And another statistic – every person who dislikes your service will complain to others (80% will tell ten people, 20% will tell twenty people) – or on an average, about 12 others.
Put these two together, and it means that for every actual complaint you’ll receive, there could be a mass of 323 people represented behind it that you will never hear from – but are already turned off by your company.
And the worst – 297 of those are just listening to an unhappy customer, and haven’t even given you a try!
So when you hear a complaint, cherish it – you’ve got a chance to turn someone’s mind, and win back some of those 324. Do that often enough, and you might not get the remainder mad in the first place (those unknowns that will never bother to email you).
As well, make sure your email system makes it very easy to complain – in fact, consider adding an anonymous form on your system to make impulse comments easy. It’s not fun, but if you can nip that negativity in the bud, it will directly affect your bottom line.
And when you do get a nasty email, remember those 323 others!
David,
When most businesses receive a complaint they think, another whiner, I don’t want to deal with this. Your advice on how to deal with these people was never more applicable than in internet marketing, it can be a very faceless business at times. If you can turn one unhappy customer around, that can be a possible 323 new customers.
As Barney Fife said “Nip it, just nip it in the bud”.