Four Types of Difficult Customers and How to Help Them

We’ve all dealt with difficult people and difficult customers. Here are 4 simple ways to deal with these situations and customers. You’ll be amazed at how simple and effective taking these approaches can be.

To start, remember that every difficult customer will come in with a different motive/need that underlies their questions and frustrations. These needs can be broken down into 4 areas. We can call each customer a “type” of customer.

When you can discover the type of difficult customer you have, you can then try and satisfy their need and truly serve your customer.

The Four Different Needs Of Difficult Customers

The difficult customers have the following needs:

• The first type needs Problems to solve.
• The next type needs Interaction.
• The third type needs Stability or Safety.
• The fourth type needs Information.

The Problem Customer

When you read that subtitle you may have thought, aren’t all customers coming to me with a problem to solve? Yes, that’s true but let’s go a little deeper with what I mean by they need to solve a problem.

The first type of customer needs Problems. They are driven to find and solve problems. When this type of customer becomes difficult it’s because they don’t think you can solve the problem or that you didn’t solve it (if they are a current customer).

For this customer, empowering them to solve their problem is the key to winning their business or continuing the relationship. Do this by providing options to them and make sure each option will help solve their problem. Then allow them to pick the option they want.

The Interaction Customer

This type can be the most challenging. They are the customer that shares stories, you can easily befriend them, and most people enjoy them being a customer. But sometimes underlying their stories and interactions is a frustration about your product or service. To help this difficult customer, you have to draw out of them what they are frustrated about.

This type of difficult customer wants to be heard and to share their story or opinion. The key to winning their business or continuing the relationship with them is to listen for what they are trying to tell you. It is difficult for this type to just outright say what is bothering them. They want to keep you happy too.

Once you know what is bothering them, provide a story or an opinion of someone important to them that will help them better understand the situation, product, or service you provide. In other words, they need to feel connected with you and they need social proof.

The Safety/Stability Customer

The third type of customer needs Stability or Safety. Many times this customer didn’t get what they expected from you. Sometimes trust may have been broken in some way with you or your business. Possibly, an employee confused them.

All of these cause instability and things don’t feel comfortable (unsafe) with your business. No matter the cause, the key to winning their business or continuing the relationship with them is to help them feel Comfortable. They need to know you have things under control and you will support them.

Once this need is satisfied, your difficult customer will be on your side again and back to being loyal to your business.

The Information Customer

The fourth type of customer needs Information. This customer is frustrated or confused because what they know about your product or service isn’t satisfying their need for information.

The key to winning their business or continuing the relationship with them is to provide the information they need so they can be the “Expert” on your product or service.

Once this customer type has their informational needs satisfied, they can make an educated and informed decision about your product or service. Just be careful that you don’t rush them. This customer wants to have made the right decision and that takes time for them. Give them what they need (time and information) so they can make the right decision.

Difficult Customers Are Everywhere

In summary, there are different needs that each customer has when they walk, click, or call on your business. What’s great about knowing these needs is you can help the difficult customer in an email, on the phone, or in person. Usually, customers have only one or two of these needs. If you satisfy their specific need, you will have a happy customer and a long-term customer.

Through my consulting firm, we help people learn how to understand, identify, and adapt to the four people types for a more effective work environment and satisfied customers.

If you want to learn more about how I help business and teams improve their customer service, checkout our company-wide survey tool.