Little Things That Drive Customers Away

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Little Things That Drive Customers Away

When it comes to customers, the little stuff is a big deal. If you're succumbing to these common pitfalls, make a quick change before you push customers away.

JOHN GRAHAM

Despite a lot of talk about creating a great customer experience, many professionals today are overwhelmed with a flood of customer complaints. Most are minor, but these small grievances add up in the customer's mind, and the next thing you know, he or she is gone—for good. Spotting the little stuff that upsets customer is the first step. The next is to doing something about it.

Though well-intentioned, the following actions drive customers crazy, so avoid them at all costs:

1. Sayings things like: "We make it easy." For many customers, these words are a red flag. They’ve been duped too often. What’s easy from a company’s viewpoint may be complicated and confusing to its customers, so try to limit the use of the words "easy" and "convenient." 

2. Counterintuitive websites. If visitors get confused when trying to navigate a website, they leave, unwilling to spend any time trying to figure it out. To be useful as a marketing tool, websites must make sense to users.

3. Making excuses. Replies such as "Sorry you had a problem. I gave that to my assistant to take care of..." or, "I meant to get back to you, but I was in meetings all afternoon" stir up rage and send the message that you are disorganized, distracted or incompetent. Make your practice an excuse-free zone. 

4. A snail's pace. Amazon’s 1-Click Ordering, Apple Pay, and same-day shipping services underscore the fact that fast is never fast enough, and customer expectations will continue to go higher and higher. Slow, by whatever standard, isn’t tolerated. Make sure you're continuously improving your processes to meet rising expectations.

5. Making customers repeat themselves. It's frustrating and there’s no acceptable reason why it should occur. Yet, it happens all-too-frequently. Stay organized, responsive and on top of things if you want to retain clients.

6. Being put on hold endlessly. There is nothing worse that having to hear the same words repeated endlessly: "Your call is important to us. A representative will be with you shortly." After 25 times the voice adds, "We’re sorry for the inconvenience." The message the customer hears is different: "My call isn’t important to you." Customers retaliate by leaving.

7. Inconsistent answers. "My advisor assured me...," says the customer when making an inquiry a week later. "Oh, we’ve never done that," according to someone else. It raises the question, "Can I trust these people? Am I going to get what I expected?" Creating doubt drives customers away.

8. Making customers feel defensive. When customers ask why something occurred without prior notice, avoid statements such as, "We sent an email to everyone and posted a notice." That’s how you make customers feel stupid. A better approach is, "I understand how you feel being that you didn’t get the email notice. I’ll make sure that’s corrected."

9. Lack of knowledge. Today, with instant access to endless sources, customers won’t tolerate a lack of knowledge. If customers want help, they’ll find it. Ignorance isn’t bliss; it’s lost customers.

10. Faking answers to questions. Customers may not know everything, but they can sense when someone is lying. It sounds basic, but employees should be empowered to provide accurate information.

11. Getting passed around. There is nothing more aggravating than to be told, "You’ll have to talk to Martin about that. I’ll transfer you." Then, you hear that Martin is away from his desk or helping other customers. Today, we get one shot at satisfying customers. 

12. Too much change. As mentioned previously, a lack of consistency upsets customers. This applies to all types of change, including phone systems, personnel, website navigation, discounts, policies and product/service availability. Be sure to prepare customers before making even the smallest change. 

13. A lack of communication options. Whether it’s texting, chats or a helpline, make it convenient for customers to get their questions answered. Technology helps maintain customer relationships.

14. Not showing appreciation. No customer likes feeling ignored or taken for granted. Relationship building begins with finding thoughtful expressions for saying "thank you" and "you’re important to us."

15. Ignoring social media. Negative and inaccurate comments from customers on social media are damaging if ignored, but can be a great opportunity to showcase your customer service skills if you respond to them quickly and efficiently.