the issue is the product itself, but closer inspection could reveal that your site failed to give them enough information prior to purchasing, leading to this later disappointment. Once you have discerned the problem - solve it! It is costing you sales right now. 5. Disgruntled customer turned advocate If you have successfully followed the process outlined above, not only have you saved the sale, but maybe you have even added to it and the valuable insights you have collected and acted on are boosting your revenue right now. Perhaps you are thinking that it can't get much better than this. But there is still the ultimate payback - the icing on the cake: Turning an unhappy customer into an advocate for your business. Your positive attitude will often not only secure the sale, but also win over the customer themselves. In my experience this is exemplified by the fact that a surprisingly large proportion of the testimonials I use originated in a negative customer experience. But far from wanting their money back, these customers are now encouraging others to part with theirs through their testimonials. Make this your goal when dealing with a disgruntled customer and all the heartache along the way will be well worth it in the end. About the Author Stephen Munday lives in Japan and works for Internet Support (http://www.support.ne.jp/). His latest project is http://www.japanese-name-translation.com, where you can have your name translated into Japanese kanji or buy a unique calligraphy scroll as a gift. This article is © Stephen Munday, 2005.
MORE RESOURCES:
customer service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Basic Levels of Consumer Integrity that Presently Permeates Society Reality is not always pretty. But here is a tad bit of it for you today. Customer No Service - How to Lose a Loyal Customer! So today was the day where I almost stopped going to my favorite supermarket here in Milwaukee. If you're in Milwaukee, you know the one I'm talking about: the cool one downtown that has 1000 different types of produce, and a whole aisle dedicated to gourmet coffee and teas. Be the Customer: See Yourself as Your Customers Do What do your customers experience when they interact with your business? As a mystery shopper, I help businesses see themselves through the eyes of their customers by posing as a typical customer and evaluating their service, quality and cleanliness. Was it easy to find what I needed? Were the employees polite and helpful? Was everything neat and clean? Was I thanked for my business? What happened when I made a return?Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don't know about your customers' perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Service Equals Performance Equals Service Service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the Service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. DONT Give Your Customers What They Want! One of the mantras we hear repeatedly in business is "The customer is always right." I'm here to tell you that if you want to build a thriving business you need to forget that saying, and take note of Payne's Law #1 "The customer is always right- some of the time. Develop Loyal Customers for a Lifetime - part 1 (1 - 10) Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today's competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service. What Every Employee Should Know About How to See Customers Problems from Their Creative Side Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing to the customer and a curse to you, the employee. At least so it seems. Customer Service A Chickens Way Anyone who knows me knows my favorite fast food restaurant is Chick-fil-A. Aside from the fact their chicken is especially good and I can always get sweet tea, I have a valuable business reason for eating there - they serve up amazing customer service. Dont Eliminate The Middle Man - Add One Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle person" instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it's cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. Customer Service, the Internets Primary Neglected Business Concern Customer service is everything to a business. Just look at big, successful retail chains: They let you return perfectly good merchandise just because you changed your mind. Keeping Clients Happy Keeps them Coming Back Whether you are a seasoned small business professional, or you have just opened your doors to new clients, your marketing strategy should not only involve bringing in new business, it should also include keeping your current clients, your most important asset, happy and coming back for more or referring your services.Top-notch customer service is the most important contributing factor in the success of your business. Over Delivering Provides Big Results Over promising is a problem only when you under deliver. There are a number of ways that you can overdeliver to your customers or prospects, and as a result create a win-win situation for you both. Your Actions Tell Your Clients How You Expect To Be Treated There is a widely accepted principle of human behavior that goes something like this. "Your actions tell the world how you expect to be treated. Cultivating the Trust Factor In today's highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain a significant market advantage based on your professional skills alone. Developing a trusting relationship with your clients is key to your success. Your Career Plan--Think Like A CEO You've been going 6-to-late; exhausted by running the supersonic treadmill of life and wish you had a different job. But you can't because you have no time and you're left spent at the end of every day. Turning Customer Mistakes Into Raving Fans When you make a mistake with a customer, should you write them off as lost -- never to return again?Nope. There have been numerous studies which show that a customer who has had a problem and gotten it resolved in a timely manner and to their satisfaction is a more loyal customer than one who has never had a problem. 3 Special Benefits Every Customer Wants Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they do business with you. They may not specifically ask for these benefits. Stand Out in Business the Write Way When was the last time you received a handwritten note from a business associate? It may be that it was too long ago for you to remember. On the other hand, if you have gotten one lately, you know exactly who sent it and when. Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly? Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site. Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis. Customer Service and The Human Experience Historically, customer service was delivered over the phone or in person. Customers didn't have many choices, and switching to competitors was cumbersome.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |