Guest post by Marcel Oudejans.

Say less.

Listen more.

It’s been said that the reason we have 2 ears and 1 mouth is to remind us to listen twice as much as we talk.

Frequently, an angry or disappointed customer simply wants to feel that she is important enough to be listened to: while this may not necessarily solve the problem, it certainly goes a long way towards resolving the issue and possibly retaining the customer. Too often our ego and our pride cause the need to interrupt and explain the situation. While giving an explanation is important, the highest priority should be to listen to the customer first.

In my personal experience, a customer ‘complaint’ is often a great opportunity – it exposes a weakness in your company’s processes. Allow the customer to explain the situation from her point of view, avoid interrupting, and acknowledge that you are listening attentively. Try to take notes, even if the complaint initially sounds unreasonable. Eventually the customer will calm down and almost inevitably explain how the situation can be resolved. You’ll find that having the patience to listen will improve your ability to respond in an effective manner.

Advances in technology have resulted in a myriad of ways that we can communicate and listen to our customers. By actively listening to compliments and complaints, we improve and adjust our service and product offerings to our customers. The popularity of consumer advocate websites, and complaint drivers like getclosure!, can be attributed to our customers’ basic desire to voice their opinions. However, this should never be seen as a replacement to personally engaging customers in a discussion, asking questions and listening.

Your customers want to be heard – are you giving them the opportunity to be listened to?

Marcel Oudejans is a Corporate Infotainer who is passionate about inspiring his audiences to deliver more “magic moments” to their customers in their customer service, sales & marketing. Marcel is the author of “The Serious Business Owner’s Guide To Creating Customers For Life” & provides more tricks, techniques & strategies on his blog, http://www.performmarketing.co.za