It is all thanks to the internet that we can successfully resolve customer issues. The customer is the lifeblood of your business, and that means you have to keep them happy.
Unhappy shoppers tend to talk all about the things that make them feel that way. This can create a domino effect that could reflect negatively on your business.
So eliminating all causes for complaints might just be the thing that your business should focus on. But we all know that doing that is nearly impossible.
Instead, you’re going to have to work case by case and successfully resolve customer issues.
If you’re interested as to how to do that, then you’re at the right place as we’ll give you a full guide about it. So with all that said, let’s start.
1. Listen To Your Customers
Everyone wants their voice to be heard; it’s how we function as humans. And that is no different for the people you cater to. If your business has any sort of customer service, then your employees must listen to the customer.
Whenever someone calls in with a problem, you should be able to resolve it. Regardless of how trivial it might seem, they still come to you with a problem and greatly expect you to resolve it.
And even if you’re fully aware of the problem, allow them to speak first and listen to them. Do not assume that you know what their issue is.
2. Be Positive And Kind
It’s safe to assume that some people are angrier than others. The root cause of the anger isn’t important, what’s important is that your customer has an issue and they are calling in frustrated about it.
It can be quite hard to remain calm whenever someone is shouting at you over the phone. This is truly the hardest thing for call agents to do.
Your employees will need to be trained in how to remain positive and be kind all the time. Everyone can have a bad day but if your service agent has one, then do expect a couple of complaints to be filed against your business.
3. Acknowledge the Issue And Find a Resolution
Once you’ve heard what they have to say, the easiest and best thing to do is simply acknowledge and thank them that they called in for assistance.
We are, again, going back to rule number one, which is to listen. Acknowledging the issue and even repeating it back to them confirms that you’ve been listening to it all this time. This is very simple to do but can have a very powerful effect.
Acknowledging the issue simply tells the customer that the person at the other end understands what they’re going through and will do everything they can to help them.
If you don’t do all this and instead jump ahead to conclusions, then you will make things worse. Eventually, your customers will grow so dissatisfied with your service that they’ll begin to write negative things about your business.
As you would imagine, there is a place where you can do that. Insulting the customer and your business will eventually show up on PissedConsumer.com.
4. Be Available 24/7
If you’re a global brand, then it goes without saying that you need to make yourself available 24/7. Even if you’re catering to a smaller community, the same rules still apply.
Availability is something that everyone can appreciate in this sphere. But we’re not seeing it. Not many businesses are available 24/7 for their customers. Their call services or online chats usually work nine to five, and that isn’t helping those that have a problem with a product or service.
Most businesses lack the manpower to employ 24/7 customer service. But that’s where chatbots and automation come into play.
Chatbots are very effective in resolving the issues of many unhappy shoppers. They can be integrated into your website and your social profiles. Sadly, they can’t speak over the phone.
But that’s not important as you should make your business available on multiple platforms. So if you have a website and social profiles, you will need to implement a chatbot system.
Here are a few reasons why:
· 24/7 Availability
The biggest reason why many businesses are implementing chatbots is the fact that they make themselves available 24/7. Even if some of your customers have a problem and need assistance at 3 in the morning, they can chat with a bot and find a resolution to the problem.
· Very Effective
You can program these bots to be able to assist everyone. Not only that, but some of these bots can be very effective in resolving problems. Bots are so advanced that they deliver real-time solutions to real-time issues. This decreases the number of support tickets, which ultimately takes the burden off your human workforce.
· Very Scalable
And probably the best thing about chatbots is the fact that you can employ hundreds of them to serve your loyal customers.
5. Offer Proactive Resolutions
Sometimes your customers don’t actually want to talk to anyone, they just want to find a solution to their problem. And for that, you will need to be more proactive.
Being proactive simply means providing an answer to a problem that might exist.
Businesses can be proactive in handling complaints in a number of ways. The first one is to simply give the customer an FAQ section. This section should appear on the same page as the “chat with us” option you offer. Instead of getting into a conversation with a bot or an operator, the customer can read the FAQs and find a solution to their problem.
Another great way to be proactive in handling complaints is to offer tutorial-style videos or blog posts. How-to-videos are great for this as they explain the whole process from start to finish. And your customers might find something in these videos that can help them with their problems.
And lastly, you will need to work on creating support content that your customers can see whenever they have a problem.
