3.06 It's handled

Businesses benefit greatly when customers are satisfied. When a customer has a complaint, it creates a perfect opportunity for a business to ensure the customer ends up happy. Let’s look at four major advantages of handling customer complaints successfully:

Goodwill. Goodwill is a positive feeling a person has toward a business. All of a business’s activities—from personal interaction to advertising to community involvement—affect this feeling or image. Handling customer complaints appropriately also promotes goodwill. Although customers may forget the specifics about a complaint, they will remember the pleasant or unpleasant manner in which the business dealt with them.

Increased sales. Each complaint is a chance to satisfy the customer and to increase sales. Frequently, customers will make additional purchases at the time of the complaint if they are satisfied with the way in which it was handled. And, there’s a good chance they will become repeat customers as well.

Don’t forget that the positive feelings generated by settling customer complaints appropriately will be transmitted to others through word of mouth. As a result, new customers may be attracted to you and to your business, which may also increase sales.

More accurate product and marketing information. Businesses can use the information derived from complaints when making future purchases, preventing many new complaints before they occur. If a certain product generates a lot of customer complaints, for instance, the business might want to discontinue selling that product and find a suitable replacement. Handling a complaint may also give the business an opportunity to collect the customer’s contact information so it can send marketing communication (coupons, birthday cards, etc.) in the future.

Increased employee confidence. No employee wants to deal with an unhappy customer. It’s hardly a fun experience. However, each time an employee gains experience successfully handling a customer complaint, his/her confidence will increase. In addition to the personal benefits for the employee, this confidence strengthens the business’s continued efforts to handle complaints appropriately.