Why your customer is not your enemy

Many companies take an adversarial approach to doing business with their customers. It’s good to be competitive, but not at the expense of alienating the lifeblood of your company.

Remember that your business only exists because of your customers. Your customers want to feel respected and as though they are valued.

If you sell a product of vital necessity, like utilities, then maybe your customers will stay with you no matter how you treat them, but this comes at a price. They will almost certainly take their resentment out on your customer service agents. Your staff will be unhappy and your business will suffer.

So even if you think it doesn’t matter if you make life difficult for your customers, you should actually try to make their lives easier because your business will improve.

Value long-term customers

Many companies spend a lot of energy trying to woo new customers while practically ignoring their existing customer base. How many experiences have you had going quietly mad, as you’re passed from agent to agent while on the line to your broadband supplier?

This is because companies invest a lot of time and money into creating a fantastic customer experience for their new customers, but they neglect the experiences of their long-term customers.

Why making life difficult for your customers hurts your business

“Every time one of these companies screws us over and treats us like enemies they lose us as customers,” says blogger and author Alan Wolk.

You can do what lots of companies have done and place many hurdles in the way of your customers when they want to contact you. But in the long-run, you are only hurting yourself.

There are lots of products out there and many of them are very similar. You can differentiate your business by providing incredible customer service.

Companies that neglect their customer service risk losing their customers to competitors, as more and more people wake up to the possibility of switching to a competitor.

Accept that you will lose some customers

View your relationship with customers like any romantic relationship. Some will naturally come to an end, and you shouldn’t try to stop them from leaving.

Don’t make it impossible for your customers to return things or cancel their subscription. Do everything you can to address their problems, but gracefully accept when they want to move on.

Some customers will just be jerks and want to take it out on your agents. Hopefully, if you’re doing things right, these will be 1 in 10 rather than the norm.

Use knowledge bases to improve customer service

Many companies use knowledge bases as a firewall to keep their customers away from their support agents. This is a terrible use of a knowledge base, and will only serve to make your customers angry.

There is an art to ensuring that your customers turn to your knowledge base when their problem really can be solved with some documentation. This involves educating them about the kind of problems your documentation can solve. Most people prefer to be empowered and self-serve.

Some problems, though, will always require the help of a human being. Make it easy for your customers to contact your team when they’re using your knowledge base. Tap into the potential of technology to improve the customer experience, while setting reasonable expectations for your customers.

Authenticity and humility is key

This means staying humble and being very transparent about your business with your customers. No matter how large your business is, you can benefit from being honest with your customers - even if the truth isn’t always what you’d like it to be.

Authenticity and openness are almost always met with a positive response. Even in the business world where this is not common practice.

The state of the industry

Nowadays, it’s so easy for anyone to set up and run their own business that there is less of a distinction between business and customer. Customers expect to be treated as though they are on your level. You cannot talk down to them.

Customers know that many businesses were founded and are run by individuals just like them. There’s no point in maintaining a false front to pretend that there aren’t human beings behind your website or your bricks-and-mortar shop.

This is the future of commerce. Companies who refuse to update their business model to view their customers as partners in - rather than recipients of - each transaction will continue to offer bad customer service.

There’s more. Customers want to work with brands who can help them make the world a better place. Digital media and constant connectivity makes this a real possibility.

Ecotricity in the energy industry

Take UK energy supplier Ecotricity. Their brand is based on ethics of sustainability and environmentalism. They are not just in it for the money, like the other big 6 energy companies that dominate the UK market. This is a hugely challenging position to be in for Ecotricity.

What sets them apart is that they openly care about the environment and their customers. They put their customers first, and giving their customers a way to address environmental problems.

Innocent Drinks in the food and drink industry

I may just have a soft spot for ethical companies, but Innocent Drinks is another brand that manages to talk to customers on their level.

Corporate responsibility is more than just paying lip service. It needs to be at the core of everything you do as a company, just like Innocent Drinks.

Typeform in the tech industry

Typeform is another brand that really gets it right when talking to their customers. Their branding is friendly and informal, striking the perfect tone of professional and down-to-earth.

KnowledgeOwl loves its customers

At KnowledgeOwl we pride ourselves on providing fantastic customer service but it goes deeper than that. We know we wouldn’t be anywhere without our customers, and we consider our customers our friends, teammates, and most-important stakeholders.

KnowledgeOwl considers your happiness our top priority - try out our knowledge base software today!