Two things are certain in life: taxes and mistakes/failures happening either in a B2B or in a B2C environment. For the first one, unfortunately, there are not many things that can be done, but as far as the latter is concerned, it is possible to repair the damage, if this sensitive situation is managed in a correct way.
In any case, handling a situation where a mistake has happened, or a product/service has failed is never easy. The customers are certainly upset and as salespeople we need to save the relationship that we have build with them having invested time and effort. According to a study made from Carey Business School, offering something in return to the clients is not enough, as only 37% of upset customers state that they were satisfied. Nevertheless, if the business also expressed their apology, satisfaction increased to 74%, which means that saying sorry is the most effective and cheapest way to transform a bad customer experience.
Is it possible though, to handle the situation in such a way that will help us not only recover, but actually improve the relationship that we have with our clients? This can certainly happen according to researchers, who call this phenomenon the Service Recovery Paradox: a situation in which the customer thinks more highly of us after we have corrected a problem, than if they never had the bad experience to begin with. This means that a mistake/failure is actually an opportunity to increase customer loyalty!
So, how can we express our apologies in a way that it will help us come out ahead with our clients? According to a relevant article of Lewicki, Polin and Lount Jr. (An exploration of the structure of effective apologies), there are five specific parts of successful apologies. These were put to the test in a research study by Warwick Business School, where they were given to 500 participants in different combinations, so as to define the strongest one. According to the results, clearly, the best way to apologise to a customer is the following:
- Describe how you’re going to fix the problem and work toward rebuilding trust with your customer.
- Demonstrate you understand your part in the service failure.
- Promise to not repeat the problem.
- Explain the reasons for the failure.
- Express how sorry you are for the problem.
Crafting an apology message in a meaningful way for the customer is undoubtedly important, but what is also important is the way that we demonstrate how creatively and energetically we are trying to solve the client’s problem. Research that was performed in customer service desks in UK and US airports, showed that client’s satisfaction depends less on the actual solution than on the effort and creativity that we show in finding it. Therefore, saying the right words is crucial, but we should also learn to dive into the problem, which is a strong sign to the customer that we care.
Being in Business means that we are bound to make mistakes and disappoint customers. The good news is that it is largely in our hands not only to reverse a potential crisis, but to build even stronger relationships with our partners. Therefore, it is critical that all first-line employees are trained in a uniform way, so as not to leave things to chance.