Some customer service departments may still operate under the assumption that the number of customer complaints they’re receiving is an accurate reflection of the number of actual customer problems. If complaints are down, satisfaction levels must certainly be up, right?

John Goodman, Vice Chairman of Customer Care Measurement & Consulting, says that may not be the case at all. In fact, he says that complaints are often a poor indication of the true level of dissatisfaction amongst your customers. Goodman believes that focusing on that statistic may cause counter-productive behaviors in many service managers and employees.

Goodman says that not even 25% of customers bring their service issues forward because it’s often just too much hassle. Many of them still believe companies won’t care and/or won’t fix the problem to their satisfaction, even if they did receive their complaint.

Here are three ways for customer service leaders to address this particular challenge:

1. Invest and Empower

“Invest in empowerment, tools, and training to increase problem resolution rates for those customers who are already complaining," says Goodman. "The key tool to enhance effectiveness is information about the customers and their transactions so that empowerment can be intelligently used.”

Luckily, customers are offering up more information about themselves, their interests, and their challenges than ever before. Social channels now offer an ongoing, and largely unprompted, look at how customers feel about you and your products. Part of investing in new tools could include a strategy that incorporates these channels into your service team's response plan.

2. Ask for More Complaints

Goodman advises service leaders to get more of the non-complainants to complain so you can resolve their problems. Use the message, “We can only resolve problems we know about” which is both honest and accurate.

Whether it’s with messages attached to customer invoices, easily accessible surveys and questionnaires on your website, or as part of your agents’ call scripts, it’s imperative to let customers know you’re not hiding from complaints, but actively seeking them out.

3. Communicate and Educate

Prevent service issues via more communication coupled with education for customers to properly set expectations and help them avoid problems. One great example of communicating while educating is the development of a strong content strategy. 

Effective content not only serves a marketing function, it offers your company a chance to flex its thought leadership muscles and educate customers on not only specific products, but also your industry as a whole. 

Those service organizations the most determined to seek out more problem areas and resolve issues as effectively as possible will be the ones winning customer loyalty and, crucially, retaining their revenue for their company. This is something any service leader will want to demonstrate for their organization’s C-suite in order to guarantee themselves the right resources to build a truly effective customer service team.

Looking to learn more about demonstrating the value of your service department for your company’s bottom line? Download more wisdom from John Goodman with our free ebook at the button below.