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Growing Pains

Is Your Brand a Toddler or a Grownup? Your Customers Will Decide

Often children find it hard to ‘fess up’ and admit to doing something wrong. Be it by accident or design, they’ll do just about anything to worm out of the mess they’ve created for themselves. Mature grownups, on the other hand, may heft a heavy sigh, but will stick a hand in the air and admit to the fault and look at how they can redress the damage. So it is with mistakes and problems in business, and it all depends on whether your creation is a petulant toddler or a confident, responsible adult.

A frustrated customer who has experienced poor service or product failure will manage to get their feelings known twice as fast, if not quicker, than a happy one. A satisfactory purchase or experience is what is expected, each time, every time; a bad one is not and it makes people feel foolish and who wants to feel foolish?

It’s delightful to be praised for what we do but a job well done encompasses dealing quickly and effectively with the transaction that goes wrong, and sadly things do go wrong every now and then.

As the opportunities and encouragement we offer people to engage and buy increase, we should be just as open to those wishing to query and complain. Unreturned calls, hidden ‘contact’ or ‘support’ links are as unhelpful as they are childish. Trust and loyalty may be invisible but they are also invaluable and a lack of openness or adequate response simply translates as a lack of faith in your own product or service.

‘We welcome your feedback, queries and concerns.’

Just as you are careful to include a call to action within your content, don’t forget to make it clear that you are with your customers for the long run and value all engagement. Handling complaints properly is part and parcel of developing your brand, increasing your customers’ trust and becoming a reliable grownup.