Manage complaints to enhance loyalty

Abstract

omplaints, like death and taxes, are inev-itable. Even market leaders encounter them. But each grievance represents a chance to correct a flawed process, educate a cus-tomer and strengthen loyalty. Multiple studies already show companies with high quality customer service and effective com-plaint handling processes can charge a premium as well as increase loyalty. The case for investing in improvements is clear, or so it would seem. Unless decision makers fully understand cus-tomer complaint behavior and can quantify the return on investment (ROI) of complaint handling, they won’t see the link between complaint han-dling and loyalty and profits, and it’s unlikely they will ever allocate adequate resources for change. This article will arm you with the necessary facts and high level calculations to establish complaint handling as a priority at your company and part of its ongoing strategy to improve loyalty and, ulti-mately, increase profits.