We talk all the time about how broad the demands on customer service are today. There are so many channels that customers utilize to reach out to us through. But if we are only monitoring the obvious social media channels, we’re missing great opportunities to shine.
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Photo by M. Rehemtulla
Unhappy customers come in three varieties:
- Those who are silently unhappy
- Those who voice their unhappiness directly to us
- Those who voice their unhappiness directly to other/potential customers
With the first type of customer, our brand identity can be cultivated to be more approachable or welcoming of feedback and we can proactively seek their feedback. These steps can help foster strong relationships with our quietest customers.
The second type of customer is obviously the kind we typically deal with in an ordinary day.
The third type of customers are often the scariest for a company as their negative experiences or feelings are broadcast onto the screens of prospects who google their way onto a Yelp, Amazon, or other bastion of consumer reviews. What should we be doing about it?
The first step is to ensure that we are actively aware. It is our duty to find customer pain points so that they can be fixed, thus we need to religiously monitor our product listing reviews, blog reviews, and company reviews. But this isn’t simply about data capture. Finding these customers and then working to proactively contact them and solve their problems is what sets apart the average companies from the exceptionally customer-focused ones.
In the pursuit of producing satisfied customers, we’ll also gain a reputation for going out of our way to make it right. Our customers who are most inclined to complain to others are also those most likely to go back to those very same audiences with their new stories of incredible service.
Take Ricardo’s experience as an example, “I had ordered a sold out sweatshirt that I found on Amazon from some reseller. When I got it, I washed it and it came out all crazy. It shrank and some of the color bled. I posted a review talking about what happened and saying that people should save their money because the company that made it produced a bad product. Someone from the actual shirt company saw my review and contacted me. He offered to replace my shirt even though I didn’t buy it directly from them! He said they stood by their products, and as long as it was authentic, they’d happily give me a new one that was up to standard. Within a week I had a new, awesome sweatshirt. That was amazing service! I changed my review to explain what happened and how happy I was. And I’ve bought more clothes from them.”
By becoming aware of customer needs that aren’t delivered through more direct channels and proactively inserting ourselves into the conversation, we gain new opportunities to make things right, to build our brands, and to create lasting loyalty with our customers.
Where do you think you can discover service cases you weren’t previously aware of?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]