Embracing Complaints and Retaining Customers

Exchange policies and money back guarantees are not enough to retain disgruntled customers. A displeased or disappointed customer is an opportunity for businesses.

Handling complaints looks good for  a business.

Answering complaints is a great opportunity to keep customers and help a business to grow.

Customer service is an opportunity to stand above the mass of competitors.

Given below are ways to handle complaints and retain customers and increase profits.

Be Human

Customers are not just data points. The best way to handle a complaint is to show humanity while respecting the humanity of customers.

It is easy to become defensive when faced with a complaint. Each complaint can contain an insight and it is essential to seek out the point of friction.

Questions can help to get to the source of the issue. Each customer is motivated by different beliefs and needs. Being aware of different types of customer persona can help to bring about appropriate responses.

Express Empathy

Customers often post negative reviews online. Engaging in a sequence of accusations with customers on a public forum never works.

This happens when a person handling customer complaints is unable to show empathy. The customer should be made to feel that they are being listened to, their complaint has been heard, and actions are being taken to investigate their complaint.

There should then be a follow up with the results of the investigation. Including empathy in interactions means that the customer is always heard.

Responses should not be robotic. Robotic responses seem to be the opposite of helpful and are a far cry from being satisfying. Scripted responses are as bad as no responses at all.

Apologize

It is always beneficial to apologize on behalf of the entire company. If a customer is complaining on Twitter, there is the restriction of being able to use only 140 characters to respond.

For platforms like Twitter, a business has to apologize first and then be creative in their responses.

For instance, a customer had once complained on Twitter about being unable to understand how to use Spotify correctly.

Spotify did not limit themselves to a 140-character limit response. In their response, they included an image capture of a custom music playlist created just for the customer. In the playlist every song title fit together to form a coded message of support.

Customize Communication

Each customer is different and so the service offered to each of them should also be different. Some customers require patience, while other customers who are in a hurry require quick solutions.

Some customers may not be tech-savvy and require an extra bit of attention.

Patience in dealing with them will win a business loyalty points. If a customer seems knowledgeable , it is important to compliment them.

Better communication is always helpful. A company need not wait for customers to complain, it can ask for reviews or feedback at regular intervals. Proactively seeking feedback can help improve customer experience.

Sometimes customers want to be heard. In such cases, it would be helpful to let them vent without interrupting them.

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Ronn Torossian is the Founder & Chairman of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently-owned PR firms in the United States.

With over 20 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America’s most prolific and well-respected Public Relations professionals.

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