How Easy do You Make it for Your Customers to Complain?

Think about the last several times you had a disappointing experience as a Customer. Did you tell anyone at the company? You left a business frustrated or hung up the phone more stressed than before you called. If you are like most people, you don’t bother to waste your time sharing your displeasure with anyone at the business that disappointed you. Why? Because most Customers don’t think anyone really cares, no one really wants to hear about it, or they will think you are trying to get away with something. So why would a Customer want to waste the time? How often does this play out in your business, Customers leaving unhappy without letting anyone know?

If we are not making it easy for our Customers to give feedback, then it is happening to us more than any of us realize. Our Customers have better things to do with their time than hunt us down and complain and then feel that it didn’t make a difference.

How to get your Customers to share more good & bad

There are several ways to give permission to our Customers to communicate with us. Now, I am not talking about Customer measurement devices that ask Customers their level of satisfaction and how likely they are to refer. While that is vitally important, what I am referring to is something totally different. I’m talking about giving your Customers permission to communicate easily, in a nonthreatening way, and not only giving them permission, but also asking for their advice and their feedback, both positive and negative. Few companies ask their Customers for praise and lose the opportunity to celebrate and perpetuate outstanding performance. However, even fewer companies have the courage to ask their Customers for feedback if their experience was below what they were expecting.

It is so simple. It is just marketing to your Customer on everything: invoices, orders, emails, at checkout, on the website, even in restrooms. Here are some examples of what companies have used:

• “Please tell us about your experience. It is very important for us to know how we are doing.”
• “We want your advice on how we can be better.”
• “Did we hit the mark today? Tell us. Did we miss? Tell us, please!”
• “Was someone a hero for you today? We want to recognize them.”
• “Were we the best part of your day? If you can’t answer yes, we need to know why.”

How accessible are you?

As the owner of a chain of upscale salons and spas in Northeast Ohio, I have always tried to make it easy for guests to get in touch with me. For years I have had signs posted which say: “I want to know about your experience and have provided my direct email.”

I thought this was successful because every so often I would get an email sharing feedback. However, I realized if I really wanted to back up our experience, I needed to show our guests that I was serious about hearing from them. So I added my cell phone number. This is also posted on the John Robert’s website. My salons and spas see over ten thousand Customers every month.

To my surprise, I didn’t get as many phone calls as I thought I would, but what I did get was a dramatic increase in guests emailing me. Even though I had always offered my email in the past, the mere fact that I was willing to share my cell phone number made them realize that I really wanted to know, which made them care more about my business and want to help me by sharing when things are not as good as they could be. The other surprising thing was the increase in positive stories I started receiving. This allowed me to recognize, share, and celebrate these stories company-wide, which in turn perpetuated that type of behavior.

*Early bird pricing ends August 15^th for the 2020 Virtual Customer Service Revolution

Who is ready for COVID-19 to be over?

I am sure you are. Here is the best thing I believe we can all do; prepare yourself that the way we are currently living is going to be here most likely for the next 18 months. Once you resign yourself to that fact, you will make better decisions personally and professionally for long term success. This will allow you to start putting yourself in the best position mentally, emotionally, and physically. Control what you can control—your mental wellness, exercise, diet, and most of all what you feed your brain. In some cases, like the economy, it will get worse before it gets better. We all need to balance realism with optimism.

Episode 015: Cash is King, The Goal is Survival with Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki

In this episode, The DiJulius Group’s Chief Revolution Officer John DiJulius talks with Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki, the man who popularized the term “evangelism.” Guy started his career working directly with Steve Jobs as Apple’s Chief Evangelist.

In this interview with Guy Kawasaki you will learn:

• How Guy was one of my highlights and a lowlight in my speaking career
• How he got started in his remarkable career
• What Evangelist really means
• How to deal with the pandemic
• Which of the 15 books he has written that he recommends and why
• About his Remarkable People podcast
• What Guy wants his legacy to be
• What Guy will be presenting on at the 2020 Virtual Customer Service Revolution

Register now for the 2020 Virtual Customer Service Revolution!Early bird pricing of $349 per ticket, or $999 for a team of 5, is available until August 15th! Register today to secure your spot at the lowest rate!

The 2020 Virtual Customer Service Revolution is every Thursday afternoon in October (1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, & 29^th) from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm EST. We realize, given the current climate, that this might be the most critical conference we have ever put on. That is why we have selected the most amazing, diversified group of experts in all areas of business, motivation, mental health, and physical wellness to ensure you and your team can Reimagine…Revolutionize your current and future state both personally and professionally.