Dealing with That Unhappy Clients

Dear info marketers,

Hope you had a good weekend. The sun was out here and I got out on my bike long enough to get some colour on my skin. It was grand.

I recently got an e-mail about an information marketer and his trouble with some of his clients. He asked for some advice. I replied with this story:

I remember having a paper route as a kid. At all of eleven years old, I started having my own professional responsibilities and making money on my own. But as you might expect, I had to encounter that cumbersome experience of dealing with my customers. I had to approach them personally to collect the bi-weekly fees, take notes of when they did not want to receive the paper due to holidays, and answer to any and all complaints they might had had. It was a tough job, but looking back, I seemed to have handled it well and I held the job for four years with some nice kudos from my customers.

Dealing with customer complaints was always tough. If you had a friend do the route for you and he or she made a mistake, it might meant you had to deal with a customer who was understandably unhappy for not getting their paper. But it was a job that had to be done and one that you might have to deal with as an information marketer. You might get a client who never received a product from you or becomes upset with the information you are providing. Regardless of the situation, there are some ways you can deal with unhappy clients.

When dealing with an unhappy client, you should:

--Listen, listen, listen: Whether the complaint you receive comes via phone, letter, or e-mail, listen to everything that the client is saying. Find out exactly what the problem is and be absolutely sure what the client is unhappy about.

--Be professional: This is your business. It represents you and you represent it. Whatever problem comes your way is going to test the level of professionalism you and your business possess. Keep that in mind when a client complains, you must always respond to them in a professional manner and do not break from the professional stance you have built up for your business.

--Do not react: No only should you keep a professional manner, you should not let your emotions get ahead of you. You might have to deal with a client who is slightly unruly and may use cruel or rude language with you. The worst thing you can do in such a situation is react in the same way you are being addressed. Again, be professional. It’s hard to do, as I have to do it in the past, but it can work out - if you show the more mature manner in the situation, the other person will see the irrationality of their behaviour and show more courtesy to rectify the problem.

--Be proactive: Always aim to solve the problem. Apologize for any inconvenience you might have caused your client and offer to fix the situation. If you can’t deal with the problem right away, offer to get back to the client with a solution at a later date. Hold up your end of the deal and get back promptly to the client on the date you promised with a detailed solution.

--Learn: Mistakes happen to everyone. But the smart information marketer will take these bad situations seriously and find ways to improve their business based on the problems that occurred. You can only improve your business with time and these bad scenarios are a sure fire way to make your business better.

Client-to-client relations can be both great and difficult. If you find yourself in the latter situation, use the above tips to help fix problems that occur and never break from the professionalism you have worked so hard to maintain for your business. You will be glad you did in the end.

More to come. Check out the E-Wealth Daily website here for other news and information.

Take care,

J.