The first thing to understand about customer complaints is that most people won't bother to tell you they have a problem with your small business ecommerce site -- they just go shop somewhere else. Even worse, dissatisfied customers who don't complain to you typically tell lots of other people they're unhappy.
With business review sites encouraging consumer reviews, both good and bad, if you don't provide good customer service, you could be in for unwanted publicity, and that's not the sort of ecommerce marketing that any business owner wants.
Customers who take the time to complain to you -- thus giving you the opportunity to fix the problem -- are a valuable business asset. Ignore them at your peril. These six tips will help you turn unhappy customers into loyal customers.
1. Make Complaining EasyA good online business makes it easy for customers to complain if they have issues. Make sure you place your customer-service contact details clearly on your website in a place that is easy to find.Include customer-service details in emails confirming the customer's order, so they can easily find this information. Where possible include a customer service phone number, and if you can't, make sure you view and answer your emails regularly. You must give customer complaints very high priority. It's very poor customer service to hide behind an email address and not respond to problems.
Another small business technology you can use it an online complaint form. Make it simple to complete, and make sure you acknowledged that you received it, and then deal with the issue promptly.
2. Listen First, Speak LaterCustomers who contact you to complain are a valuable asset to your business. Treating your complaining customers as such will only benefit you. Treat them with courtesy, and listen carefully to their problem. Once they've explained, make sure that you understand the exact nature of their complaint. And they need to know that you understand, so be sure to reassure them.
3. Apologize. Don't Make ExcusesOnce you understand the problem, it's time to apologize. This is an "I 'm sorry that this happened to you" apology, not an excuse-laden apology listing exactly why the problem occurred. Complaining customers don't want excuses; they want to be understood. You need to say "I'm sorry that this happened. It shouldn't have happened, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help you."
4. Fix the ProblemThe next step is to ask the customer what he or she want in compensation for the problem. Sometimes, all the customer wants is to be heard. In other cases the customer isn't going to be satisfied regardless of what you offer, and that's unavoidable.
Happily, in most situations, the customer will tell you what he or she considers a reasonable trade off in the situation. You need to accept a reasonable solution. Remember this is a customer is taking the time to complain, which gives you valuable information about how your business is performing and how some customers perceive it
After you reach a mutual agreement on what constitutes a reasonable resolution, make sure you follow through and see the solution through to its conclusion.
5. Say Thank YouIt may seem obvious, but thanking dissatisfied customers for taking the time to tell you about the problems and for giving you a chance to correct the situation is a vital part of good customer service.
If customers take the time to complain it's usually because they care enough about your ecommerce site and their relationship to it to help you identify problems and to fix them. These are people who have purchased from you, who have experienced difficulties and who are giving you a chance to understand those problems and make good on them. Thank them for it.
Bonus: Win Their LoyaltyThe good news about a customer who complains is that not only do you get to see where your small business ecommerce processes might be failing to meet expectations, but you get a chance to win back this person as a loyal customer. Statistics show that in almost all cases if you can solve a dissatisfied customer's problems she will continue to use your business.
If you treat complaining customers with respect and you quickly resolve problem situations, you have a good chance of turning unhappy customers into loyal customers.
On the flip side if you deal badly with a customer complaint you run the risk of damaging your business. While business review sites like Yelp currently limit reviews to brick-and-mortar stores, don't let this lull you into complacency. The situation won't stay this way and, when business review sites expand to cover ecommerce and online transactions, your inability to properly handle customer complaints could become a very public problem and threaten your business.
Helen Bradley is a respected international journalist writing regularly for small business and computer publications in the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK and Australia. You can learn more about her at her Web site, HelenBradley.com
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