No business owner wants to discuss the fact that he/she has lost customers. It’s an unfortunate reality that comes for every entrepreneur, no matter the industry. There’s always bound to be some reason that a consumer will become dissatisfied with a brand. The most successful businesses, however, come up with ways of retaining customers and even bringing back the ones they’ve lost. And that’s because they follow a set number of customer-wowing techniques.
Do you want to know what they are? Here are three ways to win back customers you may have lost:
1. Put yourself in their shoes. The second you go into defence-mode when a customer calls you is the second you’ve likely lost him/her. Don’t make excuses for the poor performance that has caused your customer frustration. Instead, imagine what it would be like to be that customer. Express your understanding and your acknowledgement that you would feel the same way if presented with the same circumstance.
In other words, it’s important to express empathy. This communicates that you’ve truly listened to the problem and know why it has created such an inconvenience. “I can appreciate how upset you are that the item didn’t get delivered on time. I know what it’s like to be kept waiting for an important package, and it’s not all that fun”. This is a great example of an empathetic statement that puts you in the shoes of your customer. Such a statement will really make a difference.
2. Do more than what your customers would expect from you. How do most businesses handle customer complaints? Often, they will provide refunds. Sometimes, they will issue discounts on future purchases. And other times, they may offer items for free. While these are often seen as adequate resolutions, there are more impressive ways to truly win your customers back. Sometimes, it’s worth going over and above the call of duty.
Here’s an example given to us by one of our colleagues. “I once ordered a dishwasher from this department store to be delivered to my house. When it arrived, it was the wrong colour, so I had to send it back. The second one that came as a replacement was the wrong model. I was totally frustrated. When I got on the phone and made sure I was speaking to the boss, he told me to come into his store to choose any model and any colour dishwasher I wanted. Of course, I chose his top-of-the-line model! And I was pretty impressed at the way he made up for the mistakes.”
3. Prove that you’re sorry. It should go without saying that a sincere apology should be delivered to any customer who has encountered a negative interaction with your company. However, there is a huge difference between saying that you’re sorry and actually proving that you mean it. Firstly, be sure to make your apology genuine. That’s a no-brainer. But, secondly, do your part to follow up with your customer.
Don’t take for granted that the apology was all that was necessary to save your customer from retreating to your competition. Call your customer a few days after your encounter to ensure that all is well. You may want to simply make sure that he/she received whatever it is you promised and take the opportunity to ask if there’s anything else you can do. Often, retaining a customer is achieved through your genuine attempts to make up for your mistake.
At MeloTel, we pride ourselves on our customer service. And we’d love for you to experience it first-hand! If you have any questions about our VoIP-based Commercial Phone Services or any other service we offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can give us a call at 1-888-MELOTEL or you can use the “Live Chat Support” feature on our website!
