Two Words To Maintain Customer Loyalty
In an earlier article, I talked about the power of two words that could mean the world to
your team. The same two can massively
improve customer loyalty and, by extension, your business’ profitability.
The same two words (“I’m sorry” and “Thank you”) when used
with customers can only do you good. OK,
that’s four words, but saying “sorry” when you’ve made a mistake with a customer
is hard for some - after all, you’re admitting you’re fallible and capable of
error - surely not a good thing?
Wrong. We’re all
human. No one comes into work intending to make mistakes (at least I
hope they don't) but it happens. Even
machines can go out of alignment, inject the wrong amount of
colouring/ingredient or break down. In
one case, an investigation of a clearing house showed that if one of the
“trays” was out of place by even a few millimetres, customer paperwork could go
down the space in between and get temporarily lost.
If a customer complains, first thank them. Yes, say “thank you”. Why?
Because they’re taking the time to point out that something isn’t right. It’s free feedback from someone who
values your product or service and wants to help you to fix it before it really
embarrasses you. Sometimes that’s hard
to appreciate.
Next, the most important thing is to say “I’m sorry” (after
all, this is your business), explain
what happened and why, then show what steps you’ve taken to correct it. You may even have to compensate them.
Studies show that businesses that admit their mistakes and fix them are trusted more, and are
more likely to be forgiven their mistakes, by their customers. Don't get defensive; don’t try to show it was
the customer’s fault that things went wrong (you can, of course, point out what
they should have done politely) but avoid making them out to be
the “bad guy” unless you're happy to lose their business forever and you know that it won’t hurt your reputation
and/or your bottom line.
If a customer writes in to compliment your business, write
back as soon as possible to thank them.
Not only is it polite, but again, it shows you care. A happy customer will always tell their
friends about the great service they received from your business (as well as
the bad), so imagine how they’ll react if you write back… Again, they’ll keep coming back for more - and
paying your business more for its products and services. They may even come to your defence one day.
We often get so caught up in the business of making money
that we forget who it is that pays us that money in the first place - the
customer. Happy customers mean happy
businesses. Happy businesses mean happy
staff. Happy staff mean happy customers
who come back for more and keep your business going. It’s a “virtuous circle”.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 17:16
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