Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Without orders, there can be no profits. The world has changed dramatically in the last twenty years. Now that social media has been so widely adopted, the customer has a much bigger voice and a far wider reach. That means they are powerful, authoritative, and influential. No wonder so many business owners fear them!
Please Trust Me
Customers want more from their favourite brands. They want to feel engaged just as much as each business owner wants to engage them. This means they already have strong expectations about you before you ever begin a relationship. Customers want to find you through their favourite social media platforms. And they probably won’t trust you enough to buy from you if they can’t. It’s important to make sure your customers can find you easily and that your content builds the trust they need.
Please Don’t Sue Me
It’s rare that a customer might try to sue a business. Of course, it’s rare that companies would give a customer reason to. Most businesses know to protect workers and customers from harm in their premises. And they know that products and services are often regulated and protected by certain standards for quality and safety. Still, it’s sensible to ensure you have the right insurances in place to protect you and your business should something happen that a customer feels wronged by.
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Please Like Me
But it is perhaps the fear of rejection that keeps most business owners awake at night. That used to be a lost sale. One customer looks at your product offering and decides it’s not for them. Now rejection can come from many people at once thanks to one influencer saying no. Customers want to hear from other customers before they’ll ever consider buying from you. If one customer didn’t like you for whatever reason, then others influenced by that customer will also say no.
Please Don’t Hate Me
Of course, there are some people out there that take it a step further. They may be inclined to shout quite loudly about their opinions of your business. In the old days, this was regarded to be defamation or slander. Nowadays, anyone can say anything, and millions of people are left to make up their own minds about its validity. Your reputation could be damaged, and you could lose sales. You might need to enlist the help of online reputation management experts to reduce the impact from this social media storm. Ideally, you’ll be in a position to stop damaging posts before they are sent.
Public shaming isn’t nice. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone gets it wrong sometimes. What’s important is that you apologise and offer to make things right for that customer. Angry customers often feel the need to vent publicly, and you can’t do much to stop them. But you can prevent it becoming an argument by listening carefully to what the problem is and working immediately to fix it. It’s called customer service, regardless of whether it’s happening publicly on Twitter, or privately in your business office.
Legal action and defamation are some of the most worrying concerns business owners have. You can protect yourself from the most common situations by putting a plan in place now. What is your primary customer concern?
