Embracing Your Toughest Customers

Having lots of customers is a good thing for any business because it means lots of profit. However, some tough customers may bring you lots of trouble, not only profit. In the chapter 10 tapping the groundswell with twitter of the book “Groundswell”, the McDonalds case gave us the right example.

However, not all managers are so smart, like Katie Hlland(@akty-Mcd) in the McDonalds case. Here is another example. Customer Snider purchased a used Buick from a dealer, and found the car was having transmission and heater problems within three days. She took to her Facebook page to complain about it. The daughter of dealership's owner responded impolitely and prompted an online feud. ( watch online video source, click here )

If you own a business, how to face tough customers? How to response their complaints? If do wrong, the complaints would destroy your company’s reputation which you build for many years; If do right, the tough customers like Fadra in the McDonalds case will be your free promoters.

How to face tough customers? At first, you should realize how important is your customers’ complaint, especially in social media times, because any bad news could spread so rapidly beyond of your expectations. On Internet world, an unhappy customer equals to 1300 unhappy customers, as the following figure's showing.

So when a customer complaints your product or service, you should pay attention it, not just ignore it.

How to response customers’ complaints? Response at first time and resolve problem quickly! Why? Response at first time, let your customers feel that you value them. Resolve problem quickly, is the most effective way to get your customers again. ( John Goodman: basic facts on customer complaint behavior and the impact of service on the bottom line )

If you are a smart manager, like like Katie Hlland(@akty-Mcd) in the McDonalds case, you can turn customers’ complaints to an absolute wealth of your business. These tough customers tend to analyze and nit pick every encounter or product error they have with your company. Actually, this information is gold! It can help you find the problems you never realized, which prevent your business from expanding. Often times, some tough customers don’t demand fixes at that very moment. They want to know that you listen, that you care, and that you’re actually doing something with the information they’ve given you. Chances are, if you pay attention and follow-up with them on resolutions, their attitude will not only change for the better, but also they’ll start passing along more positive feedback, too.

How to deal with customers’ complaints? Myra Golden, a customer loyalty expert, gave six quick tips to help diffuse anger and create calm with unhappy customers.

A Mashable article says that, “No matter how you interact with unhappy customers, the point is not to brush them off, and make sure you learn from it. Don't just pretend to listen and then go on doing business as usual. Take the feedback as constructive criticism that can help you determine your company's future. How you handle your failures could make you or break you.”

As the article states so clearly, listen to your customers and continually interact with them online or offline. If your customer is complaining, be grateful that they are opening up to you, as these are the customers that likely want your company to succeed and believe in what you’re doing. They’re actually pushing you to be better.