The Importance of Customer Complaints

Companies can use these expressions of concern or disappointment to their advantage

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The Importance of Customer Complaints
Voice of the CustomerInsights

Published: June 15, 2022

CX Today Team

Customer complaints are rarely met with joy by the contact center, and research suggests that the number of customer complaints was at an all-time high in 2021.

Indeed, a poll of UK contact center consumers revealed that 48 percent believed that customer service had deteriorated. The leading causes of annoyance were a high average wait time, agents taking longer than expected, and poorly developed agent call scripts.

When customers complain about these – and other – issues, it is easy to hold the agent responsible, create a performance management record, and close the loop. However, customer complaints can be a good thing. There are six reasons why complaints are essential for contact centers and the business.

Detect Product or Service Issues

Even with stringent checks and balances, defective products sometimes reach the consumer. If consumers do not report a faulty product, companies will not remedy other items that may have the identical issue.

This is especially true if you have unpleasant staff answering the phone, for example. Most individuals would not try to warn a company about disrespectful employees. Management may be unaware of an employee who is driving away from a large number of clients.

Identify CX and Journey Bottlenecks

Instead of highlighting flaws with your product, many complaints often describe unsatisfactory experiences. Customers may comment on lengthy wait times, frustrating corporate policies, or ambiguous online content. Given that customer experience is just as important as product quality, it is crucial to listen to these issues.

Great products lose much appeal if customers are concerned about the company’s R&D, buying, and support procedures. In these circumstances, complaints expand your knowledge of how the business can get products into the hands of more customers in shorter time frames and with higher overall outcomes.

Improve Customer Communication and Engagement

When customers call to register a complaint and discover that their input was taken into consideration and changes were implemented, they will be pleased to know that their opinions were considered. Many customers avoid filing complaints or expressing their concerns because they assume businesses do not care and will not take action. When you act the contrary and demonstrate that you’ve listened to them and that their satisfaction is a priority, your clients will recognize that your communication channels are genuinely “open” and not only for effect.

Understand the Customer Better

As a company owner, you may lack consumer insights on their views on your products and services. Complaints are a conduit for direct, one-on-one consumer connection, and knowing their concerns will allow you to provide superior service. Even if a consumer calls to express a small problem, the corporation may record this information to make modifications in the future. Remember, customers are more inclined to continue supporting your brand against your competitors if you make their lives simpler.

Strengthen the Brand Image

An open communication channel through which customers may report issues with your service or negative experiences favorably impacts your brand’s image. It enhances your company’s reputation and makes it seem trustworthy and compassionate. The more you go above and beyond to fix reported issues, the happier your customers will be.

In addition, satisfied customers are more likely to express their favorable experiences with coworkers, peers, friends, and family, which helps spread the word about your business and enhance your reputation. Indeed, most customer-centric brands have established their reputation on their capacity to respond to negative feedback and benefit from client concerns. The introduction of the Amazon Prime quick delivery service is a fantastic example of a service that anticipates and resolves consumer shipping delays.

Convert Neutral Consumers Into Promoters

When a brand quickly addresses a complaint, the customer becomes a brand advocate. A study by Harvard Business Review demonstrated this phenomenon in the case of wireless carriers. Customers who received a response to a Twitter complaint were ready to spend an additional $7 per month for a cellphone package from that company. In situations where the problem was fixed, they were prepared to pay another $8; if the agent failed to handle the issue, they were ready to pay a further $6.

Types of customer complaints that are important

While all feedback, favorable and unfavorable, deserves consideration, the following compliance categories must be recorded:

  • Product complaints – Customers file product complaints when dissatisfied with their purchase and seek your assistance in fixing these issues. Depending on your company model, product complaints might vary greatly, but they often entail malfunctions or operational concerns.
  • Customer service complaints – When a client has an unsatisfactory or failed interaction with a member of your business, they may file a customer service complaint.
  • Value complaints – Complaints about value occur when clients believe your product’s pricing is unjustified. In most of these complaints, the consumer starts by stressing the cost or effort they put into your services and concludes by expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome.
  • New customer complaints – Complaints from new customers are circumstances in which individuals who have purchased your goods for the first time feel dissatisfied and express their initial views. Frequently, they are comparative issues.
  • Repeat customer complaints – Repetitive customer complaints are those from regular customers. These complaints are especially valuable since their reasons are often simpler to detect.
  • Chronic complaints – Customers who constantly express critiques are likely to have chronic problems. Even though some customers believe it’s necessary to highlight how your company may be improved constantly, you must take their feedback carefully.

Although it may not seem so at first inspection, complaints are a hidden blessing. With the right strategy, companies can use these expressions of concern or disappointment to their advantage. To achieve this, it is also crucial to act on the complaint, follow up with the customer, and close the loop – to ensure that the feeling of dissatisfaction is addressed promptly.

 

 

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