Customer complaints do not have to spell doom for your business. They are not an attempt by your customers to sabotage your reputation and bottom line. Rather, they are an opportunity for you to take customer feedback, identify loopholes in your products, services, or procedures, and improve.
By effectively handling complaints, you foster customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. In fact, the study shows that 83% of customers feel more loyal to businesses that respond and resolve complaints.
Steps for Finding Common Ground with Your Customers
1. Have Open Channels for Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is invaluable to any business. It helps you understand your customers’ perception of your business and identify areas of improvement. Therefore, it is important that you establish ways of collecting feedback. It could be through follow-up calls to customers after a purchase, a feedback form on your website, or social media.
By responding to customer reviews openly rather than ignoring them, the business can build trust with existing and prospective customers. In fact, the research states that more than 71% of consumers believe that a quick response can drastically improve customer service.
2. Listen to the Customer’s Complaint Keenly.
Listen to the customer no matter how trivial you might think their issue is. Pay attention to them as they speak and avoid being or seeming distracted. Maintain soft eye contact. It makes them feel heard and valued.
When someone is extremely agitated, they may have difficulty articulating their issue or may come across as rude. Remain calm and professional, and give them time to express themselves. In some instances, you may need to allow them some time to calm down.
Actively listening to your customer also gives you a clear understanding of the issue at hand. Note down the main elements of the complaint as per the customer’s experience and ask for further clarification, if needs be. Also, seek to understand what the customer thinks should have been done differently.
3. Acknowledge the Issue and Apologize
Do not be get defensive. Instead, paraphrase the issue that the customer brought up to confirm that you understand it and empathize with them. You may say that you understand their frustration or the inconvenience the issue caused and apologize. Also, thank the customer for bringing the issue to your attention.
4. Establish a Common Ground
Start a genuine conversation. Where applicable, provide an explanation of what could possibly go wrong without arguing or making excuses. Ask them how they would like the issue to be resolved.
Based on your company’s policies, come up with a solution that not only resolves the issue but also re-establishes your commitment to the relationship with your customer. Although you may not be able to grant every customer’s wish, find a compromise.
Keep in mind that, while the solution may come at a cost, it is much more expensive to gain a new customer than to retain one. For instance, PissedConsumer.com has over 2M complaints in which consumer request a refund or replacement for the solution. If your business is at fault and losing a client is not an option, you should offer a replacement, a refund, or something additional, e.g., a no-strings-attached discount on their next purchase.
5. Go Through the Details of the Solution
Restate the next steps and the solution. If you are talking to the customer via the phone, it is crucial to send an email or letter to the same effect. Make sure they received and accepted your offer.
6. Follow up with the Customer
After about a week, reach out to the customer to find out if they are satisfied with the resolution and whether they need further assistance. Ask them to follow up on their feedback once the issue is resolved and re-establish their trust.
7. Make Changes to Your Business Where Applicable
Evaluate your business processes and policies to see if any adjustments could be made to prevent a similar complaint from coming up again. It shows your customers that you are committed to doing better.
Hardly are customer complaints far-fetched. In most cases, they highlight the areas of your business that need improvement. Therefore, pay keen attention to them and find a solution both for the customer and your business.
The most effective method of resolving customer complaints is ensuring that your customers feel heard and valued, and providing a solution to the issue. Then, take the necessary measures to ensure the complaint does not come up again.