Dealing With Angry Customers and the importance of Customer Service Marketing 1

Why is Customer Service Important? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Customer Service Customer Service refers to the performance of value-added activities designed to enhance and facilitate the sale and fully satisfying use of a product before, during, and after the sale

Customer Service CS includes a wide array of activities, such as: Providing information, technical assistance and order processing Timely delivery, installation, maintenance, and product repair

Customer Service CS can be seen as: A powerful way to build goodwill and engender trust because it shows that the salesperson is not opportunistic An investment in customer retention and future sales A strategy for increasing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty resulting in repeat purchases, increased revenues, and higher profits

Customer Satisfaction Keeping satisfied customers is a lot cheaper than finding new ones Studies have shown that it is five to six times more costly to attract new customers as to keep current ones

Reasons for a Customer Complaint Complaints about products Faulty design or poor product quality Improper labeling (e.g., incorrect size, color, material, etc.) Improper buying decisions (e.g., lack of information, improper product use, lack of assistance by the salesperson, etc.)

The Dissatisfied Customer Dissatisfied customers can have an extremely negative impact on companies and their salespeople because: Customers are less likely to buy again if a problem is not resolved satisfactorily Dissatisfied customers are likely to switch suppliers Dissatisfied customers are likely to tell other people about their bad experience

How to Deal with a Customer Complaint Customer complaints are opportunities to improve relationships with customers Some guidelines for handling customer complaints are: Anticipate customer complaints and resolve them before the customer expresses them Listen closely to complaint without interrupting Never belittle a complaint Encourage customers to talk and fully express their feelings

Continued… Never argue with customers or take their complaints personally Record the facts as the customer sees them Let customers know you understand their complaints Empathize with the customer and see the problem from his or her view Don't make excuses for service problems nor criticize service personnel

Walmart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcpL1HA45Hw

Scenario A woman calls a carpet cleaning company to utilize a special coupon she received in the mail to clean three carpets at a discounted price. The appointment is set and the cleaning crew arrives on time and gets to work while the woman heads off to run some errands. Upon returning home, the crew is gone and as she wanders through the areas cleaned, she notices a large yellow stain the crew was unable to remove. She calls the company to compain…..

Classwork/Assignment You are going to write two scripts involving this scenario. One script should show how not to handle a customer complaint, and the other should show how to properly handle the same complaint.