How many dissatisfied customers do you have? You may not know the answer because many dissatisfied customers never complain directly to you. Customer complaints are good for business. Research has shown that only 1 in 50 customers take the time to complain, while the other 49 simply take their business elsewhere.
In a perfect world a customer would buy a product or service and everything would be A- OK. But we don’t live in a perfect world and sometimes customers are less than satisfied with the product they purchased or the service they received.
When customers complain you have an opportunity to solve the problem and retain those customers and their business. You probably know that word- of mouth referrals is one of the most effective ways to get new business. The same is true when customers are dissatisfied. They may not complain to you but they will certainly complain to others resulting in loss of potential business.
When a dissatisfied customer takes the time to complain to you they are helping you to grow your business. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. If the issue is of concern to one customer then perhaps others feel the same way.
Make it easy for customers to complain. You can set up a separate line where customers can call and voice their complaints (or kudos). Try one of the inexpensive Internet answering machines like eVoice (www.evoice.com) which allows you to check your messages from your email inbox.
Other ways to encourage customer satisfaction include:
Developing a comments form to include with products you ship or with any correspondence you send to customers.
A week or so after completing any transaction, send a postcard seeking feedback about your product or service.
Create a page on your website for customers to leave comments.
Don’t let customer complaints fall on deaf ears. Larger companies often feel they have enough business that they don’t need to worry about complainers. As SOHO warriors you may not have that luxury so you want to keep all of your customers happy. A satisfied customer equals a repeat customer.
When a customer complains, deal with the complaint quickly. Follow up with the customer and let them know what was done. Many times a business will say they will handle the problem and then simply ignore it. Ways you can solve the complaint include a refund, an exchange or providing a service free of charge. One way to make sure the customer returns is to offer a reduced price on future products or services.
You are probably going to lose some customers through no fault of your own but you want to keep that turnover to a minimum. It takes much more time and money attracting new customers than retaining the customers you have. Providing prompt , fair and courteous response to customer complaints will improve your chances that a complaining customer will still remain loyal to your business.
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