I was absorbed by Kissmetrics’ blog on “5 Ways to Turn Your Unhappy Customer into a Valuable Resource” because it taught me things that I never thought of before, concerning how to respond to customer complaints

The blog talks about how to accept critics, use it as an opportunity to improve customer service and get back customers. To make customers feel heard, firms should avoid immediately “jumping to a resolution” and instead take time to understand their problem and find a suitable solution. I do agree that if a firm acknowledges my discontentment and remediating to the situation, I would feel that they have actually taken my complaint into consideration. The attention I receive shows how they value me as a customer and I would thus be more tolerant to their mistake.

The firm’s role is to remediate to the problem and do whatever he can to accommodate the customers’ need, even if the problem cannot be fixed. As two popular quotes say, “Customer is King” and “The customer is always right”, which shows the importance of treating customers well. We, as customers, have power over businesses, in the sense that it is we who create demand for a product. Thus, not only will a dissatisfaction regarding a product or service impact on the unhappy customer’s repeat purchases, but it may also influence potential customers and other loyal clients. With the increasing role of social media in customers’ daily life, “damage control” is an important point that businesses should take into consideration.

The blog’s explanation concerning the idea that

“an unhappy customer that’s transformed into a delighted one becomes even more loyal than a satisfied customer”

was very enriching. Again, as I put myself into the unhappy customer’s shoes, I realize that what the blog says totally makes sense. If after encountering an issue with a firm the latter responds by offering me a stellar service, I would contentedly look forward to my next visit and would straightaway talk about it to my friends, which creates positive word-of-mouth for that firm.

Hence, businesses should not disregard complaints but instead seize this opportunity, by using them as feedbacks to improve customer service and compete better against competitors.

Image sources:
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01484/PF-bank-complaints_1484688c.jpg
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