Many customers care about your business. Not all customers are “pyschos” looking for the slightest slip up to drag your business’s reputation on social media. It is your job to identify them, listen and look to address their concerns. Do not squander the valuable 20%.
I have heard some entrepreneurs downplay the importance of customer experience and instead boast of the quality of their product. Business owners without a powerful sense of purpose or customer-oriented approach typically fall into this category. That is a very tight rope to walk in today’s rapidly changing business environment. When a better product spring ups, then what? It is not a sustainable plan. Here are a few things you need to start taking seriously.
Complaints
Pay attention to recurrent themes. The complaints that keep resurfacing. And often, you can differentiate between complaints coming from customers that genuinely care from just unreasonable people. You know the ones that want you to sell potatoes for the same price as they would get directly from the farmer at some remote farmland.
When such complaints come up, several other customers are experiencing the same but would rather vote with their feet and move on. Therefore, entrepreneurs or those they have empowered to engage customers must welcome and see the complaints as an opportunity to improve the product or service. It may not be the type of news we would love to hear, nonetheless, think about it this way. Unlike those that said nothing, these other customers are going out of their way to help.
Suggestions
Where some customers drop complaints, some others offer suggestions. Again, if you can break away from your biases, you should be able to tell the difference between workable suggestions and simply ridiculous ones. You know the ones that will suggest you bring a high-end franchise to a community where majority of the people cannot afford the product or service of that franchise.
Some customers are that creative and care that much for your business. Because your business is serving a need, they will go the extra mile and suggest solutions that can make your business deliver better. It is a win-win for them, so they will gladly share these suggestions with you.
Finally, a caveat. As customers can go out of their way to share complaints or proffer solutions, they can also go out of their way to get even. This tends to happen when customers feel neglected, ignored, or mistreated by an uncaring business. There are lots of companies out there that fit this description. Do not add your business to that extensive list.
