Customer complaints are very common in business. There are lots of customer’s complaints each day in the business. It happens every day. When the customers are not satisfied with the product or any activities related to sales, they start complaining. Customers’ complaints are either for good purposes or genuine affairs. If a business, especially service-based companies cannot manage customer’s complaints, it becomes too hard and complicated for the business for long-term growth in the market places. But once customer complaints are handled properly, the sales growth increases rapidly.

Customer complaints should never be neglected, especially for service-based companies. There are also unsatisfied customers who don’t complain but switch to the competitors. About 33.13% of unsatisfied customers share their experience and dissatisfaction with a product or service, which results in a bad reputation for the business. With every unsatisfied customer, the company will lose 20+ more future prospects. So customer complaints must be handled in such a way that it impacts future prospects for long-term outgrowths. Hence, customer satisfaction is all that matters for the business.

Proven steps to handle customers complaints

 

1. Stay calm and positive:

 

Staying calm and positive always designates you to a bright side. The one who remains in control of the emotions deals with the position of strength. Whenever there are customer complaints, always keep in mind, complaints are not personal issues, they are not targeting anyone but sharing their experience and dissatisfactions. It’s very natural to get defensive when attacked with the complaints, but don’t forget it’s professional, and keep calm even if the customer freaks out constantly, this is where calmness and patience come into play and that helps to control the situation at hand. Stay positive, avoiding your emotions getting in the way of professionalism. As the customers recognize your patience while listening to them, their anger slows down and hence they calm down. Always keep in mind, customers must be in a calm frame of mind before hearing the solutions or apology you offer to them.

2. Develop the habit of listening:

Good listening is compulsory in the customer management system. Let the unsatisfied and angry customers speak out their complaints. Do not interrupt in between. Let them finish. This is the situation where trying to win by getting neurotic will land you in more trouble. Instead of defending, listen carefully to the points customers are complaining about. Just listen and point out the matter. When customers genuinely express their concern, it is very important to take it as a chance to improve. Customers want to be heard, let them believe that they are heard and express your gratitude to them.

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3. Response instantly after listening:

After getting customers’ complaints, reply instantly using any tools or mediums like a phone call or message, live chat, social media or by email. In case an immediate solution is not possible, their complaints must be presented with the desired response time to be resolved in order to make them feel that their complaints are heard and taken into consideration. Customers always want attention. Taking a long time to respond may create thoughts in customers’ minds of being ignored. Speed up the response time. The instant response shows caring and understanding of their values. When the customers get an instant response to their queries, they feel more likely to stay with the business for the long-term.

4. Acknowledge the problem:

Whatever be the problem, it must be acknowledged. Mistakes can be from any end either by the customer or by the companies. Admit the mistake that happens from the company’s side. Whatever be the situation, whether a defective product or a service not provided as promised, make sure customers’ complaints are recognized well and assure proper confirmation will be taken with no mistake repeated. Acknowledge the problem, and conform to solve it as soon as possible. If the mistakes are from the customer side and it’s just a misunderstanding, just provide them with a good explanation. Try to convince them giving the acknowledgment of the problems. Without agreeing customer’s saying, respect their feelings about the situation.

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5. Send a genuine explanation with an apology:

Always use words that make customers feel that their concerns are appreciated. Use words that show compassion. Show a genuine apology mentioning reasons for the mistake and make them believe it won’t happen next time. The main goal should be to make the customers believe and trust the company again. Try to explain with sincerity in such a way that customers should be convinced and let be tended to give another chance to the company. Interacting and communicating with the customer through a humanized proposal is a wonder that is mostly ignored.

6. Understand the facts:

After explaining and sending an apology, take smart action in the conversation. After getting an apology and explanation, customers will calm down and feel his/her side concern has been heard and starts asking questions. Keep in mind, replies should not look scripted. Start a genuine conversation and try to build a trust relationship with them. Try getting as many details as possible in order to understand the customer’s beliefs. Once you have gathered all the facts, you can identify how the problem is solved and whom to be concerned with.

7. Offer a solution:

After enough details about customers, offer a helpful solution to their problem. In case if the problem is deep or of high concern, you should pass to the concerned teams under the company’s guidelines and rules, along with that help connect customers to the concerned teams as well. While offering a solution, be courteous and respectful. Make them believe you are willing to take ownership of the issue and will solve the issue. Make customer’s time worthwhile addressing the issues in a definite time period. Do not make them wait for ages and as a result, you will end up achieving loyal and happy long-term customers.

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After some days, a quick follow-up with a phone call or messages to make sure everything is fine will be an additional beneficial factor. Even a small appearance of apology can turn the interaction from failure to fabulous.

If customer’s complaints are resolved and needs are understood better, trust and faith grow itself, improving your business. Customer satisfaction is very crucial for any business to grow sales. Customers are the ones who buy the product and services that why customer satisfaction should always be considered a top priority.

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Despite applying the most conspicuous Customer Relationship Management software and being distinctly skilled, customer complaints are not recurring. These proven steps can be implemented in order to ensure effective customer relationship management. It transforms difficulties into possibilities. Delta Sales CRM is an excellent sales CRM that can benefit your business to progress in a substantial way along with customer satisfaction.

Date: Jan 12, 2020     Author: Minisha

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