Huh? Encourage complaints? Why would I do that? Well, forward-thinking companies encourage their customers to complain, and the sooner the better. If you think this sounds counter-intuitive, read on:
- Things do go wrong from time to time. The good news is that if you fix the problem quickly and effectively, you will win a customer for life.
- It costs way more to get a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer – in some sectors it costs up to five times more. So it makes sense to keep the customers you have happy.
- Research shows that for every cent a company spends on improved customer service, they see a return on investment of 34% to a massive 400%.
- Most people, 60 – 75 %, will do business with a company again if it deals with a customer service issue fairly – even if the result is not in their favour.
- If you resolve a complaint quickly and with little fuss on the part of the customer, studies show that nine out of 10 customers will buy your product or use your service again.
- Typically we tell more people about bad service than good service. And thanks to the impact of the Internet, the number of people that can be reached about poor service has just sky rocketed. United Airlines found this out when 5.8 million people watched the clip “United Breaks Guitars” on YouTube.
- It’s the law! The Consumer Protection Act will come into effect in South Africa in October 2010. This law makes South African consumers some of the most protected in the world, and also gives customers the right to be heard and receive compensation if they have been unfairly treated. This specifies that businesses need to offer accessible complaints and compensation methods.
- 90% of customers don’t complain directly to the company. They simply take their business elsewhere and tell all their friends.
- Up to 75% of people who lodge a complaint on getclosure say they tried to approach the company and weren’t happy with how their complaint was dealt with, or that they simply did not get a response.
- Also thanks to the Internet, it is so much easier to get comparative ratings of companies before you decide where you want to spend your money. If you haven’t been dealing with complaints effectively, your rankings are going to reflect this.
Can you think of other good reasons to encourage complaints? Jot them down below.
You can find out more about customer service by checking out our Don’t Complain Campaign.
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