The Complaining Customer-predict her!
Posted by Ajay Kelkar on Fri, May 08, 2009
The complaining customer - we just can’t stand them! Well, most of us can’t stand them. The reality is that business organizations should love them. Shep Hyken comments that "A complaining customer tells you where you can improve. They actually come forward and show us where we make mistakes. But, most of the time, people hate to hear the complaints. First, a few facts you should know about people who complain. Most of the time, when people have a complaint, they complain to everyone else rather than the person or people who caused the complaint. If you resolve your customers’ complaints, you will keep them most of the time. But first you have to know there is a complaint. So, how can we find those complainers? Well, most likely customers won’t tell us, so, we have to ask them. It is that simple. Call them up or ask them in person. Actively solicit feedback to find out what they are thinking."
And most criticaly use Customer behaviour data to spot Customer service failures as they occur. Customers are constantly leaving behind a data footprint of "failed brand promises". Direct data analytics to spot incidents of customer promises "not met". The crux of " Analytical marketing" is using data to drive an improved customer experience. Imagine if a bank were to call you up and say " I am sorry sir ,we are one day behind schedule on your cheque book request,please accept our apologies and your cheque book will be with you tomorrow morning". Or better still build predictive models to find customers where "service levels are likely to slip" and then proactively monitor that customer's transactions to create a moment of delight.
And when you find a problem or complaint, resolve it on the spot. No company is perfect. So find out what those imperfections might be. And, when you hear about a problem, fix it. And make sure you give that customer a reason to come back so you can do it right the next time. Take that moment of misery and turn it into a MOMENT OF MAGIC.See what Shep Hyken has to say about ‘The Complaining Customer’http://www.hyken.com/Article_11.html