Everyone loves having happy members on their membership site, but there comes a time in every membership website owner's life when they have to face the inevitable…
…….a difficult member!!
As you are building your membership site and it begins to take off, there will be a larger variety of people that you will encounter, and not all of them will be a breeze to work with, sorry to say.
When it comes to something as community-oriented as a membership business, providing quality customer service is key. However, many businesses have not been able to provide the proper service necessary, and have paid the price as a result.
This is where your membership business comes in. It is up to you to differentiate your business by providing that quality service that will push your business over the edge and attract more customers through your stellar customer service.
It doesn't matter how difficult a customer may be, it is important that you try your best to address their concerns quickly and constructively.
But how should you handle a difficult customer on
Keep Your Cool
When it comes to a difficult membership site customer, the last thing you want to do is lose your cool.
As a business owner, you and your staff are to stay calm at all times, good or bad. And when dealing with a less-than-pleasant customer, it pays to remain calm and polite, despite how rude they may try to be with you.
Not only will this help to keep from the conversation with the difficult customer from escalating, but it will also show others (especially if the exchange is happening online or via social media) that you and your staff know how to remain professional at all times.
Take A Look Through Their Lens
Sometimes, when dealing with a difficult customer, it can be helpful to stop and try to see things from their point of view. Take time to hear them out and ask specific questions so you can understand the situation.
There may be times where you discover that they aren't necessarily trying to be difficult; they just may be confused or frustrated. But once you assist them, their whole mood could change!
Never underestimate a little patience, compassion, and positivity! It can do wonders for the customer experience!
Be Polite
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Kill them with kindness?” This is a great tactic to keep in mind when interacting with a difficult customer. Your customers expect you to be polite and
Be sure to not speak down to your customer and make sure to call them by their first name. Say please and thank you. Treat your customer the way you would like to be treated if the roles were reversed. This simple customer support tactic will save you a lot of time and hopefully help to solve the problem just that much more quickly.
Go The Extra Mile
Say that you have managed to finish up with a customer and solve their problem. Leave your customer with something small that they will remember your membership site by.
After solving your customer's problem, throw in a coupon code as another way to say sorry, ask them if there is anything else you can do for them, or even offer to assist them with something related to their original problem.
Small acts like this improve customer satisfaction, show you care and keep them coming back!
Final thoughts
We can all agree that, when creating a membership site or building any sort of business model, difficult customers are something that you will have to deal with at one point. However, we hope that the above methods will help you to better prepare for that moment!
Just keep in mind that a little bit of compassion and kindness can go a long way and help make your customer's day!
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