Our agency helps companies operating in difficult markets receive more money from internet marketing. Today you will learn 10 problems of our clients that we have successfully solved with the help of content marketing.

What is the value of this article

My team and I have collected 10 common problems that clients or blog readers have asked us about and how we solved the problems listed. Perhaps some solutions from the article will be useful to you.

How we selected problems

Naturally, many issues overlapped, so we combined similar problems into one. The main topics were:

• attracting clients;
• service and after-sales support;
• website promotion;
• client management.

The problems turned out to be urgent and relevant for many companies. It is precisely because of their relevance that we have made this selection.

10 Problems Solved by Content Marketing

1. Promoting a website with updating search engine algorithms places increasing emphasis on the quality of the information posted, rather than on purchasing links or anything else.

Solution: Using content marketing, you attract targeted visitors to your website, who can later be converted into leads and clients, and search engines love you more and more.

1. Attracting loyal visitors
   Loyal visitors who have already learned information about your company, products and clients are more likely to interact with your company (including purchases).

Solution: With the help of content marketing, you talk about your achievements, share cases and introduce visitors to your company. Articles, white papers, infographics and case studies will help you.

1. Lead generation
   How can you turn a visitor, even a loyal one, into a lead - a potential client who has responded to your marketing message? Of course, with the help of content marketing.

Solution: After reading the articles, invite the visitor to download an e-book, podcast, video, or invite him to a webinar. At the same time, he must fill out the subscription form, thereby getting into your mailing list.

1. Expert status
   It just so happens that in complex markets (real estate, IT, consulting and b2b services) for large sales you need to develop a reputation and practical experience. Content marketing will also help with this.

Solution: articles in the media, printed and e-books, participation in seminars and conferences (including online), own blog and training courses.

1. Promotion in social media networks
   marketing in in social networks involves creating and distributing information of interest to your subscribers.

Solution: Use industry news, links to manuals, useful tips for your subscribers, reviews of services/books/blogs, author's articles, event announcements and answers to questions from participants.

1. Working with leads
   what to do with those leads who still haven't bought your product? Constantly stay connected, share content and stay in touch.

1. Using offline marketing
   another burning question. Does content marketing not only work online? It certainly works.

Solution: To capture the attention of offline customers, use 3D messaging by sharing books, courses, brochures and other content formats with them. At the same time, be sure to measure the conversion.

1. Implementation of an affiliate program
   customers have already bought your products. Great, congratulations! However, a loyal customer can give you much more than just sales. It can bring you new clients.

Solution: To implement an affiliate program, training guides are usually created on referral marketing and rewards systems. With their help, the client receives step-by-step instructions for participating in your affiliate program.

1. Scaling
   When your company scales, enters new markets or opens branches, you will also need content marketing. You can gather the most loyal audience in a new market with the help of high-quality content.

Solution: start a blog, communities on social media. networks is the required minimum. If you work in B2B, then write a couple of expert articles in the media and e-books.

1. After sales support
   Never forget about your clients. Since they spent money buying your product, then provide them with after-sales service.

Solution: in our agency, all clients are allowed into a closed Knowledge Base, where they have access to expert content, recordings from events and classes in live with support and answers to questions. A common way to keep in touch with clients is email newsletters and 3D mail.

In this article, we looked at 10 common problems that content marketing has solved. Actually, you can model a solution for your business. Good luck!

Sometimes things don't go your way. And clients are unhappy.

But it depends on how you communicate with them whether they will return to you or not.

Actually turn dissatisfied client into a permanent and loyal one - quite easy.

Below are 10 Powerful Steps to Relieve Customer Dissatisfaction, solve problems and maintain their loyalty to you.

Unsatisfied customers are unfortunately a fact of business life. How you communicate with them will determine whether the customer continues to tell all their friends and family how terrible your business is, or instead talks about your unmatched customer service. Here are 10 things you can do to turn things around.

1. Assume that the Client has a right to be angry.

No one makes mistakes on purpose, but they do happen. If you work in a call center, behind a counter, or anywhere else that directly interacts with customers, then you are bound to encounter an angry customer sooner or later. Your most correct reaction is to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Client's complaint while you listen carefully to him. Try to curb your spontaneous and habitual answer and replace it with the correct one. Considering that the client has the right to be angry, even before you know the details of the problem.

Perhaps the customer feels betrayed because the product or services did not live up to their expectations. The client may be angry because he or she made incorrect assumptions that led to inappropriate expectations. The client may be angry because of the previous experience, previous contacts with your company, or simply because the problem occurred at a very inconvenient time in his life schedule. Regardless depending on circumstances Recognize that the client has a right to be angry. Listen carefully to how he expresses his anger. Perhaps you can find the root cause of such an emotion.

2. Listen to the emotion without the emotion

Listen to the client's intonation and emphasis on certain topics to determine the cause of the emotion. Listen to the emotion as well as the words. This will help you identify the specific item or items that need major attention. Resolving a technical issue can only be partially effective unless it also addresses the client's emotional issues. You may not be able to fully resolve the Client's emotional problem, but it is appropriate to acknowledge it.

You need to eliminate the technical causes of the problem. But we must definitely try to resolve emotional issues. Without this, the client will not be satisfied. And with the solution to the emotional part of the problem, the Client can feel more calm even about technical matters that have not been fully resolved.

Don't respond with emotion. Remember that consumer anger is not directed at you personally, even if the Client’s statements are about this. If a client attacks you and even borders on insulting you, it is only because the client is seeking recognition of his emotional distress, as well as technical or administrative problems.

You need to understand that venting the Client's emotions diffuses the situation and reassures the Client that you are attentive to the importance of his emotional distress, and also technical problem.

3. Be patient

Consumer conversations are like waves. When a client is at the height of expressing anger, grief, or distress, be patient and listen. Do not interrupt the client when he or she is expressing powerful emotions. It's like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Allow the Client to express his emotions, and at the low point, repeat your understanding and empathy, acknowledge the consumer's right to be angry and the reason for emotional distress. Take quiet, deep breaths, and wait patiently for your turn to speak.

4. Speak softly

If you encounter loud and offensive As a client, respond softly and in a very calm tone. If you try to shout back, the Client will focus on the verbal battle for attention and will not pay attention to the importance of your message. If you want your message to be heard, wait for a pause in consumer tirade. Silence is your golden cue, time to speak your important message in a soft voice. Ultimately the client will have to lower his or her voice in order to hear what you are saying.

Remember that the Client came to you for help. He may have accumulated a lot of emotions before coming to you, but ultimately the Client really wants your advice and help to solve the problem.

5. Repeat

Make sure you address the technical, administrative and emotional aspects of customer problems. After you have listened carefully to the client, repeat the main points to ensure that you accurately understand the Client. This guarantees that you are focused on real problems, not fictitious ones.

Use soft, resistant and inquisitive voice. Ask the client to confirm that you understood him correctly.

6. Take responsibility

It doesn't matter who caused the problem or what transpired before the client got to you. Tell the client that you have the problem under control and will do your best to achieve results.

Sometimes it can be tempting to distance yourself from the problem by stating that you are not responsible for it, that another department will have to handle it, or that you are just a courier. This gives the Client a feeling of powerlessness. And this will create a new emotional problem.

Even if you do have to work with other departments, get a manager's approval, or coordinate your response, let the Client know that you will personally take the matter into your own hands and resolve it. The client does not know your company, your rules or your instructions. Assure the client that you will use all your knowledge and experience to obtain the best solution to the problem at hand, even if you have to get other people to help achieve a solution.

7. Place customer first, second problem

In most cases, there are two conflicting problems that occur simultaneously, in the case of angry customers. The first problem is emotional condition Client. The second problem is the technical or administrative problem that caused these emotions. While it may seem logical to focus first on a technical or administrative problem that is causing the Client emotional irritation, it is important to recognize that the Client is driven primarily by emotions.

Addressing the technical issue may or may not fully address the root cause of consumer suffering. Try to reassure the client enough to help you concentrate on technical or administrative problems. Sometimes a technical issue may require a lot more attention and effort because it may affect other customers.

8. Find the cause of the technical problem

Once you have the opportunity to focus on technical and administrative problems, analyze the problem and adopt new rules to avoid repeating the problem with other clients. It may be necessary to obtain some additional information from your client in order to accurately analyze the root cause of the problem.

9. Fix the problem

Correct the problem for the specific client and also look for long-term corrective measures. If you cannot guarantee the Client that such a situation will not happen again in the future, then you need to assure the client that you will be available to help if any other situation arises for that Client. Demonstrate your confidence that this particular issue has been resolved and is not expected to reoccur. Demonstrate your concern for this client by reiterating their problems and the steps you took to correct them.

10. Strengthen the attitude

Continue communication with the Client some time after the problem occurs. Phone call, personal letter by e-mail or a personalized card demonstrate REAL attention to the Client. Contacting the Client 30 days after the issue has been resolved is a strong way to show that you truly care about the Client.

Emotions will no longer prevent the Client from communicating with you. And you will retain the loyalty of this Client and be able to get several new ones.

It is believed that if you solve customer problems as quickly and creatively as possible, you increase their loyalty. This is not so, say leading experts at the consulting company Corporate Executive Board Co. Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Rick Delisi. They conducted a large-scale study and found out: the main thing is to build processes so that clients, in principle, do not have problems with you. This approach is what Dixon, Thoman, and Delisi call the “consumption effort reduction strategy.” The Secret publishes excerpts from their book.

A strategy focused on delighting customers doesn't pay off.

How much does it cost you to continually delight clients who have a problem? In practice, this translates into longer conversations, increased discounts, not to mention costly sales, compensation, and personal service costs. In fact, the vast majority (approximately 80%) of the executives we studied told us that the strategy of exceeding customer expectations results in significantly higher operating costs, which can range from 10% to 20% higher, depending on the company. In short, the strategy of delighting customers is an expensive proposition.

While many business leaders strongly believe that exceeding customer expectations has the greatest impact on customer loyalty, our data suggests otherwise. After analyzing responses from more than 97,000 customers, we found that there is virtually no difference in the level of loyalty between customers whose expectations were exceeded and those whose expectations were simply met.

Interaction with the service department does not generate loyalty, but the exact opposite attitude

Have you ever wondered how we choose the companies we deal with? Here's a simple example: Almost every one of us can name one airline that he avoids using, perhaps because it lost his luggage and it took ten phone calls to track it down, or because they refused to honor free miles. which he had. Regardless of the reason, their service left an extremely negative impression, for which they were condemned by us. By what criteria do we choose the next airline to use its services? Maybe we choose her because of her good reputation? Hardly. We choose by price and coverage of destinations and use the services of this airline until it falls into the “bad” category for us. In other words, we choose companies for their products and services, but we abandon them because of service missteps.

The reality of the customer service process is that it brings more harm than good. More specifically, our research shows that any interaction with customer service is four times more likely to result in disloyalty than it is to generate loyalty.

While all this information may seem depressing at first glance, it contains very valuable grains that you should use when building your new strategy. By all objective assessments, the customer service industry is the number one source of disloyalty, and the negative impressions it tends to generate are widespread. It follows that the task of service is not to stimulate loyalty by delighting customers, but to mitigate consumer disloyalty.

The Key to Mitigating Disloyalty Is Reducing Consumption Effort

The admiration strategy is similar to the game of basketball, in which we try to win solely by throwing the ball from the middle of the field. This trick may work from time to time, but it certainly does not guarantee us victory in the future. Reducing effort on the part of the client is a diametrically opposed strategy. It is aimed primarily directly at those features of service that leave customers dissatisfied. Moreover, it visibly reduces the costs and effort spent on maintenance. After all, what can cause admiration in one person will not necessarily cause it in another.

Understand why customers call you instead of self-service

Customers who intended to limit themselves to self-service, but in the end were forced to make a call, turn out to be 10% less loyal than customers who resolved their issue through the channel they used from the very beginning and at their own request.

Fidelity Investments call center staff have a specific routine that includes a list of questions they ask clients. This allows employees to quickly understand which customers visited the company's website before calling. Such clients are asked to help the company and explain the reason for changing the communication channel.

Here's how it works: Customers are asked if they've tried using the self-service feature. Those who answer yes are asked why they had to call? For technical reasons or due to lack of necessary information? Maybe they got lost on the site? As a result, customers report the exact reason why they had to change the communication channel. This is a very effective way to get the information you need.

With this method, Fidelity Investments was able to improve the online PIN update process by simply changing the location of the required links, adding multiple languages ​​to the site, and reducing the multi-step process associated with updating. This improvement resulted in a 29% increase in online PIN update transactions and an 8% reduction in the number of online PIN updates. this issue. The profit from this innovation was 7.5 times higher than the costs of this project.

Give customers the option to limit themselves to self-service

The main challenge is not to get modern customers to use self-service. The goal is to avoid forcing customers to switch from self-service services to telephone calls, thereby avoiding the unnecessary costs and loss of customer loyalty that such a switch entails. Simply put, we must fight not so that the client turns to self-service services, but so that he can limit himself to them.

When Travelocity began developing a plan to reduce the number of calls they received, they soon realized that many customers were calling to get information that was already available in the FAQ section. But in most cases, this information was presented in such a way that clients could not understand it. So Travelocity began looking for ways to improve the site in order to help customers independently find a solution to their problem on it and developed ten rules. Let's list some of them.

- Simplify the language. It’s not that the language should be completely primitive, but the information should be readable and accessible to customers. This means that it is necessary to remove complex ambiguous words and shorten long sentences.

- Eliminate null search results. This is one of the most significant points for the company. For the first time, Travelocity has compiled a list of unsuccessful queries (combining search queries that did not return results), as well as low-relevance results. And they found that customers were simply not using the same words as the company. For example, if a customer searches for “suitcase” (trying to find out how many suitcases they can take on a cruise), the search returns zero results. These customers conclude that Travelocity's self-service is useless and have no choice but to call a company representative. However, if this person entered as search query the word "luggage" (a term that is more common in the travel industry), then he would easily get the answer he was looking for.

- Select information blocks. This rule involves highlighting related information and placing headings separately from the rest of the text, making it easier for clients to find the information they need. Smart use of white space between individual questions allows information to be placed in a more screen-readable format and helps direct customers to the right section of the site to resolve their question.

- Avoid using slang expressions̆. Travelocity carefully analyzed the most visited pages on the site for the use of internal specific expressions, terminology used by hotel and airline employees, as well as terms that could confuse the average visitor. Customers looking to book a trip don't need to know what the term "open itinerary" means, so it's best to avoid using it so that the customer doesn't have to call and ask an employee what it means (hint: searching for jargon is a great activity for new hires at your company, who are not yet accustomed to using them in their speech).

The team’s efforts led to a reduction in the number of calls by 5% precisely due to the improvement of the site.

Anticipate related problems

The client sends a request to connect HD television channels, and he is connected without any problems, exactly on schedule. The client's request was fully satisfied the first time, right? Don't rush to conclusions. It turns out that the customer didn't know that he had to contact his cable provider to order a special converter box. Thus, a second call was needed, albeit to a different company. When a specialist arrived to connect the converter, he said that he needed a special cable to transmit the signal from the converter to the TV. Another call, this time to the company he originally contacted with a request to connect. From the companies' point of view, these are three separate cases of successful resolution of a request on the first contact. But from the client's point of view, everything is completely different. He had to make contact three times to decide specific task: Be able to watch high definition television. His experience involved significant effort, which means his continued loyalty is in serious doubt.

The idea of ​​addressing tangential issues as well as the client's obvious problems is the essence of an approach we call downstream problem prevention. This concept covers everything that is beyond the traditional strategy of solving problems at first call. The strategy for preventing subsequent problems comes from a completely different way of thinking. Employees are trained to ask themselves: “Can I be sure that this customer will not call us back?”

By anticipating subsequent problems, employees are not simply resolving the issue posed by the client; they also solve problems that the client has not clearly formulated, but which he might encounter after the end of the communication session, current problems and related ones.

Encourage employees to use positive language

According to legend (of those legends that are common in the service industry), at Disney, all team members are taught the art of positive communication (there are no just employees here, regardless of their position, everyone is part of the big show - from the guy in the Goofy costume to the bus driver , and the attraction operator). An example of developing this skill is a game called “What time does the park close?” Employees are taught to answer any, even the simplest question, as positively as possible. When first trying to use positive language, many people have some difficulty: “Uh... The park will close when the magic ends.” (No, the park actually closes at 8:00 p.m.). “The park will close when you leave.” (No, if you're still here at 8:01 p.m., we'll kick you out in a special, Disney way.) The best answer is a variation of the following: “The park remains open until 8 p.m. And tomorrow, when we open again at 9 o'clock in the morning, it will be even more fun. We hope you will join us!” How might a client react negatively to this?

Employees need to find a way in which they can be honest (since in many cases they still have to say no) without provoking a negative emotional reaction that will have negative consequences for the company. This is where using positive language can provide significant support.

Provide satisfying alternatives to the customer

An airline customer upset about a canceled flight to Chicago reacts this way primarily because his daughter is taking part in a dance show the next day. So the problem is not to fly on time, but to fulfill given to the child a promise - to be present at an event that is important to her. And there may be a lot of alternatives that are quite acceptable for a client who finds himself in a desperate situation (for example, a flight to another city, and from there by car to the destination, or a trip by ground transport to another city, and then by plane to Chicago). Please note that the operator would not think to offer such options without knowing the context of the situation in which the client finds himself.

How can an employee persuade a client to accept an alternative option so that he not only accepts it, perhaps reluctantly, but feels completely satisfied as a result? The essence of the concept of providing alternatives is this: in addition to using positive communication, this strategy involves searching possible options to solve the client's problem, in many cases before the client even knows that he cannot get what he wants. There are a number of key points here that we think may have wider application.

- Don't rush to say no. The key to selecting an alternative that suits the client is to avoid hastily communicating that what is desired is not available. Wait, take a short break. The client has no idea how long it will take to collect data in your system. Use these precious moments to find out what else the client might be interested in beyond the initial request. Try to understand his thinking and determine how flexible he can be.

- Do not try to explain to the client what you are doing and how you are looking for a way out of the situation. The average company employee spends too much time and mental effort on the client explaining why he cannot get what he wants. Although he appears to be acting honestly, this causes the client to become defensive or even aggressive. “All you do is make excuses for why your company can’t give me what I want. How can this help me? And of course, in the service industry, it is believed that if you start defending yourself, then you have already lost.

-Do not take the client's request literally. Very often, a client's request and his actual need can be very different from each other. To get a complete picture of what the client needs, you need to delve into his situation in more detail. For example, when a customer demands that a cable TV problem be fixed immediately, it may become clear that what is really important to him is that the broadcast be restored before tomorrow, when his friends come to watch big game. Knowing this, the operator will be able to convince the client that everything will be fixed before tomorrow’s game, even much earlier, to calm him down and resolve the situation.

Eliminate time pressure on employees

Historically, service centers have operated under the assumption that the sooner a call is handled, the greater the efficiency. Faster call completion means more calls handled per hour with fewer staff. Regardless of how exactly this indicator is measured, every person in service center knows that the duration of the call is being monitored. The clock is ticking all the time, and no one can hide from close surveillance.

We found a great example in a large pharmaceutical company that recently took decisive steps to improve customer service by encouraging employees to simply “do whatever it takes to take care of the customer they are currently interacting with.” The message was this: if the client has a complex problem and needs more time to solve it, we are willing to give that time. And if it happens that you get seven difficult calls in a row and each one requires a long processing time, you don’t have to worry. It is not the average processing time of your calls that is important, it is the result that the client receives that is important.

However, this company was careful enough not to get rid of performance indicators completely. They developed a new indicator, which they called the acceptable percentage of conversation: (talk time + downtime) / (duration of work shift - (lunch break + other breaks)).

ATP is essentially a measurement of an employee's performance beyond the actual handling of calls, including activities such as completing post-call paperwork and performing other job duties. Instead of "Work fast because time is money," the company's message is, "Do the part of the job that doesn't involve talking on the phone well, so you can spend as much time as needed solving the customer's problem." In just one year, overall customer satisfaction (the main indicator in this company) increased by 15%.

Help employees understand customer efforts

We've seen some really creative approaches through our membership network. These approaches were designed to help teams quickly recognize what could be classified as greater or lesser effort from the customer's perspective.

1. Discussion of personal client experience. Have your team members share experiences of poor service from their personal lives. You need to choose an incident that one of the employees remembers quite clearly, in vivid detail, and write down on the board the exact sequence of actions that made up this interaction. Label this first sequence the “active” side of the interaction. Literally, what did your employee or supervisor do to solve their personal problem? Where did they start? Internet? Telephone? Who did they talk to first? Did they have to repeat the information? Have they been switched? Has the problem been completely resolved? Was a follow-up call necessary? Below this sequence of events, describe another one: ask your employee to describe how he felt at each of these stages.

2. Quality control group sessions. The second idea we gleaned is one that some of our partner companies use to develop entry level understanding of consumer efforts, represents group sessions of the quality assurance team. Pre-select a few old client requests, perhaps from the experiences of employees who have already left the organization, and find examples of sure high level effort, examples of likely high effort (or representing a combination of high- and low-effort activities), and cases of apparently low effort. Ask group members to note where they thought the interaction was difficult for the customer and where the employee Good work to mitigate efforts or even did something significantly easier for the client. Encourage staff to consider both the client's actions and emotional reactions.

3. Records of instances of consumer efforts. This is a successful and, as far as we can tell, a productive idea. Experimental team members are given notepads to record instances in which they felt they had done a good job of reducing effort levels. What was the client's problem? What happened during the interaction? How did they manage to reduce the effort? During regular end-of-week meetings, each employee shares two experiences in which he feels he took successful actions to reduce effort.

The strategy for reducing consumer effort is suitable for everyone

Although we have looked at customer effort solely in the context of customer interactions with the call center, the concept of effort reduction is clearly not limited to the walls of service departments.

We shouldn't expect to see a simplified tax code in our lifetime, but at least Intuit (maker of TurboTax) software, was able to make the tax calculation process simple. The secret to TurboTax is that it uses simple, intuitive language and a question-and-answer approach to help taxpayers complete their returns. When you use the program, you don't have to do complex accounting calculations, you simply answer a few questions formulated in clear language. Instead of using the language found on Form IRS31, such as “Enter the amount of your IRA contributions that are classified as nontaxable,” TurboTax simply tells you, “Look at Box 11 on your Form W-232. If there is a number listed there, enter it here.” And if there's anything you don't understand, you can easily access multiple help options - not only a terminology-free FAQ section, but also an online support community where taxpayers and accountants give each other free advice.

The demand for this type of program among taxpayers has proven to be very high: in 2012, according to the Internal Revenue Service, 81% of Americans filing tax returns used one of these online services to complete them.

So, four principles of low-cost service

1. Companies that apply a strategy to reduce effort on the part of the client minimize the need to change communication channels by simplifying the self-service procedure, thereby giving the client the opportunity not to interact with the organization's employees.

2. If the client does call the company, then its employees will not only solve the client’s current problem, but will also try to predict and prevent a subsequent one that the consumer may encounter.

3. In companies aimed at reducing consumer efforts, employees are focused on the “emotional” side of interaction with consumers. It's less about being nice and nice (the people skills they teach in training) and more about developing the ability to manage interactions with clients.

4. Finally, a strategy to reduce customer effort should include efforts to enable the customer to evaluate the quality of the service, not just the speed and efficiency of problem solving. This approach involves moving away from the “stopwatches” and “checklist of actions” that have long been firmly established in service departments.

Every company sooner or later encounters dissatisfied customers.

However, it depends only on you and your employees whether the client will switch to competitors or remain; will tell friends about a bad experience or admire excellent service.

Common types of clients to help you: step-by-step instruction on conflict resolution and recommendations on how to turn negative experiences into new opportunities.

Types of Unsatisfied Customers

Some clients expect a thorough apology, others react calmly but shake their heads, and still others insist that problems be resolved immediately.

Each requires a special approach, and it’s good if you immediately determine which one.

By understanding what the client expects from you, you will structure the conversation correctly and reduce dissatisfaction to a minimum.

Ferocious the client directs a stream of continuous accusations at you - general and possibly personal. It takes some time for him to get directly to the problem.

Sometimes such behavior is deliberately “embellished” to cause a feeling of guilt, because of which employees try in every possible way to somehow please.

Be firm, patient and polite. Excuses won't help. It’s better to get straight to the point: explain how, who will solve the problem and in what time frame.

Balanced the client replaces accusations with the phrases “well, I don’t know,” “how can this be,” “I would have acted differently.” He is culturally indignant, expressing concern and disagreement.

Answer calmly but confidently. Solve the problem and be sure to keep the conversation going on other topics, as this type of client especially appreciates attention.

Quiet the client rarely complains, but does not forget anything and draws conclusions. One fine moment you simply discover that he has gone to a competitor and at the same time told his colleagues how bad your service is.

Organize easy way for claims and complaints: periodic letters with a short questionnaire, a call from a personal manager or another method will help, depending on the standards adopted in the company. You don’t overdo it: according to statistics, out of 25 quiet clients, only one complains.

Key the client realizes his importance, is sure that he deserves the best, and is ready to pay for it. Like the ferocious type, he does not tolerate excuses and requires quick troubleshooting.

Solve the problem, then be sure to contact the client, check if everything is in order, and ask how to compensate for the inconvenience caused.

Omniscient the client is upset because you do not agree with all of his suggestions. He sincerely believes that he understands many things, although this is not always true.

Explain your position in detail and provide examples from personal experience. This type of client is great for improving your communication skills.

begging the client is seeking compensation. He doesn't need answers or explanations. If he thinks that you did something wrong, he will not be satisfied with anything except a bonus for the inconvenience caused.

Composure, confidence in the product, accurate numbers and verified facts will help repel unreasonable onslaught.

whining the client asks a lot of questions, doesn’t bother trying to figure out unclear points, writes to support and complains even in situations where the problem does not relate to your product.

Be patient and keep your cool. It is difficult to satisfy such a client: he expects the most detailed answers and lengthy apologies, after which he immediately finds a reason for a new complaint. The upside is that he will appreciate your efforts. If he likes everything, he will sing your praises to everyone he knows.

Conflict resolution

Exit with honor difficult situation and seven proven steps will help improve the company’s reputation in the eyes of the client.

Stock up on restraint, patience and diplomacy in advance.

1. Listen

Let the client have their full say. Perhaps he is angry and communicates in a raised tone. Don't take it to heart - the aggression is not directed at you, but at the situation. Keeping a cool head is extremely difficult, but don't get emotional.

Your task is to figure out what the problem is and help the other person let off steam. Do not interrupt the client, but make it clear that a quick solution to the problem depends on his calmness.

Your enemies: emotionality, elevated tone, mirror reflection of the client’s behavior, inattention.

2. Show empathy

We all appreciate the compassion of our interlocutor, especially in stressful situations. After the client's aggression subsides, gather your strength and express sympathy. Show that you understand how upset he is.

Your friends: “I understand your disappointment”, “How unpleasant it must be for you”, “I myself have been in such a situation and know how terrible it is.”

3. Apologize

Even if it is not your personal fault in the current situation, be sure to apologize. Attempts to point out the culprits, blame the problem on a third-party service, magnetic storms or a full moon are inappropriate, they will only add fuel to the fire. Imagine yourself in the client's place, think about the inconvenience that was caused to him, and ask for forgiveness.

Your enemies: prevarication, falsehood, formal politeness.

4. Decide on actions

If you are not entirely sure what the client expects, just ask him. Repeat key points problems and ask additional questions if necessary. This will show the client that you were listening carefully, and you will confirm your assumptions about which direction to move. You must clearly understand what result will leave the client satisfied.

Your friends: desire to get to the bottom of things, calmness, friendliness.

5. Solve the problem

If solving a problem is within your competence, do it. If not, immediately involve a specialist who will cope with the task better than others. Explain your actions to the client and warn them how long it will take to correct the defects. Offer compensation: a discount, bonus, or free use of your product for a certain time. If you are at a loss, ask the client: “What can we do for you in the form of compensation?”

Your enemies: chaotic actions, slow response, refusal of compensation.

6. Rejuvenate

After reaching desired result rest and take a few minutes to reflect on what happened. Even if the client is ultimately satisfied, similar situations do not pass without a trace. Therefore, a short “cleansing” of the mind will do you good. Documenting events (time, date, problem, and solution) simplifies this process.

Your friends: a short break, analysis of the situation, conclusions for the future.

7. Carry out diagnostics

Appreciate a dissatisfied customer - he showed the weak point of the product or service. After you resolve the conflict, understand the reasons. Don't look for the culprits, don't incite a war between employees - just make sure that this doesn't happen again in the future.

Your enemies: neglect of received signals and lack of “work on mistakes.”

In custody

Your company should do everything possible to smooth out conflict and resolve a negative situation if it arises.

However, don't turn the desire to provide excellent service into banal sycophancy.

Customers are not always right, and some will be unhappy.

Respect yourself and your employees. Follow the famous Ritz-Carlton maxim: “Ladies and gentlemen serve ladies and gentlemen.”

Psychological assessments are systematic or standardized procedures for observing behavior. As such, assessments are what most psychologists do. Based on behavior comparison different people and analysis of the behavior of the same individual at different periods of time, generalizations are made about the goals of the forecast. Therefore, psychological assessment has great importance as for theory psychological counseling, and for practice. Assessment is widely used in many areas of psychology, but its application in counseling has one important aspect: We provide the client with new information about him and his perspective.

Psychological assessment is a very broad concept. Three aspects of possible customer assessment:

· nosological (assigning the client to a certain nosological category);

· psychodynamic (identification of the dominant mechanisms of psychological defense, conditioned ontogenetically);

· existential (analysis of the client’s subjective world).

In general, a variety of information about the characteristics of people is subject to psychological assessment: information about the client obtained during a conversation, the results of a psychological examination, dreams, creativity, etc. are assessed. We'll talk about this in more detail later.

Problems and their verbalization

Although the book is dedicated to the work of a consultant with the most different problems people, establishing their specific nature allows us to highlight some universal aspects of clients’ difficulties.

Every human problem is a constellation of his feelings, thoughts and intentions. Therefore, it can be resolved by changing your life - its image, relationships, internal orientation. Sometimes there is a temptation to blame the environment (or heredity) for all your problems. The environment is infinitely important as the arena in which a person fights for himself, but to think that the environment is the cause of the individual’s difficulties is unconstructive and wrong. The environment is chessboard and pieces, but the board and pieces cannot predict how the game will play out.

Each of us has difficulties in life. R. May admits: “Frankly speaking, I have not met a client whose problems I did not see in myself, at least potentially.” Therefore, the first and most important point in counseling (which the consultant must inform the client about): the presence of problems is a normal phenomenon. Awareness of this situation is the first step towards eliminating problems. Serious disturbances are caused only by a prolonged inability to solve one's problems or learn to live with them.

A disorder in one area of ​​life usually causes disturbances in other areas. For example, violation interpersonal relationships in a family usually leads to a disorder in the sexual sphere of partners. Can be found infinite set such examples. Therefore, there is usually no reason to talk about one problem; they exist in a kind of “clusters”. This view contradicts the common position in counseling practice, when an attempt is made to identify a specific problem. However, the attempt to reduce the complexities and difficulties of life to any one problem often leads to a misunderstanding of their true causes.

Each problem, despite its apparent typicality, is unique and necessarily requires individual approach. In this sense, it would be a mistake to think that there can be any algorithms for solving individual problems. Each counseling case is unique and requires understanding within the context of the individual client's life.

All problems that we encounter in counseling have their own history of origin and development. When a consultant gets acquainted with the client’s problems, it most often turns out that they have been gestating for a long time before a breakthrough in daily life. Before coming to the consultant, the client, as a rule, tried to solve his problems on his own, and the consultant should know about such attempts and results. Often, the failures of one's own efforts are subsequently accepted as the main causes of existing problems.

Sometimes working on client problems is like proving geometric theorems. We should not forget that every problem has deep personal roots. If we over-intellectualize and objectify the problem, we will face the threat of underestimating the importance of feelings in its occurrence and resolution.

How can a hierarchy of problems be established? First of all, it is important to find out how significant the unmet need and unmet goal are in the client’s life. Then it is necessary to establish to what extent the goal is blocked or the need is frustrated. It is also important how long the problem has existed. If she has long story, the client could already have found many ways (most often unsuitable) of compensation, which make it difficult to identify the real causes of the difficulties. Understanding the origins of the problem by the client himself is very important. If the understanding is erroneous, the client has already constructed a whole series of explanations that do not correspond to reality and make it difficult to resolve.

Identification and verbalization of problems play a significant role in counseling. Expressing your difficulties in words is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. In general, in counseling we talk to the client about things that he knows, but they have never been precisely stated. Problems are most likely “in the head.” This is similar to the often encountered phenomenon when we know a word, but cannot name it; in such cases they say “the word is on the tip of the tongue.” In counseling, it is infinitely important to accurately identify the problem, since in the very process of naming, verbalization, as in passing a written exam, it becomes clear what we really know and what we only think we know. Verbalization of problems also gives reality to unformulated thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and dreams. The name eliminates ephemerality. Verbalization performs another function. It helps the client to a certain extent separate himself from the world around him and from the world of his emotions and thoughts. Statements about oneself create psychic distance from the self; such a distance is necessary if you want to understand, control, and also change yourself. The very fact of verbalization makes a critical assessment of the situation possible. If the client talks about his feelings, then at least this moment they don't control it. When you say “I’m angry,” you move away from that feeling. Expressing what you feel is the first step towards controlling your feelings. Therefore, verbalizing problems is very important, even if they seem insoluble.