Master the Art of Staying Cool: 5 Rules to Handle Customer Crises

You will have a customer crisis. We apologize for being so direct, but the fact is customer crises are inevitable.  When it does happen, will you be able to navigate it to an acceptable outcome? Do you have a comprehensive approach?   We doubt it. Few organizations do.    Most think a customer crisis isn't going to happen to them or that they will be able to manage it when it does with their business-as-usual approach.    They are wrong. It will, and they won't.    Others think they do have a plan, even if they came up with it when the main method of communication with customers was some form of physical correspondence. They have it in a binder on a shelf back by the disconnected fax machine, just above paper files and right next to their Blackberry charger.   To be fair, they do have a plan, technically, but it lacks relevancy and will probably result in winging it at the moment of crisis.   When it comes to customer experience, even the best-managed companies encounter challenges. The inevitability of a customer crisis necessitates a proactive approach, emphasizing the art of staying composed in the face of adversity. In this pursuit, five fundamental rules emerge to guide organizations through the intricate landscape of customer crises.    We share these rules and why they will help in this episode. The journey through customer crises demands a holistic and proactive approach. By embracing these rules, organizations can navigate the complexities of customer crises with composure, transparency, and a commitment to continuous improvement.   Here are some of the things you will learn: Starting with the obvious, we make the case that a well-thought-out plan is essential in managing customer crises effectively and that you likely have the foundations of one built already in your present customer service scheme. We share how reminding cruise passengers a watery death on the journey is a possibility by having an evacuation drill upon leaving port is a great way to start the cruise experience—and a relationship built on trust.  We explain how actively listening to customers and showing empathy is critical to maintaining composure during a crisis, especially for frontline employees, who face the barrage of raw, disappointed customer emotions first. Why news should always be shared, good or bad, and that transparency and honesty take precedence over withholding information during a crisis. The essential nature of reviewing the whole problem, what you learned, and how you plan to avoid it happening again in the future will move your customer relationships forward in a positive way once the negative incident is behind you.