Building up positive relations with your customers takes plenty of time and effort. Consumers have lots of options these days when they’re on the lookout for goods and services and if they’re not happy with what they order, or they feel they haven’t be treated well, they will not hesitate in taking their custom elsewhere. Also, they may leave negative comments on the web and badmouth your organisation to their friends and family.

It’s therefore crucial that you pull out all the stops when it comes to customer service and, as part of this, it may pay off to send business holiday ecards. These gestures are inexpensive and easy to arrange, and yet they can have a significant impact on customer perceptions.

UK consumers aren’t afraid to complain

Highlighting the importance of effective PR, research conducted by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) has shown that Brits are not afraid to complain. The organisation found that despite the fact UK consumers now face fewer problems when buying goods and services than they did five years ago, they are more likely to issue complaints.

It revealed that the proportion of people who encounter problems when making purchases dropped from 17 per cent in January 2008 to 11.7 per cent in July last year. However, the proportion of those who went on to make a complaint rose from 72 per cent to 76 per cent in the same period.

Handling complaints

In the unfortunate event that your firm does receive complaints, it’s important that you respond to them quickly, according to ICS chief executive Jo Causon.

She remarked: “Our research suggests that customers are most satisfied when complaints are dealt with immediately. As a result, organisations need to ensure that all customer contacts are handled consistently well, and that customers are not passed from pillar to post.”

However, she also emphasised the importance of avoiding customer ill-feeling in the first place. About this, she suggested it is “essential to try to prevent complaints occurring”.

How we can help

Here at eCO2 Greetings we’re experts when it comes to holiday ecards for business and with our help, you may be able to foster customer relations more effectively. Of course, first and foremost it’s important that you provide goods or services that meet your customers’ needs. However, by sending electronic greetings cards, you stand to further enhance your relationship with your customer base.

In effect, you can see these web-based greetings as the cherry on top of your customer service cake. Alone, they wouldn’t stand for much, but as part of an effective all-encompassing strategy, they can be a great extra touch.

Easy and quick

The great thing is, unlike many other aspects of customer relationship management, using the E cards we provide is quick and easy. All you need are a spare few moments and access to the web.

If you’re keen to discover more about the options we have to offer, just take a look around our website or get in touch with our friendly and professional team by phone or email.