- Make it Simple for Customers to get in Touch:
In reality, you will have very few customers that are fully satisfied with your services. Just because you don’t hear their complaints, does not mean that everything is working out perfectly. Moreover, if you don’t see your blindspots, the more difficult it will become for you to work on unsatisfied customers. Many customers stop doing business with you or switch to a rival brand just because they felt ignored. They will do so without even giving you an opportunity to improve your services.
Keeping this in mind, you should focus on making it easier for customers to get in touch with you. If they cannot voice their issues to you, they will get angrier and will drop out even quicker.
You should not just keep the customer surveys as the only means in which they can reach you. Provide them with assistance on any channel that they prefer using, including your website, app, or even social media. Make it easier for them to provide you feedback without having them fill a number of forms. You should also provide your contact information immediately after doing business with them, most customers want to know that they can contact you in case they need assistance or want to drop a feedback.
2. Encourage Feedback
Another tip is to not wait for customers to approach you. You should focus on being proactive and reach out for feedback in the first place. Ask customers for feedback after every interaction. They will give you meaningful pointers to work on and an opportunity to fix even the smallest of all problems before they escalate to bigger ones.
Another important thing to keep in mind is to make the customers feel as though you want their feedback. Don’t make it look like a chore. Customers are taking out time from their busy days to give you suggestions to work on. If you make them feel as if you’re only taking their feedback for the sake of it, they will not be willing to collaborate. Especially Detractors.
According to 73% of customers, the greatest service that companies can give them is valuing their time. We have already covered how unhappy customers will be swift to switch to a competing brand if they don’t feel like they are being valued in your company.
Moreover, train your staff to be cooperative with customers even if the customers give negative feedback. Train them to communicate with empathy even if the customer is very angry with the services. If they talk back to customers or try to blame the customers in return, it will only make the situation more catastrophic than better.
What customers need is a team or a brand in any situation to listen to them actively, ask appropriate questions, and be polite about the whole situation. When you have a trained staff that is receiving the feedback with empathy, it calms down Detractors. They feel valued that you are taking their feedback seriously and are concerned about it.
3. Show that you care by responding quickly:
If a Detractor is unsatisfied to a great extent, you need to respond as quickly as possible. Make these customers your number one priority. One unresolved issue will escalate to many company-damaging comments on social media or your website in due time. 40% of Detractors get even more frustrated with businesses due to slow response time from the company.
Replying to the customer in an hour or so rather than in a day or two will create a huge difference in the perception of your company. It shows Detractors that you genuinely care about their experiences and you put their interests before everything else. Timely responses also improve your reputation as a brand. When talking about customer services, research shows that most of the customers want immediate responses. In fact, more than half of them want responses from companies in ten minutes or less.
Sending out automated responses work efficiently in helping you make most of the time you have at hand. Even though companies feel like automated responses can feel impersonal, if implemented properly, they go a long way.
However, you cannot just send out automated replies, you also need to have a personalised touch to them. If Detractors receive a generic reply from your end, they will ignore it and assume that you don’t even want to listen to their issues. Personalisation is one of the key techniques in helping Detractors feel as though they are a part of your brand.
You can personalise emails by including the names of the Detractors, acknowledge their feelings, and add a few questions for them to voice their concerns. This especially works for Detractors who don’t provide a specific reason for their negative ratings. Luckily, many automation tools in today’s day and age give you the ability to personalise your response in a plethora of ways that will help you take care of your customers more effectively.
4. Delight Detractors by showing empathy and making them special:
Customers desire human-driven services. They don’t like the idea of interacting with bots on websites or self-service options. They understand that when you use these techniques, you are simply following a script. They feel as though you are just another chore on the list, and you don’t actually care about them.
In these situations, having an emotional connection with your customers can go a long way. You can help them feel as though they are engaging in a conversation with you by speaking to them in a polite and friendly tone. You should also appear to be involved in their concerns, and eager to work on them. Customers want customer service representatives to act like humans, not bots.
Customers are only reaching out to you because they want to be heard. You can simply make that connection with the use of simple phrases such as, “I can see why you’re upset, I would be too,” can go a long way. All in all, focus on using an empathetic tone when communicating with the customer, make them feel as though you are with them in this challenge.
Listening is another quality that can help in showing customers that you care. Maintain eye contact and an engaging tone. Focus on the verbal and non verbal cues of the customers to understand if they are hurt, stressed, or angry. Having this information can help you choose the appropriate way of responding to them.
Even while dealing with Detractors, you should focus on providing solutions. Every customer will give you unique feedback and hence your solutions should be unique to their needs too.
You can also show your customers that you care about them and you’re sorry for the ill services by providing them discounts, free shipping, or even some products free of charge. However this is tricky as it may not be enough to satisfy some Detractors. So, in this case, go out of your way to make it up to them.
So something that will help them remember you. You can send personalised apology notes or emails, or even gift cards. This elicits positive feelings in them about your brand as it makes them feel that they are your top priority.
5. Don’t oversell your promises:
Implementing the suggestions of customers can take time, so you need to inform them that you have taken their feedback into consideration and are working on it. If you cannot fix the issue, be honest with them and explain the reasoning behind it. When businesses are honest, it motivates their customers.
It is very important that you don’t make promises you cannot fulfil. It is always better to admit your limitations rather than overcommitting and under delivering. If you do the latter, you will lose your customer for good, and they will not trust your brand again. Moreover, they will give you bad reviews which will reflect badly on the brand.
However, don’t directly tell Detractors you “cannot do anything” about the problem at hand. But, instead, tell them all of what you can do. Even if that means giving them the product for free, or issuing a refund. Ensure that the conversation you have with your customer will be a good memory for them.
6. Close the Feedback Loop:
Responding to Detractors quickly in an empathetic manner while acknowledging and prioritising their problems is very important. However, it won’t be enough to convert the Detrator into a Promoter.
In order to do the latter, you need to give them a solution on the feedback you have received. You can do this by sharing their feedback to the concerned departments and discussing the most common problems with everyone at stake.
When you have an understanding of their issues clearly and how they should be approached, share the insights with your team. Finally, follow up with Detractors and let them know that you have taken action on their feedback. Also inform them about the results of the same. This is the only way you can close the feedback loop with the customer. Closing the feedback loop is also very essential in offering a dignified customer experience.
7. Learn From Your Mistakes
Lastly, learn from your mistakes. Unhappy customers are a great gateway to learning. If you want your NPS® score to always be high, you are on the wrong path. Net Promoter Score® Surveys are not about getting high scores, they are about improving your business practices and helping customers by building trust with those improvements. You should view every feedback you receive as an opportunity to grow and improve the experiences for your customers. Take it as an opportunity to stand out from your competitors.
Detractors who were met with unpleasant services but were delighted by the way you worked through their complaints are more likely to become passionate Promoters of your brand. By listening to your Detractors actively you have an opportunity to turn the negative feedback into an opportunity to grow your business.
Successful companies are known to have effective customer service strategies, which they capitalise on to keep winning over Detractors. And, most of these practices go beyond the level at which most companies aspire to be. You don’t have to provide this level of service for every Detractor as it does not come cheap. But, start with few customers and make a decision for other customers based on the reactions of the select few.
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