Be awesome in difficult moments

Sourcing business from within your existing customer base is much cheaper than finding new customers. But if you expect your customers to keep coming back for your services, you need to be more than ok. You need to be awesome.

Being awesome is actually pretty easy when you’re not overworked, when you’ve got great customers, when the challenges and projects aren’t too hard. When business is good, it’s easy to be awesome but that’s not actually when it matters.

Jack Daniel’s gives us a lesson in awesome

I read this Mashable post recently, about how Jack Daniel’s dealt with a potential copyright breach. In a nutshell, author Patrick Wensink took some big trademarking liberties when he was getting his new book cover commissioned. Jack Daniel’s is big business and, to be honest, I would have expected a rather bullish response. It turned out to be quite the opposite.

Image of letter except sourced from Mashable.

I don’t drink Jack Daniel’s so I’ve never had anything to do with the brand but this makes me almost want to buy a bottle and try it! Ok. Not really but I am definitely impressed.

When things aren’t going your way and you’re faced with a difficult situation, then it’s time to be awesome.

It’s an opportunity

Being on the receiving end of a complaint is never nice but, putting my customer’s hat on for just moment, there is nothing nicer than expecting a real sh*tfight about something and receiving awesome customer service instead. I’ve had a number of instances where my seriously unhappy face has walked away delighted. And you can bet I shared the experience.

The difficult moments are an opportunity to turn someone who could potentially bad mouth your business (whether they are entitled to or not) into someone who champions your brand to all and sundry. 

How do you become awesome all the time?

Being awesome in difficult moments is a mindset and it comes from the top. When you, and your team, believe in your brand and know what it stands for, it’s more instinctive to act in your customers’ best interests.

Don’t let your customers feel like you’re indifferent. Empathy is really important when it comes to customer service. Your customers want to feel like you understand. When it’s all going wrong, tell your customers that you understand how they must feel at the situation, and try and sound sincere.

I hate the idea of a copywriting client walking away less than satisfied and I get a bit like a dog with a bone, trying to make them happy. If nothing else, I want my clients to see that I’m trying because I genuinely care.

Treat your customers like you treat your friends. I don’t mean having them around to your kids’ birthday parties; I mean thinking about more than a transaction to the impact your actions have on the long-term relationship.

If it’s more than you in your business, empower your team to help your customers. No one likes being palmed off and passed around like a rubbish Christmas present. Hire people who will be passionate about your customers and your brand and give them what they need to be awesome.

When you’d rather tell someone to shove off, take a deep breath, put a smile on your face and remember this is exactly when you need to be awesome. It might sound like advice from Pollyanna but taking a few seconds to adjust your mindset can make all the difference. Tell yourself that this is the time to be awesome. And be awesome.

Consistency is the key.

If you can give your target market a reason to stay positively engaged with your brand when things are going wrong, when your customer is complaining (or just being a jerk) and you’re pulling out your hair, then you know your business can survive the good times and the bad.

I couldn’t finish this without a quote from the great Barney Stinson: “When I get sad I stop being sad and be AWESOME instead. True story.”

So, when it feels like the world is against you, go and be awesome.

The Copy Detective

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