Year II March-April 2010 n. 5
in san marino
C ONTENTS
INFORMATION MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO
INTERVIEW Valeria Ciavatta, Minister of Internal Affairs ECOMERCATALE LEONARDO BLANCO’S WORKS ON SHOW AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAPPY HOUR, HAPPY BUSINESS EXPO SHANGHAI 2010 MEMBER’S AREA SEMINARS
E DITORIAL Massimo Ghiotti - General Manager
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill Gates In recent decades, thanks to enormous technological breakthroughs, the extension of the borders of the global market, and the profound diversification of consumer demand, companies have tried to provide increasingly more effective, quick and exhaustive answers in order to stay competitive. And they have done so by waging on quality certification – of the company and its products – on computerization and on customer service. But despite the excellence of the product and all the precautions taken, unhappy customers cannot be ruled out. Unhappy with the purchase made, the quality of the goods, or with the service received. And this is where the intelligence and capacity of the company come in, so as not to consider this moment an unfortunate and pointless obstacle, but rather a real chance to upgrade and above all a chance to win the loyalty of customers
by now considered as lost. And the first way of bringing this about is to stop thinking that an unhappy customer is simply a nuisance. Naturally, it is always a good idea to try and figure out who we have before us, what his level of knowledge is and why he judges our work negatively. The second step is one that can really make the difference, i.e., being capable of listening to the customer. He/she must be given the chance to explain why he feels unhappy, and be treated with respect and attention. It is easy to be distracted or refuse dialogue simply because we think we are in the right. Statistics do in fact show that people who receive satisfactory answers remain loyal over the years, while those who are treated inadequately not only leave the company, but often talk negatively about it to others and thus risk destroying the brand name. A significant change in corporate culture is therefore needed such as to transform the general feeling of vexation in dealing with a complaint into
greater awareness and the chance to strengthen customer loyalty. It is therefore easy to appreciate that time spent understanding a customer’s expectations and needs is never wasted. The matter must be addressed in a critical and collaborative spirit, trying to stay calm and optimistic, even when you are under pressure. Above all, focus should be shifted from the problem to the solution. In some circumstances, it is a good idea to ask for other opinions so as to gain a broader outlook, and thus have at disposal a greater number of elements to go ahead and assess the situation and come up with an answer. If the company is prepared to be more customer focused and view the customer as a constant point of reference, able to prompt it to set itself new and more ambitious goals, then it will be easier to create more constructive relations, based on confidence, and consider disputes as an encouragement to proceed along the winding path of quality.
in san marino
march-april 2010 1