Is it really possible to guarantee 100% satisfaction? Can you ever actually be sure that every single one of your customers will be, for the most part, satisfied?
It would seem that even the most useful, most polished product or service has its fair share of grumbling customers. Customer complaints are not bad reviews or insults. They are more like constructive criticism or suggestions in disguise.
In fact, you can improve on facets of your product, or your service, by taking customer complaints seriously.
Does One Complaint Really Matter?
So why should one customer’s complaint be cause for completely revamping certain aspects of your product or service?
Technical Assistance Research Program (TARP), a US-based customer experience agency, conducted a study that confirmed an astonishing 26 out of 27 people who experience problems do not complain.
From those numbers, TARP estimated that only a small 4% of customers will actually complain—most just get upset, angry and simply move on to another company. When you think about it that way, wouldn’t you rather have a customer service inbox full of complaints?
Don’t Just Wait For Complaints—Invite Them!
Now that we know complaints are usually a good sign, how can we get these dissatisfied customers to speak up?
The key is to encourage them to say something! This can be achieved by using simple customer feedback techniques:
1. Create a survey. This you can be sent right to there personal email or have an option on your web site.
2. Hire or delegate someone to make customer follow-up calls part-time.
3. “Snail mail” follow-up cards or letters.
4. Start a blog for your business, complete with trackbacks and comment capabilities.
5. Use Google Alerts to track mentions of your business on the internet and in the blogosphere: http://www.google.com/alerts
6. Survey your sales force! They are spending every day getting feedback, Tell them to report back to you.
7. Open a free UserVoice account: UserVoice is a free service for small businesses who want to get feedback from approximately 5 – 10% of their active customer base. It is essentially a forum where users can suggest improvements on your websites, blogs, services, and products. http://www.uservoice.com/
Remember: Complainers Are Your Most Loyal Customers
Another great reason to address customer complaints is this: Research indicates that customers who have never had an issue or complaint with a company are significantly less loyal than those who have had problems successfully resolved.
In short, customers who complain and have their problems resolved may become your best customers. They’re more likely to tell others how pleased they are that their complaint was addressed. Furthermore, they’ll tell even more people about it than if they had received perfect service in the first place!
Customers who take the time to complain simply want to make things better. So…are you listening?
| About The Author: Nicki Flouton is the Customer Service Manager for Multiple Stream Media, an online advertising network helping small businesses gain visitors to their websites, and acquire new clients the inexpensive way. For your free and non-obligatory consultation please visit – http://www.rent-a-list.com |
