3 Defensive But Necessary Means Of Treating Problem Customers

3 Defensive But Necessary Means Of Treating Problem Customers Customers are important, and sometimes appealing to their best nature is required. We all need to grow and sustain our audience, but sometimes, the customer is not always right. Be careful taking this attitude, because sometimes it can lead you to alienate a large proportion of them. However, in the effort to ensure your business is well respected and maintains its cash flow and reputation, you might want to implement important requirements for your customers. While you are absolutely there to provide a great service, this doesn’t mean you cannot defend yourself or your business if being taken advantage of. The best method of relating to customers is to clearly communicate with them, and leave absolutely no doubt about the pillars of the relationship. Here are some methods to help you relate to your customers more clearly, and as a result respect your own position in the market: Pursue Invoices Pursuing invoices for custom work can help you maintain a healthy cash flow. Sometimes, customers push this limit to the point where you have to send a few reminder notices. Keep a note of clients who pay on an extended timeline, and keep this in mind when forecasting profitability for the next job you complete for them. Also, consider invoice finance. Invoice finance gives you quick and easy access to money owed by customers and helps with fluctuations in your cash flow, by offsetting the payment arrangement to a purpose-built service. Validate your invoice, and you could have 90% of your invoice much sooner than expected. Respond To Reviews The customer is not always right. This means that you should respond to negative reviews online, especially in a public forum. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should refute true statements. Sometimes thanking people for criticism and offering a solution can help you seem a competent and caring company. However, if you are rated lowly for a happenstance which you can prove is incorrect, or you are being negatively criticised for no grounded reason, you can refute this. You have to be very careful, treading on eggshells not to offend or seem unprofessional. However, sometimes resolving the issue online in a public forum can prevent the damage from a negative review to deter customers. Be careful how you proceed though, and be sure to repay complimentary reviews with thanks in kind. Never Be Afraid To Blacklist It might be very worthwhile to blacklist certain customers from your brand. For example, let’s say you run a bar, and a neighborhood drunk is quite happy to come and take a central seat at the bar. Perhaps they aren’t aggressive, but rather deter new customers with comments or with a strange presence. This impacts your firm. Some customers are going to be more heinous in their approach, and they might affect other people. Some might steal, try to deceive, or dislike what you have to offer and makes use of your facilities without paying. It’s perfectly reasonable to blacklist or warn someone about this outcome in this instance. This can help you avoid future issues, or prevent issues from escalating. Pursuing, defending against or banning customers is never a fun activity. However, sometimes it’s necessary. With the willingness to try, you might help your business through some difficult times.