Customers can be frustrating. Depending upon your recent interactions with customers, you may be thinking, Can be? You might say, “Customers are frustrating!”
What often generates frustration with customers is satisfying their requests. They contact your business and state what they want. You and your staff give them what they want, and sometimes they aren’t happy. At times they complain about little things that aren’t quite right. You fix one of those complaints, and another pops up. Each one annoys you and your staff further until you do not want to have anything else to do with those customers. At that point, you are willing to do whatever it takes to get those customers off your back.
Your problem with these customers began when they first contacted your business.
“Tell me about it!” you say.
No, I’m not being sarcastic. When they told you what they wanted, you took them at their word and helped them get it. You didn’t ask questions to find out if they actually knew what they were talking about. In this day and age of customers researching online before they buy, customers contact us with what they want. However that doesn’t mean they know what they really need.
Today more than ever customers want to be educated. They want to understand. That’s why they research online. As businesspeople, we can help them immensely by giving them the benefit of our expertise, which only comes from experience. We know our products and services better than customers do. We know what has worked and not worked for other customers. We know information that they cannot find online or anywhere else.
How do you share your information with them?
Ask questions. Rather than fulfilling their requests immediately when they contact you, take time to ask them questions. Use these to clarify what they want. While they may think they know what they want, when you ask them questions you may discover that they want something else. What they really want may not be satisfied by what they think they want to buy.
If you find that to be the case, direct them to what will truly satisfy their wants. Tell them why you recommend it. Display your expertise and credibility in the process. They will respect you for it. They will appreciate your telling the truth and sharing your knowledge. They will discern that you have their interests in mind. As a result, your will sell them what they really want.
Best of all, you will create a truly satisfied customer and avoid future frustrations.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What have you done to deal with frustrating customers? E-mail me your answer.
What often generates frustration with customers is satisfying their requests. They contact your business and state what they want. You and your staff give them what they want, and sometimes they aren’t happy. At times they complain about little things that aren’t quite right. You fix one of those complaints, and another pops up. Each one annoys you and your staff further until you do not want to have anything else to do with those customers. At that point, you are willing to do whatever it takes to get those customers off your back.
Your problem with these customers began when they first contacted your business.
“Tell me about it!” you say.
No, I’m not being sarcastic. When they told you what they wanted, you took them at their word and helped them get it. You didn’t ask questions to find out if they actually knew what they were talking about. In this day and age of customers researching online before they buy, customers contact us with what they want. However that doesn’t mean they know what they really need.
Today more than ever customers want to be educated. They want to understand. That’s why they research online. As businesspeople, we can help them immensely by giving them the benefit of our expertise, which only comes from experience. We know our products and services better than customers do. We know what has worked and not worked for other customers. We know information that they cannot find online or anywhere else.
How do you share your information with them?
Ask questions. Rather than fulfilling their requests immediately when they contact you, take time to ask them questions. Use these to clarify what they want. While they may think they know what they want, when you ask them questions you may discover that they want something else. What they really want may not be satisfied by what they think they want to buy.
If you find that to be the case, direct them to what will truly satisfy their wants. Tell them why you recommend it. Display your expertise and credibility in the process. They will respect you for it. They will appreciate your telling the truth and sharing your knowledge. They will discern that you have their interests in mind. As a result, your will sell them what they really want.
Best of all, you will create a truly satisfied customer and avoid future frustrations.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What have you done to deal with frustrating customers? E-mail me your answer.
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