Show your customer complaints off!!!

Like this Richard Branson story, don’t be shy about letting your customer’s complaints be seen or heard about. They are not something that should be hidden or dealt with quietly. When I received a complaint about my book The Boss Benchmark not being a "proper book" I shared it with my database and blog readers. I have nothing to hide and wanted to tell them what was happening in the world of my book. Sharing meant I got to hear people’s thoughts on what a "proper book" really is, receive support and openly discuss the positives and negatives of my book. I was actually thrilled to receive the complaint as sometimes it can be hard to get honest feedback out of people! Some people would rather say nothing that risk offending someone.

When you share your complaints you also get to share how you remedied the situation – which is what really counts. I offered my unhappy reader a refund... but they couldn’t part with the book (they must have connected with the content!). If that isn’t a powerful testimony of my books content then I don’t know what is!

Hearing about customer complaints makes me personally trust brands more (unless of course they run from it, deny it or get all defensive). I love seeing a human, imperfect side to business. Also, being accountable to customers is a very important part of being in business. When I see complaints that are not hidden or swept under the carpet I think “hmm how cool of that business for handling that the way they have” and I want to shop with them more. The opposite is true of course. If they handle it badly, I can’t run fast enough away – it’s not the complaint that is important but its resolution.

Being in business is about letting customers get to know your business. Letting them see what is happening in your world. By sharing my complaint with my database my readers saw more of me and many emailed to say they adored the honesty. They see I’m human and not hiding anything.