How To Turn An Angry Customer To An Advocate

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It doesn’t matter how great your service or products are, and in reality, not all Customers will love you or be satisfied. In fact, many of them may not even like you. On some days you might be referred to in derogatory terms such as – useless, incompetent, fraud, or other unsavory terms. It comes with the job in Customer service (Don’t take it personally).

Angry Customers are actually a good thing

No matter how tough or rude the Customers get – Don’t pray for passive Customers. The most dangerous thing for any business is having customers who do not care. They look at your product and move along. They never engage, they never care, you’ll never get feedback from them & they’ll never tell others about you.

Angry Customers are a good thing because at least that means they care. An angry Customer is someone who cared and was disappointed. Perhaps the customer thinks your product is too complicated to use, too expensive, or not effective enough, or that your services are slow. Whatever the reason, they want your product to be better than it currently is.

So, how do you turn an angry customer into an advocate?

Here are 7 steps you should take in converting irate customers to raging advocates –

1. Stay calm.

self-control

If someone is screaming at you, it is easy to get angry yourself. when dealing with an angry customer who is frustrated by a perceived failure by your organization being calm & composed is important.

Understand that in most cases the customer is upset with something that has nothing to do with you personally. Remain calm and treat them with respect. Your calm and respectful composition will help calm them down.

2. Empathize

When customers reach out for service, they want to be heard and feel like the person on the other end of the conversation truly understands what they’re going through.
In order to Empathize appropriately, it is important to listen actively to everything the Customer has to say (Even if he’s screaming)

Marketing is all about making believers out of nonbelievers, and making friends out of enemies. When you see things the customer’s way it’s easy to understand their complaint. Sympathize, apologize, and make it right — and you’ve got a loyal customer for life. – Franchesca Hughes (Marketing VP at Secured Loan Expert)

Empathy is like the oil that lubricates the engine which drives complaints resolution (Read: Empath & It’s role in complaint resolution). When you show that you care, customers respond well and remember you positively. That positive feeling stays with them and they remember it the next time they use your product.

See also  Infographic: How To Make Customers Fall In Love With Your Brand

3. Listen Actively

Respond quickly and clearly, demonstrating that you understand why they are angry. Many people get angry just because they feel ignored.

Learning how to listen actively is important not just in Customer Service but in interpersonal relationships as well. Don’t interrupt, finish sentences or put words into the speaker’s mouth, just listen. A simple nod here and there to show you’re paying attention would suffice until the speaker has finished communicating.

4. Apologize 

im-sorry-note
Image credit: www.chatelaine.com

Let the Customer know that you are genuinely sorry that for whatever the problem is (regardless of whether or not you think they are overreacting). And don’t make excuses or trade blame, it only worsens things.

Along with empathy, an honest apology can go a long way. Sometimes angry Customers just want someone to apologize to them for the bad experience.

5. Offer Solution

If you listened actively, you’ll have heard what the customer is upset about. DO NOT tell the Customer what you can’t do, tell the Customer instead, what YOU CAN DO to remedy the situation. Sometimes, you can’t fix the problem, but you can always find a way or an alternative to make it up to the customer. The degree to which you do so will go a long way towards converting your angry customers into advocates.

6. Take Feedback from their pain

The old adage, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” applies to complaint resolution. If one angry Customer tells you about a problem, how many experienced a similar issue and just didn’t mention it? (Passive customers)

Complaining Customers are most likely to remain loyal if their complaints are resolved effectively, and will even recommend your brand to more people, this creates a positive brand perception and makes the complaining Customer profitable

Take that feedback and show that you are listening through product improvements and ask them what they think after the improvements are made, this way the Customers feel valued.

See also  Asking The Right Questions, In the Right Way

7. Follow Up

Follow Up On Customer ComplaintsTaking the time to follow up with the customers to ensure they are happy & satisfied with the resolution of their concerns is the next most important step to take after resolving a complaint.

Follow up on customer complaints even after resolution, it will prove to them that they’re important to your organization and that you actually care about them (Read: Why You Should Follow Up On Customer Complaints). This extra effort can make the difference between losing a customer or winning an advocate.

When Customers feel valued, service is perceived as being better and they’ll want to do more, including telling other people how great your products & services are!

 

Kelechi Okeke
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