Monthly Archives: October 2023

One of the most costly mistakes a business can make is assuming customers are satisfied with their products or services. Some companies believe that if there are no complaints originating from customers, everyone is satisfied.

In fact, customers can be dissatisfied with a product or a service and simply stop doing business with the company. In data reported by Statista, 91% of consumers indicated they would not do business with a company that had failed to meet their expectations after an issue, and 61% of consumers said they had left a brand after a negative experience with customer service.

One of the best ways that any company can take a read on customer satisfaction is to make a follow-up contact part of the sales process. There are many different ways to manage these follow-up calls, which can range from basic options for lower-value types of transactions to more personal attention in follow-ups with B2B and regular clients.

Online Surveys

Sending a follow-up automated email after an online purchase is an effective way to get an accurate picture of how your customer experienced the buying process. These should be short, easy-to-complete surveys with the option for the customer to add additional information if desired.

Ratings, stars, numbers, or other simple forms of online surveys make it easy to collect data from hundreds of customers per day.

Follow-Up Calls

As part of the CRM system, having a follow-up call after a purchase is always a way to check in with the client and proactively address any issues. These should be short calls that are not designed to sell but rather to show interest in the client’s experience with the purchase. These could be alternated with emails or done every quarter with high-volume clients.

Personal Meetings

Personal meetings are an exceptional way to show your clients how important their experience is with the purchase process. These types of meetings are often reserved for significant B2B interactions, but they can also be a great way to address the order following a problem or an issue.

As with the follow-up calls, the personal meetings should be focused on client satisfaction, not on selling or promoting a product or service. Genuine interest in the feedback received during these meetings helps open up the dialogue so you can serve your client best for the future.

In business, mistakes can and do happen. Even with the best automation and processes, errors will occasionally occur that cause a problem for a customer. It may be an overcharge on an invoice, a missed shipment, or an order that arrives that contains the wrong materials.

Regardless of the issue, owning the mistake and making an apology can go a long way to reducing the customer’s anger and salvaging the relationship. Trying to blame others or trying to minimize the issue results in further causing anger and frustration while simultaneously failing to address the concerns of the customer. Perhaps the worst-case scenario is blaming the customer for the mistake. When people are already upset, directing the blame at them, even in an offhanded comment or remark, and potentially end the relationship and cost the business.

Interesting Information on the Art of the Apology

In a study by the Carey School of Business, simply providing a refund, return, or other attempt to correct the situation without giving an apology only satisfied about 37% of customers. This number increases to 74% if the business acknowledges the mistake, apologizes, and also offers credit or otherwise correct the problem.

At the same time, customers who are dissatisfied are more likely to leave negative feedback, ratings, and reviews, which is a consideration for both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce businesses.

Making an apology is not just saying, “I’m sorry”. While this is part of the message, it is not the complete message the customer needs to hear. What is required is a sense of being heard and understood and that the inconvenience caused is not being dismissed by simply getting a refund, discount, or some other product or service.

An effective apology should include several elements:

• Recognition of the customer’s issue – this is not just a simple “I realize you are angry the order is late” statement, but rather the ability to state to the customer, “I understand the late order resulted in problems filling your customer’s orders, and that this had a direct reflection on your business.” This requires the ability to empathize with the problems the error caused for the individual customer. Saying you are sorry for the issue after the customer recognizes that you understand is more effective.
• Ask for a desired resolution – once the customer feels heard and understood, they are more likely to enter into discussions about what is needed to make the situation right. Some customers may want an explanation, others may want a discount or a refund, or some other issue. Work with the customer to resolve the issue to their satisfaction.
• Clarify what is being done – make sure the customer is clear on what is agreed upon as the resolution of the problem or issue. Verify this before ending the conversation.

Follow up with the customer after the corrective action is taken whenever possible. This helps reinforce the responsibility you take in ensuring the problem is fully resolved, and the customer is satisfied.

Setting your business apart from the competition begins with providing additional personal care for each customer. Today, consumers are often greeted with automatic responses and self-serve processes to address any type of question or concern with a product or service.

One of the benefits of being a customer-focused company is the attention to the individual customer. Sometimes called H2H or human to human, the goal of this type of customer service is to continually build relationships between the business and the customer, even when there are difficulties, challenges, or concerns.

Smaller businesses are often more aligned with an H2H approach and going the extra mile than a large national or international company. However, there are many examples of enterprise companies that provide their sales professionals and customer service teams with the ability to resolve problems creatively and to help address any problems the customer reports.

Even in situations where there isn’t a problem, following up with the customer, providing updates on delivery, or providing additional value makes your company stand out from others in the same industry and market.

Go Above and Beyond

Taking the extra step from doing the bare minimum to resolve the problem and help the customer is another advancement over a basic H2H approach. While not always practical for every situation, this above and beyond approach may be the ideal way to retain loyal customers or to help address concerns by cornerstone customers to the business.

Going above and beyond can look very different for specific situations. It may include the sales representative offering a significant discount or arranging for priority delivery to address the customer’s specific concerns. It could consist of a representative from the company personally delivering the product to ensure it arrives on time.

Setting Your Business Apart

Going the extra mile for the customer is not a common experience in today’s marketplace. It is something that customers remember, particularly when the gesture comes from a place of trying to correct the problem or to exceed the expectations by personally following the order or calling the customer with updates on a process or a delivery.

Regardless of the steps the company representative takes, it needs to be an authentic gesture to exceed the expectations of the customer. In essence, it focuses on the relationship between customer and company and reduces the transactional nature of doing business, which always makes a winning combination.

Eye contact is considered a central part of nonverbal communication. While the expectations around eye contact vary between cultures, it is often considered to be a key factor in building trust and showing honesty during communication.

Research shows that eye contact is more than just a polite form of paying attention and signaling that you are listening. In fact, when people look directly at each other’s eyes, they activate the limbic mirror system. This mirroring causes the same neurons to fire in the two brains, which is linked to the development of empathy or shared emotions during communication.

In-Person Meetings

Maintaining eye contact in a personal meeting when you are both physically present in the room can sometimes be awkward, particularly if you are meeting a client for the first time.

The good news is that you do not have to stare directly into the other person’s eyes. In fact, a direct gaze when the other person is speaking signals that you are listening. Make eye contact when first greeting the individual and before you begin talking or reach out to shake their hand.

During the conversation, hold the gaze for up to five seconds, and then you can move your eyes away naturally. If the person is gesturing with their hands or pointing something out, it is very natural to look in that direction. Then, return your gaze.

When breaking your gaze, look to the side and more your eyes slowly and deliberately. Breaking the gaze quickly and darting your eyes back and forth or dropping your gaze can be taken as signs of dishonesty or discomfort.

Virtual Meetings

Nothing is more distracting and off-putting than meeting with someone online looking up, down, or to the side during their presentation or comment. Unfortunately, incorrect placement of the virtual meeting screen and the camera can make it very difficult to make eye contact.

To avoid this problem, look into the camera and not directly at the people on the meeting. If possible, use an external camera that is centered and at a natural eye level with the screen, giving the attendees the impression you are gazing directly at them.

Turn the virtual meeting screen to speaker view and avoid looking off to the side or up and down at the various people, which is something we would naturally do during an in-person conversation. Holding our gaze steady on the camera helps to ensure all attendees feel you are speaking directly to them and making critical eye contact throughout the discussion.

There are many famous quotes about always being two sides to every story. In reality, it is often difficult to see things from another perspective, but for anyone working directly with customers or clients, learning how to shift perspective is a key to retaining customers even in difficult situations.

Imagine a time when you had a problem with a product or service. If the company representative you spoke with did not acknowledge your problem and inconvenience, it is very likely you walked away with a negative impression of the company and the product. On the other hand, if the representative could see things from your perspective and attempt to resolve the issue, it is very likely your opinion would be more positive.

Empathy and Understanding

Customers or clients with a problem want to speak with someone who takes the time to understand their concerns and empathizes with the situation. They want to feel heard, understood, and valued as a client.

When you are able to create that space for the client, it ceases to be a you against the situation. Instead, it becomes the two of you working together on a mutually understood problem.

It is important to realize that empathizing and understanding the problem the customer is experiencing does not mean you are accepting blame or agreeing to the resolution suggested by the client. This stance allows you to work with the client to create a solution that works for you both.

Asking for Suggestions

Understanding the client’s perspective and showing empathy for the challenge they are experiencing makes it easier to brainstorm solutions. As part of this conversation, you can propose ideas that are also up for consideration.

By tapping into the shared perspective, it is easier to make suggestions or propose solutions that will meet the needs of the clients in a creative way. It is also a way to provide education and insight to the client that may address some of the problems they have experienced. Having the discussion from a solution-focused approach rather than an adversarial “I can’t do that” perspective helps to build the relationship even in a less than ideal interaction.

As a professional, focusing on creating a win-win situation is the best solution. The only way to achieve this is if you truly understand the problem from the client’s viewpoint and what the client expects to resolve the problem. Taking the time to ask questions and get the information you need to see the issue from their perspective is time well spent before simply stating the company policy or responding with a cookie-cutter approach to the issue.