“It isn’t the complaint the customer remembers, but the outcome.”
– Isadore Sharp
(Founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts)
Dealing with unsatisfied customers is ‘no company’s favorite cup of tea,’ but when you make the customer happy (finally) and get that instant feeling of satisfaction and gratification. Thankfully, today there are plenty of ways to minimize repetition when it comes to customer service, so your customer support can have time to handle the dissatisfied customers and give them their full attention.
Are you looking for ways to up-your-level of customer service and provide the ultimate customer satisfaction? If you can please the most difficult client, the rest will be a piece of cake. So let’s see what you can do to improve customer support.
Being helpful isn’t always enough, when you have an angry customer who is frustrated and doesn’t see a way out of a situation. Today, we’d have to go the extra mile and build rapport, show empathy and understanding and stay calm. Your customer is a human, but they take their issue personally, whereas you shouldn’t. So remember to keep it professional in every response. In this article we will look at the things you can to improve your customer support and take your service to the next level.
Difficult Customer Experience
Here are a few typical scenarios with different types of difficult customers and our suggestions on how to handle them.
The Impatient Customer
The impatient customer has a reason for the impatience. Maybe they waited on the phone for a long time or are running late for another appointment. When they finally reach you with their problem, they will try to transfer that hesitation to you and demand a resolution fast.
Be patient with them and explain the reason for the delay without dismissing their urgency and their issue. On the contrary, show them how much you value them and that their problem is as important to you as it is to them. Show your customer how much effort and time you invest in resolving their problems and guide them patiently if they also need to do something in this situation.
Always keep the conversation on the positive side. If they are waiting for a delivery that didn’t come through, show that you are working on sending the item again, or you are tracking the parcel and tell them where it is in real-time. Make sure you answer with the same patience and positivity any other questions they may have.
The Angry Customer
The angry customer is usually the one who is unhappy with the end result of their purchase, or there has been another issue that hasn’t been resolved before that. There could be multiple reasons a customer to get upset, and they usually demand. They are among the most difficult to handle, because you cannot simply offer them to replace their product.
In cases like this, you need to start your conversation with the customer by apologizing for their inconvenience and try to resolve the situation by pointing out different options for them right away. Show them empathy with the difficulty they faced, and make sure that you keep the conversation short and to the point. The longer you keep conversing with them, the more opportunity your customers will have to find other reasons to be dissatisfied with your product or service. Work only towards resolution for the issue they have now. It will be hard to make them happy, so aim at keeping them satisfied.
The Unhappy Customer
Even after everything you offered your customer, they are still unhappy and dissatisfied. It feels like you can’t win this battle. What can you do with this type of a client?
The approach between the angry and unhappy customer is similar in a way. You have to start by apologizing for their dissatisfaction, regardless if your product is great and you are right. Summarize their options for refund, restock or offer them something else within the frameline of your policy. During the conversation, try to agree with them as much as possible and don’t demize their issues. Be empathetic and pay attention to everything they say.
A Customer Demanding Refund
This customer can be angry, dissatisfied, unhappy, and even impatient. That’s the most difficult of all customers. They want their money back because they see no other resolution to their problem. Requesting a refund is usually the last resort for customers when they are so unhappy and disappointed with a service or a product that they don’t want it anymore.
However, you have to consider that they might have just changed their mind, and now they don’t want what they received.
Every company has a different refund policy and reasons for taking or not taking a product back. Even though, in these cases, it is best to give a full refund, you can also offer credit or vouchers instead. When the issue is resolved, and they agree on a refund option, the client knows how this process works and how long it would take to receive their refund or credit.
Better Customer Service, Happier Clients
Here are some strategies and tools you can effectively apply to help your customer service team excel and get ahead of the competition, making your clients happy and satisfied.
CRM Automation
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) automation is a method of automating repetitive tasks regarding handling customers. This type of automation is vital for any eCommerce business, regardless if it is a B2C or B2B.
Successful CRM strategies help companies manage and analyze their customer relationships, using the data to improve the customer lifecycle and increase customer retention, driving more sales and ultimately leading to more growth. Using CRM automation systems helps you gather data from different channels and improve the communication between the company and the customers.
Real Live Tracking
Keeping your customers in the loop about the arrival of their package is a must today. Providing a tracking number today is not enough. Customers are used to a whole new system – real live tracking apps and tools. They will be thrilled if you give them something they can check-up at any time and find out where their parcel is. That will help them feel reassured that their products are coming. And that will give you free time and help you focus your efforts and resources on other customer service enquires that need attention and require issue resolution.
Trained Customer Support Teams
Providing great customer experience (CX) is vital for your company. That’s why one of the most effective ways to shine and outrun your competition is with an excellent team. But a great team doesn’t come together in day. That’s why training your customer service staff is crucial for your company. Gather your customer support team and establish clear processes, especially those they will have to repeat daily. Encourage them to be patient and supportive. Talk them through and show them the successful strategies to help them handle difficult customers.
Provide your customer support team with the latest digital tools to help them be more efficient. They will be the guides of your customers on their journey towards purchasing. Create a favorable omnichannel environment for them so to effectively manage customer requests.
Live chat
Customers want to talk to a real person. Every customer thinks their question is the most important, urgent, and unique, which hasn’t been answered on your website. Offering them live support can really bring your business to a new level.
Although phone support is the most common way of communicating with your clients, emails usually take too long to respond, and for some companies it takes more than a few hours to respond to inquiries. That’s where live chat comes in. If you want to respond to your customers before they go and buy your products from your competitors, you need to consider adding live chat to your customer service.
Improve Efficiency
Improving efficiency is crucial for improving customer satisfaction. That means taking a good hard look at your customer service strategy and customer interactions, and enhancing the quality of customer engagement. If you are a company with a good reputation, you already have great customer relationships.
See what works and see where you might have weak points to improve. If you don’t look for constant improvement and always give more to your customers, it is possible to reach a point of stagnation. That’s why improving your efficiency, and the customer’s journey is crucial for the growth of your business.
Encourage Customer Reviews
Encouraging customer reviews will improve trust. When people see that your business has a lot of positive reviews, they will be more willing to purchase from you. Organic customer reviews work like a charm for any business. Customer reviews will not only improve your online presence but improve customer experience and retention and boost sales. Customer reviews often turn out to be the deal-breaker when converting prospects into buyers.
Did you know that 89% of customers read online reviews before visiting a company? 72% of consumers say they trust a business more if they see positive reviews. Also, 84% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. The data also shows consumers will spend 31% more on products or services if the business has positive reviews. And here comes the big one: 98% of consumers say that reviews are essential for purchasing decisions.
In Conclusion…
Handling difficult clients and situations that demand urgency for your customers may seem like a hassle and a battle you can’t win. But today, there are multiple ways to make your customer service better, train your customer service better and handle even the most difficult clients with ease. There are plenty of innovative solutions and out-of-the-box strategies to help you and your support team excel in customer service and handle customers in an omnichannel environment that works well for everyone and leads to win-win scenarios you and your clients.
