Your Client Or Not Your Client, That Is a Question. What Could You Have Done Differently To Keep Your Customer Loyal?

Yesterday the client could be yours. Today something happens and your client won't remain loyal to your business anymore. I have been researching a non-tech market: testing the target audience, USP, demand, etc.

In February, a potential client visited me to try on a product he was interested in. Let's call him Max. You should have seen his eyes full of pleasure when Max tried on the product, for which he made quite a distance by public transport. I have not noticed such a "parade of feelings" among clients in IT.??This is what I like about non-tech products: a potential client immediately understands what this is all about.

Satisfied Max said that his wife would kill him, but he still wants to buy more: "Give me more!" Max bought one more item and was very happy to leave a review about his buying experience at my online kiosk.

One month has passed. Max called me upset: "Mike, I bought a product from you. I am in shock". He sent me his video. It turned out that some elements had fallen off on the purchased product.

Ok... I am talking about shoes.

The pair of ECCO winter boots that I sold him in February had the backs with the brand name peeled off.

Karl, does ECCO use glue to stick their logo on a pair of winter boots?!?

I sold Max a pair of leather shoes that I bought myself in The Netherlands 7 years ago and have never worn since. They just layed "brand new" in the box all the time.

As far as I know, none of the sellers who sell not new goods compensate customers for the damage if something suddenly happens to their purchased products after some time (especially after the standard 14 days). I remembered this but decided to act differently.

I told Max that I share his feelings and that he paid a lot of money for the shoes.?I told him that I am not a manufacturer, neither am I a store selling the new shoes. Therefore, I cannot guarantee the quality. However, good relations with the customers are important to me, even if I am not selling a new product. Therefore, I offered Max compensation for the damage.

Max did not expect that... He thanked me and said he could pay for the repair by himself. He was pleased I did not hide like most sellers did when a problem arose. I still insisted on small reimbursement and compensated him a sum of 10 EUR.?Myself, I was very glad about my decision. As a response, Max invited me to his house for tea and a demonstration of his small manufacture for producing honey products...

I wonder if any merchants provide a guarantee for second-hand products.

Another month has passed. The day before yesterday, Max got in touch with me again with a new video. His "new" ECCO outsole began to break. I turned my empathy on again. This time Max wanted me to reimburse him 30 EUR for repairing his boots...

This time, my intuition and logic in sync insisted I should not do this. And yet I offered Max a 20% discount on another pair of shoes of his size. But Max continued: "Mike, the option of refunding 30 EUR will suit me better, because it is humanly, but you probably think that I have not rightly made a claim... I will not argue, God will judge.?Mike, the first time you acted humanly when you reimbursed 10 EUR - that's a plus sign to your Karma. But now..." ??

Define your personal and professional boundaries: what works for you and what doesn't, voice it out if necessary, and implement it.?Sometimes someone will fall out of your circle. But life is much easier when you realize, understand, and follow your own values and rules.?And those who share them will come to you and stay with you for long.

Please share, what you guys think, about this story. Did I have to agree to Max's request to compensate him for the shoe repair costs? What could you have done differently to keep Max as a loyal customer?

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#psychology #sales #smallbusiness #marketing #retail