Rebuilding Trust After a Crisis: How You Can Win Your Customers Back

A working building something. Your company makes a mistake, one that directly impacts its relationships or reputation. Now that you’ve addressed the issue, the challenges aren’t over yet. How do you convince clients or customers they can trust your company again? While most consumers are often forgiving. Customers may be less forgiving, as past mistakes often remain clearly in people’s minds. To win them back, consider the following:

Communicate to everyone in the company what has been done.

When customers talk to customer service managers or when clients talk to project managers or senior management, they must get the same message. The message should be very clear and should at least include the following:

“We have made a mistake”
“We acknowledge the mistake we made”
“We have rectified the problem by”
“The following steps have been taken to prevent a similar problem from happening”

You need to convince buyers that the company has changed and that things will be different.

Highlight a successfully completed project.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. So if you can show consumers that your company has successfully completed a project without a hitch, your story will be more convincing. However, many customers won’t be too eager to give you a second chance right away. In some cases, you may have to give them an offer they can’t refuse.

Ensure you deliver projects that satisfy clients.

When submitting bids, make sure your price is competitive. At all times, you also need to make sure every project is done to the client’s satisfaction. If your offer is accepted, it would be a good idea to have senior management attend important client meetings. Don’t be afraid to talk about past issues and share what has been done to correct them. Make sure the client also knows what you will be doing differently on their project.

If all else fails and you are unable to win clients back, you might want to look for new clients and other markets. You can also look into completely rebranding the company. Ideally, it would be best that everyone in the company knows the importance of maintaining the company’s reputation. After all, it’s always a lot easier than rebuilding a tainted one.

If you need public relations help in managing crisis communications or reputation management, Axia Public Relations has you covered. Book a consultation with us today.