Ineffective communication will cost you.

Did you know that two-thirds of consumers have ‘ended a relationship’ with a retailer because of one bad experience and that 61% of people have taken their business to competing brands?  This is what a report by analysts from Greenfield Online, Datamonitor/Ovum and Genesys shows.  The report indicates that more than $80 billion is lost each year because of bad customer experiences. [1]

In such a competitive market, this is the last thing you need happening!   Furthermore, providing good customer experiences should be paramount in your business strategy.  You can do this by communicating with your customers effectively.  Here are a few ways you can do this.

Responding to a Claim When Your Company is at Fault

First of all, make sure to know your company’s policies, which may dictate certain legal and financial steps to be taken.  Your message to your customer should do the following:

·         Acknowledge receipt of the customer’s claim or complaint.

·         Take (or assign) personal responsibility for setting matters straight.

·         Sympathize with the customer’s inconvenience or frustration.

·         Explain precisely how you have resolved or plan to resolve the situation.

·         Take steps to repair the relationship.

·         Follow up to verify that your response was correct.

Other steps you can take include to be sure to maintain a professional demeanor and do not blame anyone in your company.  Do not exaggerate or provide insincere apologies.  Also, do not promise more than you can deliver.

Responding to a Claim When the Customer Is at Fault

Communicating about a claim when the customer is clearly at fault is a complicated matter.  If you refuse the claim, you may lose the customer and his/her colleagues who will only hear one side of the story.  Moreover, you must weigh the cost of accommodating the customer’s request and the possibility of losing the business of one or more customer.

If you choose to grant the claim, you can just open with the good news.  The body of the paragraph, however, will be tricky to write.  You want to discourage the customer from making similar claims in the future.   Sometimes they don’t read the instructions to an apparatus, or they might not read the terms and conditions of a service.  Whatever the case may be, you want to steer them in the right direction by diplomatically reminding the customers of the proper usage or procedures without sounding condescending or preachy.  Don’t forget to close in a courteous manner and thank the customer for their business.

Responding to a Claim When a Third Party Is at Fault

Sometimes neither your company nor the customer is at fault.   Most companies don’t handle the deliveries of their product to the customers and use FedEx or UPS, for example.  In such circumstances, the customer is most likely to hold you responsible.  Therefore, you will have to explain to the customer what went wrong and how the problem will be solved.  It is important to remain professional and withhold from pointing fingers.  After all, the customers only care about their situation being taken care of.

Mending Customer Relations

No business is perfect.  There is bound to be miscommunication, errors in order processing, quality control, etc.  Many times, this will be at the expense of the customer.  However, what makes a company excel is its ability to mend its relationship with the customer by communicating effectively and professionally.  This is an indispensable skill that translates directly to high customer loyalty, a larger client base, and furthermore, a more successful business. 

[1] http://www.bizreport.com/2010/02/report_83_billion_lost_because_of_bad_customer_service.html

By Luis Hernandez