what stops customers complaining to you
TRANSCRIPT
What stops customers
complaining (to you)@canhoto
www.anacanhoto.com
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
My name is Ana Canhoto.
I am a marketing
academic, teaching and
researching the role of
digital technology and
digital information on
customer management –
for instance, to develop
better customer insight, or
to improve customer
service.© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
But, sometimes, things will go wrong, and
customers complain.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
But, sometimes, things will go wrong, and
customers complain. They talk about you
on their social media updates.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
But, sometimes, things will go wrong, and
customers complain. They talk about you
on their social media updates. They write
blog posts.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
But, sometimes, things will go wrong, and
customers complain. They talk about you
on their social media updates. They write
blog posts. Some even make videos.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
You wish customers had only good things to
say about your company.
But, sometimes, things will go wrong, and
customers complain. They talk about you
on their social media updates. They write
blog posts. Some even make videos.
And the worst part is that these comments
will stay online, influencing future
customers, long after the initial problem has
been solved.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
When something goes wrong, you
really want customers to complain
directly to you.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
When something goes wrong, you
really want customers to complain
directly to you.
So… what’s stopping them?
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
I am going to show you the
3 most common barriersstopping customers from
complaining directly to you.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
READY?
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
First, put yourself in your customer’s
shoes. Your customer is frustrated
because:
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
First, put yourself in your customer’s
shoes. Your customer is frustrated
because:
- s/he got the wrong product,
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
First, put yourself in your customer’s
shoes. Your customer is frustrated
because:
- s/he got the wrong product,
- it took too long for that meal to
arrive,
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
First, put yourself in your customer’s
shoes. Your customer is frustrated
because:
- s/he got the wrong product,
- it took too long for that meal to
arrive,
- or that gadget broke down, already.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Why would they put themselves
through the hassle of filling out a long
and complicated form, calling an
expensive number or waiting for the
relevant manager to be available?
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Why would they put themselves
through the hassle of filling out a long
and complicated form, calling an
expensive number or waiting for the
relevant manager to be available?
This is the first barrier…
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is
unpleasant
Dissatisfied customers will not
contact you if complaining is, frankly,
a pain.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is
unpleasant
Dissatisfied customers will not
contact you if complaining is, frankly,
a pain.
So, take the first step. Reach out to
your customer.© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Ask them whether they are
happy with their purchase, use
feedback cards, subscribe to a
customer feedback service,
etc…
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Ask them whether they are
happy with their purchase, use
feedback cards, subscribe to a
customer feedback service,
etc…
Just make sure that you are
asking the right questions, or the
feedback received will be
useless.© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is
complicated
Customers need to have clarity about
where and how to log their complaint.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is
complicated
Customers need to have clarity about
where and how to log their complaint.
So, let them know how to reach you.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Have the contact details
clearly displayed in your
website, your social media
channels, and your product
packaging.
Also…
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
FAQs pages on your website can be helpful and cost effective.
But they can also be very frustrating.
Make it really easy for customers to find the contacts to your customer support team via the search box in your website.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is subjective
Not all consumption experiences
are the same and, so, not all
customers complain for the same
reason.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Complaining is subjective
Not all consumption experiences are the same and, so, not all customers complain for the same reason.
Research shows that the reason for complaining influences how customers complain. So, you need to have multiple ways of capturing complaints
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Dissatisfied customers may
contact you for one of two
reasons:
• to get compensation, or
• to vent their frustration.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Customers seeking compensation prefer interactive channels such as:
• Face-to-face
• Telephone
• Web-chats
• Or other forms of direct interaction with you.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Conversely, customers who
want to express their frustration
prefer remote channels like:
• Letters
• E-mails
• Or feedback cards.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Let’s recall what we
discussed.
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
These are the 3 barriers stopping
unhappy customers from complaining to
you, directly:
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015
Barrier So…
It prolongs an
unpleasant experience.
You need to take the first step.
They don’t know where
or how to reach you.
Make it super easy to find you.
Your channels do not
meet their needs or
preferences.
Provide interactive channels for
customers seeking compensation,
and remote channels for
customers wishing to vent their
frustration.
Want to know more?
Join the discussion at:
• www.anacanhoto.com
• @canhoto
© Ana Isabel Canhoto 2015