“I need your help immediately” the young lady entrusted with engaging customers for a multi specialty hospital in the social media was gasping. “One irate and terribly irritating woman is running amok, in the social media space, destroying all that we have created over the years. How do we stop her?”
Before addressing the question, let me tell you about the different kinds of customers who complain, try and understand the mind frames that lead to these complains and then address them in the most effective manner. I learnt this the hard way, having handled consumers for an FMCG product, as well as shareholders for a commodity MNC among others.
There are broadly 5 types of wailing consumers:
- The apologetic. This is a genuine customer who has been forced to complain and is sorry to have been pushed to this state. A simple and immediate response, backed by a genuine apology will in most cases convert him into a brand loyalist. He is just happy to receive communication and gloats at the fact that the company / brand considers him important enough to respond to his complaint.
- The aggressive. Chances are this one is bombastic and vainglorious to boot. They complain often and are loud and repetitive to a fault. They also offer a unique challenge. If you are able to solve the problem in an effective and efficient manner, you can well convert him into a loyalist and use his forces to refurbish your brand’s salience.Contact him directly so has to engage him outside the social media space to restrict the amount of damage he can create. Solve his problem, convert him and then let him loose so that your message can be repeated aided by his vocal advocacy.
- The discerning. They are the ones who demand only the best and are often able and willing to pay the extra bit to get the goods or services they crave for. Normally not the complaining types, they are generally rational people and expect you to hear them out and then address their problem ASAP. Give them the respect they deserve, acknowledge their problem in public and then engage them offline to solve their problems. If satisfied, they are less likely to paint the town red about your effectiveness, but even a mere positive mention by them can do wonders to your efforts as their opinion counts.
- The speculating. These are the fence sitters who spot an opportunity and think they can get some benefit out of the company. They think that their complaints are capable of creating a huge dent in the company’s image and therefore the company will pay a king’s ransom to buy their silence. Most of these complaints are either fake or exaggerated and you will do well to expose them in the social media space as they continue their mischief with a host of entities. They are hard bargainers and whatever you do will not satisfy them as they will want to squeeze more out of you, which is another sure characteristic of the breed. Don’t budge your ground and do not give in to the temptation of trying to buy them out. If you falter, they will go for the jugular.
- The habitual. These are the ones who are always crying. Never satisfied an always complaining, they require a huge amount of patience. You have to remember that it all starts from “the consumer is the king” and however irritating or “wrong” it may be, you have to deal with them. Preempting them is a good strategy – contact them, preferably one on one, off the social media space and engage them in conversations even before they can hit out with the complaints. Assuage their feelings and let them know how much the company values them as consumers and how their feed-backs help the company better itself and its products. Please remember, most often, these people are lonely and are seeking companionship and acknowledgement more than a goody bag.
Now that we’ve been through the rigmarole, how about picking up the phone and calling the irate lady? Hear her out. Take her out of the social media space and solve her problem so that she can get back to hit the like buttons.