Have an upset customer on your hands? If you’re not sure what to do, stay calm and stay tuned.
No one wants an upset customer — it’s bad for business — unless you know how to turn the situation around. If you’re able to do that, you might actually build a stronger bond and build a stronger relationship. And, they may become a better customer and refer you more business.
3 Marketing Tips to Defuse an Upset Customer
1. Create a direct route for complaints. There’s nothing worse than customers getting bounced around from department to department, that just gets the customer more angry. Smart business owners and managers designate at least one person with the authority to resolve a problem, especially once it’s escalated. The point is to make your customer feel heard and let them know that the company cares — even if they don’t get the answer they want. Have an online business? Give your customer the email address of someone in charge. Someone that will actually write back.
2. Take the time to really listen. You might think it’s a no-brainer, but it’s not. Some staff have not taken what I’ll call ‘empathy training’. Customer service reps often think that the customer is the problem, not the issue at hand. There’s lots going on right now with the pandemic, and there’s added frustration on all levels. Talk with your team about being a bright spot in a customer’s day. What’s the phrase, it’s not what you say, it’s how you make people feel.
3. Let customers have a say. What about asking customers to provide feedback on how to make things better? It’s not possible in every situation and you might want to reserve the effort when there’s a certain gap in the quality of your product or a service mishap or explosion. Be upfront and sincere. Get the customers info so you can stay in touch and follow up. That means a lot to someone who’s steaming mad. Genuine counts too. You can spot a phony a mile away. On the phone, on a chat box — in person for sure.
I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is low-cost marketing to help you grow your business. Book a call to see if we’re the right fit! RobinSamora.com/letstalk. Talk soon!
