Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

One of your biggest assets in business is your customers. If you solve their problems and keep them happy, they will remain loyal to you and send new business your way. Here are three easy tips for taking good care of your customers:

1. Listen. An upset or angry customer often just wants to be heard most of all. Give your customer the benefit of the doubt, and listen to what he needs. Don’t interrupt, even if he’s ranting about how dissatisfied he is. Let him vent, and show empathy for his problem. No matter how off base you may think he is, try to understand where he’s coming from.

2. Act. Once you understand the problem, offer a solution. Extend an apology for the complication, and make sure he’s happy with your idea. If you can’t come up with the answer immediately, find out and get back to him as soon as you can. Save yourself and your customer the headache and hassle of letting the problem drag on. Act on it at once, and resolve the matter.

3. Follow up. Afterward, contact the customer to make sure he’s pleased with the outcome. It’s important to make sure the issue was resolved adequately, and this contact is a great time to make amends and get back on solid footing.

Times of customer distress and dissatisfaction can actually be times of opportunity. If you do an excellent job of solving the customer’s problem, you earn points, trust, and, hopefully, long-term loyalty.

Filed under: Career Commonsense
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