If you're a business owner, you've probably dealt with a disgruntled customer. The way you are dealing with unhappy customers can have a long-term impact on your company's reputation. Smart business owners understand that dealing with unhappy customers has a high risk of backfiring. However, if done correctly, you can reassure the customer, resolve their issue, and retain their business. With all of the communication channels available today, it is simply a lack of effort on the part of the business if it does not address customer complaints.
Businesses should view unhappy customers as an opportunity to address any issues they were previously unaware of, optimize their products or services, and avoid making the same mistake in the future.
Ways to Handle Unhappy Customers?
The ability to respond quickly is critical to halting the rapid spread of dissatisfaction. The following are the critical priorities to ensure the best chance of managing unhappy customers following a service failure:
∙ Early Detection of a Problem
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Giving your customers the opportunity to provide feedback is critical for determining whether they are satisfied. And if they aren't, feedback should explain why. It may seem counterintuitive, but encouraging people to bring you their complaints is beneficial. You can't solve problems if you don't know what they are. Bringing them to light in this manner reduces the likelihood of disgruntled customers airing their grievances. Customer feedback surveys should be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that you are aware of issues before it is too late to address them.
∙ Take Action Immediately
You must act as soon as possible. Any delay will only aggravate the unhappy customers and encourage them to spread the word. Contact the customer as soon as possible and apologize. You must act as soon as possible. Even if you don't have a solution for them right now, it's important that they know you're aware of the issue. And you'll do everything you can to put things right. In this case, a customer service alert and response system can be extremely useful. You will avoid unnecessary delays if you are notified as soon as negative feedback is received. This is critical to preventing customers from feeling as if their feedback has been ignored.
∙ Recognize What Has Gone Wrong
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Determine what occurred and why the customer is dissatisfied. Try to understand the problem from the customer's point of view. This gives you the best chance of resolving the issue and preserving the customer relationship. If the feedback or complaint does not provide enough detail, actively seek additional information. Pick up the phone and call the customer if at all possible. Depending on the nature of the problem, you may even be able to resolve it for them right away.
∙ Make Certain that You Act
Once you've determined what went wrong, take the necessary steps to correct the situation. If these unhappy customers believe you're just going through the motions of acknowledging their complaints, this will irritate them even more. Prepare ahead of time by creating a ready-made feedback response planner. This will prepare your team to respond to various types of feedback.
Convert Unhappy Customers to Loyal Ones
Providing excellent customer service is critical to deal with unhappy customers — and the ten suggestions below will assist you in adjusting your approach to achieve this goal.
1. Practice Empathy
It can be tempting for busy support teams to jump to a solution as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this sometimes means rushing through an explanation of the customer's problem. And, while this is the quickest way to figure out what's going on, it's not the most effective. This is because empathy is necessary for understanding your customers. So, at the start of every interaction, engage in active listening and strive to fully comprehend the customer's perspective before offering a solution. Then, prioritize helping them meet their needs over simply providing the correct answer.
2. Personalize Your Approach for Each Customer
Each of your unhappy customers is unique. And, while many of their problems are similar, the best approach to solving them can differ. This means you should refrain from using canned or templated responses. Even if the solution is straightforward, you must ensure that the customer feels understood and acknowledged. Taking an extra 30 seconds to address them by name and write a personalized response can help you achieve this goal and improve your brand’s overall experience.
3. Apologize For Your Errors
Many of your customers will contact you with a simple question or clarification on a feature or policy. Others will contact you due to an error made by your company. And in this case, it's critical to admit your mistake and offer a genuine apology. Whether it was a shipping error in your warehouse, incorrect information on your website, or something else entirely, admitting the mistake is a critical first step. Then, reassure them that you will take the necessary steps to correct the error. This way, they will be more likely to continue purchasing from or working with your company in the future.
4. Take the Initiative
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In some cases, you may be unsure whether or not a customer's issue was fully and finally resolved during an interaction. However, you should not wait for them to contact you to inform you that the problem has not been resolved. Take a proactive approach instead, and follow up with these unhappy customers. A simple email is one of the best ways to accomplish this. This demonstrates that you care about your customers’ success — and that you didn't forget about them once your interaction was over.
Strikingly is a highly credible platform that offers 24/7 customer service via email and chat. Our Happiness Officers are available to address your concerns and make certain that your requests are heard.
5. Provide Clear Explanations
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When a customer reports a problem, your primary goal is likely to solve it as quickly as possible. That's fantastic! However, you should also strive to provide a clear explanation for why the problem occurred. This step usually only takes a few seconds longer, but it can help the customer understand what went wrong and eliminate any concerns about whether the problem will occur again.
6. Ensure Your Customer's Satisfaction
After you've resolved a customer's immediate problem, you might think your job is done. However, it is not always safe to assume that resolving the issue at hand is sufficient. Instead, always ask each customer if they are satisfied with the resolution you've provided. This way, you can address any additional concerns these unhappy customers may have and be confident that you delivered the level of service they expected.
7. Go Above and Beyond
Sometimes all a customer wants is a quick and straightforward response. It's perfectly acceptable to resolve their request quickly and move on in these cases. In other cases, however, you'll see an opportunity to go the extra mile — and seizing that opportunity can go a long way. When this customer misplaced his Warby Parker sunglasses, he used Twitter to reach out to the NYC restaurant where he'd last seen them. Even though the restaurant could not assist, Warby Parker responded by requesting that the customer contact them. The company was not at all to blame for this blunder. The customer, however, tweeted a few days later that Warby Parker had sent a free replacement pair, as well as candy and a handwritten note. Although they were under no obligation to assist, Warby Parker went above and beyond — and most likely earned a lifelong customer.
8. Have Faith in Your Team's Judgment
Providing excellent customer service necessitates the formation of a strong support team. And, as you build yours, it's critical to trust their judgment in dealing with unhappy customers. Though you may have standard processes and procedures in place for dealing with specific types of problems, you mustn’t limit your team to one-size-fits-all solutions. After all, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't allow for much empathy. And it certainly doesn't allow your team to go above and beyond. Create a team you can rely on, and you'll be much more effective at providing the kind of support your unhappy customers will adore.
9. Monitor Social Media Channels
Not all of your customers will contact you right away if they have a problem. Unfortunately, many will first take to social media to vent their frustrations to their friends and family. As a result, social listening is becoming a more typical customer service strategy. This simple gesture demonstrates to customers that the company cares about their experience and can initiate a conversation that will assist the brand in addressing their customers' dissatisfaction.
10. Keep in Mind That Your Customers Are People
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Finally, keep in mind that your customers are people throughout all of your interactions. This may appear to be self-evident. When a customer leaves a negative review or complains about a problem, it's easy to see as a problem to be solved rather than a person to be assisted. And that mindset is unlikely to assist you in providing excellent support. So, remember that every time a customer contacts you, they're a real person with a real problem, and do your best to fully resolve their issue. This will not only make your interactions run more smoothly, but it will also make you more effective at providing genuinely helpful solutions — and, as a result, win back unhappy customers.
Finally, Some Thoughts
Dealing with unhappy customers is difficult, but not impossible. Allowing the customer to express their dissatisfaction is the most important thing. Then, with dignity, patience, and empathy, treat them. If you are successful in managing unhappy customers, this is extremely important. You must have excellent customer service skills for this to happen. Strikingly is a well-known platform that provides its customers with excellent customer service. You can use the tips and tricks we've provided on different ways to handle unhappy customers to deal with these difficult situations.
You'll be on the right track if you follow these tips for dealing with unhappy customers, and you'll be able to turn a bad situation into a positive customer experience. Simultaneously, you will fortify your customer relationships.
