π‘Bill Gates once said, "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning".
Yet many small businesses choose to either defame, blame or ignore them instead of finding out the real cause of their grumblings and use this information to improve their business.
So here's 7 tips to turn your difficult customers into ambassadors for your small business:
π7 Tips To Turn Your Difficult Customers Into Ambassadors
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#1 ENSURE ANY COMMUNICATION IS WRITTEN WITH THE CUSTOMER IN MIND
Too often, small businesses write in jargon and industry terminology rather than in language the customer can quickly and easily understand.
So check any material you're providing to ensure you're writing from their perspective and using their words rather than your own.
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#2 DEVELOP A 'FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS' (FAQS)
FAQs, placed on your website and provided to new and existing customers, can not only minimise phonecalls and emails but help them (and you) understand what's involved.
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#3 DEVELOP A 'SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW' LETTER
Too often, we assume customers know how our products and services work, and what needs to be done when; when the reality is they don't.
I've worked with many building designers and builders whose customers, particularly residential ones, have never built a house or undertake renovations before.
Yet they provide the customer with so much information about what will happen throughout the building process verbally, with little or no written documentation to back up the conversations.
And we wonder why customers keep ringing and emailing with questions!
So provide a simple 'so what happens now' letter outlining what will be done, by whom and when so they can refer to it throughout all stages of work.
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#4 PROVIDE PROGRESS UPDATES
Using the same building example, even with a 'so what happens now' letter, customers still need to be advised about where their job is at, particularly when they see materials on their property with little or no action for a while because of rain and other circumstances.
It's really important to understand the customer believes their job is your number one priority but as you know, that's not the case.
So please continue to email or phone them and advise how the job is tracking in relation to the initially agreed completion dates.
Customers don't mind if the answer is 'nothing has happened yet or we're still waiting for X to provide us with Y'.
What they don't like is silence.
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#5 KEEP TO YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS (T&Cs)
I'm sure you've got terms and conditions which clearly outline what will happen when the customer doesn't pay on time etc.
BUT if you continue with the work and don't enforce your T&Cs, all you're doing is educating your customers that it's OK not to follow procedures (and that you are happy to work for FREE!).
And remember: if you're not going to enforce parts of your T&Cs, then remove them.
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#6 GAIN REGULAR FEEDBACK
It's essential to gain feedback from customer consultations and feedback forms β both during and upon completion of the product/service you're providing.
But more importantly, is the process you have to review and act upon the feedback as well as having an open mind to new ideas to keep improving your business.
Again, no point asking for customer feedback if you do nothing with it.
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#7 TO CHARGE OR NOT TO CHARGE... THAT IS THE QUESTION!
We all understand that sometimes agreed work needs to change.
But if a customer changes the brief and you don't enact a variation process (as per your T&Cs), this means work is undertaken for free rather than you making an informed decision about whether the customer should be charged for this change or not.
Consequently, customers start believing that every change isn't chargeable rather than being 'educated' about what changes do and do not constitute additional fees.
