Unhappy customers can be good for your business

Charter UK, a provider of enterprise complaint and feedback management software, has announced that companies should be actively encouraging customers to complain.

Charter UKs report into best practice in customer complaint handling revealed that, by proactively surveying customers, businesses can drive complaint volumes from five per cent up to 25-30 per cent and in doing so, gain visibility of customers pain points and be able to act accordingly.

Paul Clark, Charter UKs Chief Executive Officer, explains, Only five per cent of customers with a perceived or genuine complaint ever actually make that complaint to the company.  Although this paints a picture of a business with a great service record and happy customers, the damage that it can actually be doing to your company - and your brand - is vast. However, if you can encourage your customers to voice their complaints, you have a chance to resolve the problem and to turn them into an advocate. After all, 90% of consumers who have a complaint satisfactorily resolved will actively promote your brand for you.

Charter UK also states that encouraging customers to complain means conducting customer in an appropriate manner that enables the customer to give honest and relevant responses.

Paul Clark, adds, In normal customer surveys, companies pick the questions, which is the wrong approach. Companies should ask questions that other customers have asked, or which are based on other customers experiences. Only then can you identify the problem areas and solve them. Businesses need to remember that if you satisfy a customer they will tell seven people about how great you are, but if you upset a customer, theyll tell 20 people that youre terrible!

 
About Charter UK

Charter UK is a specialist provider of Customer Complaints and Feedback Management software. Its award winning software suite Charter Continuum enables organisations to capture, manage and analyse complaints and feedback to increase customer service efficiency, improve customer satisfaction and drive business improvements. Charter UKs customer service software solutions are currently delivering business benefits to global businesses such as McDonalds, Toyota, O2, Next and the London Underground.