Client Satisfaction - Five Fallacies
If your customers rarely make any complaints, is this low complaint rate really a proper indication of how effective your sales training is and of high customer satisfaction? Or have you merely fallen prey to one of the five common errors sales managers make about customer satisfaction? Test yourself by looking at the following:
Mistake No. 1: The data collected does not accurately represent the nature/volume of the complaints received.
Only a few businesses record client complaints exactly according to number, type, time, degree of gravity and selected solution. An analysis of accurate client complaint data can provide an idea of weaknesses in the product, sales team or quality. Too few businesses see complaints as a "second chance".
A client who takes the time and effort to make a complaint assumes that the problem will be dealt with satisfactorily and that they will be able to continue working with the company. Many sales people, however, are not prepared to pass on negative information.
A high complaint rate is often swept under the carpet or glossed over. This is particularly true if the number of client complaints is increasing.
The second cause of insufficient information lies in the sales route. Some sales channels, for instance in specialist trades, have a strong filter effect. For example, where a specialist trade client uses the supplier channel to lodge their complaints the manufacturer may only hear of the problem second-hand, and then often through rose-tinted glasses.
Mistake No. 2: The information collected does not reflect the extent of dissatisfaction.
Even in companies that have a refined complaint-information system, the extent of client dissatisfaction is often underestimated. This is because most dissatisfied clients do not complain because they think it requires too much effort or they do not know who to address their complaint to. Angry and disappointed, they quietly turn their back on your company and become a negative multiplier - telling their acquaintances what they failed to report to your sales people.
A low complaint rate is, therefore, not necessarily an indication of a high level of client satisfaction. It can also be an indication that your company is not managing to document its handling of complaints.
Mistake No. 3: Assuming loyal clients are satisfied clients.
This is possibly accurate. It may be, however, that some clients have no alternative or that demand is greater than supply. They only buy from you because your competitors cannot yet deliver what they need when they need it.
There is the danger that you will lose these supposedly loyal customers if demand drops or if new suppliers appear on the market.
Another interesting client group are the disinterested clients: they seemingly place no great value on a particular product or service and are not worried about alternatives. In short: they are not particularly satisfied and at best they are not dissatisfied.
But what happens if one of your opponents approaches a disinterested client and shows them an alternative?
Mistake No. 4: Thinking you can iron out technical shortcomings with a smiling face.
Every product, and especially every service, is comprised of two qualities:
On one hand, the technical quality, i.e the question of whether a product functions as expected;
On the other hand, the human quality - and with it the question of whether the sales and service staff are friendly, patient, attentive and polite in their dealings with clients.
It is specifically these human qualities which have recently been increasingly emphasised and companies have begun providing sales training for their staff accordingly. This is effective provided good human qualities complement, and not replace, an equally good technical quality.
On the contrary: if massive quality problems arise, clients tend to feel that they have been taken for a ride if the salesperson appears to be overly friendly.
Mistake No. 5: Complaint management is a matter for the manager.
Many bosses do not think salespeople are capable of the flexibility and sovereignty needed to decide how a complaint should be dealt with.
However, sales people and people working within the customer care department are themselves consumers and are therefore adequately qualified to put themselves in their customer's shoes.
It is the responsibility of managers to plant the idea of client orientation in their sales people's heads and to provide appropriate sales training to develop and re-enforce the necessary client service skills.
About the Author
Richard Stone is a Director for Spearhead Training Limited that runs management and sales training courses that improve business performance. You can view more articles at => http://www.spearhead-training.co.uk
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