5 Tips on Effectively Communicating with Dissatisfied Customers

Leaving a customer unhappy or dissatisfied with your service can have dire consequences for your business. According to Dimensional Research, 86% of people are not likely to buy from brands having negative online reviews. Many businesses undermine the importance of communicating with unhappy clients and don’t put in any extra effort to address their grievances. If you want your business to have a strong customer base, you need to roll out an effective strategy to communicate with dissatisfied clients. Start off by creating a comfort zone by connecting with them through their preferred channels of communication. It is important to hear out these customers, since they feel that they are not being listened to and feel annoyed and frustrated about it. Apologizing to them and admitting your mistakes is likely to give a gesture that you are sincerely putting in effort to set things right. Here are a few tips that can help you initiate better communication with unhappy customers!

Create a Comfort Zone by Communicating Through Their Preferred Channels

The first step towards effective communication is to create a comfort zone for the person you are trying to talk to. Communicating with dissatisfied clients through their preferred channel of communication is likely to get you better response rate. If a client wants to be contacted through e-mail or prefers talking over the phone, you should initiate the conversation through his/her preferred medium of communication. Moreover, make sure you keep the frequency of e-mails and phone calls to minimum, give a notion that you really want to talk but at the customer’s convenience.

Listen Attentively and Don’t Use Scripted Responses

Active listening is an essential element of effective communication. Train your frontline staff to be active and patient listeners. While communicating with unhappy clients listen to them attentively. It is important to give assurance that you have heard everything they said. Never respond to these clients using scripted messages, responses such as “Let me look into this matter” and “I will try to get this issue resolved” seem pre-drafted, always respond in a friendly and helpful tone and personalize every conversation.

Sincere Apologies Will Make Them Feel You Care

Apologizing to a dissatisfied client would give him/her a gesture that you are admitting your mistake and want to make up for it. Acknowledging their concerns would reduce their frustration and they are likely to listen to you. Make sure you apologize sincerely and give a believable explanation of why you failed to deliver satisfactory service. Convince them that this will not happen again and tell them how important they are to your business and you really want to build trust with them.

Keep Your Tone Polite and Show Eagerness to Help

While communicating with discontented customers, you need to keep your tone polite and show eagerness to help. Even if he/she gets rude or unreasonable, keep your tone calm and offer solutions to the issue. Being courteous and helpful towards these clients would make them feel better. Your prime concern should be rectifying the negative experience, improving your service level according to their expectations and offering agreeable solutions to the problem at hand so that they feel you really want to resolve the issue. Make sure that whatever you promise gets delivered or implemented in minimal time.

Use Empathetic Words and Phrases During the Conversation

Empathy is essential for effectively communicating with dissatisfied customers. You need to make them feel that you understand their emotions and state of mind. Use empathetic words and phrases during the conversation to express the feeling that you can relate to their situation. Words and phrases like “Certainly”, “Surely” “I understand how you feel about this”, “I totally agree” and “I will ensure that” are likely to convey positivity and empathy. Give your customers a gesture that you care about their sentiments and you will try your best to fix things and win their trust.