All businesses have them: those customers who are just a little more demanding, require a little more attention and can be a little more difficult to deal with than the rest.

For promotional products distributors, it might seem that every customer is absolutely vital and must be cherished. It’s commonly thought that tough customers are a reality you have to deal with, no matter the sector in which you operate. Yet, lots of times "the squeaky wheel" might be the customer we need for revenue and to keep us on our toes.

Relationships, as we have discussed many times before in the Idea Custom Solutions' blog, are the glue that holds you and customers together beyond any sales transactions. Handling those who are more difficult to please requires that you exercise patience, while being eager to learn and help.

Listen and Communicate

Sometimes — perhaps most times — when customers appear challenging, it may be that they have an unexpressed need or business problem you haven't yet understood. Inc. magazine highlighted this phenomenon in a post earlier this year called, "The Right Way to Handle Difficult Customers". Typically, the post's author writes, opportunities to improve your business and relationships with customers can be buried in complaints or other requests from them for service.

"It's a fallacy to assume that just because someone is behaving wildly," Inc. says of the tough customer, "(that) his or her argument has no merit. Complaints, even angry ones, can contain insight; it's your job to seek out the friction."

Keeping an open ear and open mind is also helpful in reassuring your customers and, when they are hostile, disarming them. Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle, a contributor to Forbes, advises that being attentive and responding is critical, no matter what the issues are. Specifically, the first step to resolving needs, Leinbach-Reyhle says, is to let customers communicate how they feel.

"Giving your customers time and space to ‘vent’ is often all they need to help move forward towards resolution," she writes, and that by letting the customer do so you automatically support them in their role as a customer."

Whether your instinct is to apologize for their displeasure, or remedy it with direct action — such as replacing a product, repairing something, or offering a credit or refund — listening goes a long way to building additional trust for your business with customers.

Improve for Ongoing Growth

Part of the success of any SMB comes from the value that you provide customers, both new and long-term ones. Surely, you would not be in the market you are in if you didn't add something valuable to the people you serve. So don't be afraid to take inventory once in a while.

Remember that your brand and the reputation of your business come not only from the products and services you sell initially, but also in follow-up services provided.

With that in mind, it doesn't hurt to let customers know what you're doing to help them when a request for service arises. According to Entrepreneur, one secret to keeping customers is constant open communication. Always be upfront with customers on how you can help them, as well as what you will do to fix mistakes or remedy problems. Most importantly, let them know what you did once you have resolved their complaints.

In the end, remember also that the difficult or demanding customer isn't all bad. Peter Scocimara, a support services director for Google, also wrote recently for Entrepreneur and argued that it is the demanding customers who help business owners the most to develop in the long run.

Scocimara writes that if you utilize clients’ "high expectations as an opportunity to learn, engage and better understand them, you will make better products, inspire your employees and create customer advocates for your business."

Specifically, customers that request better performance from the businesses that serve them, Scocimara writes, motivate us to lean toward our best business instincts. Ingenuity, problem solving and foresight into preventing and resolving future problems down the road all come from the experiences we have in pleasing customers.

Idea Custom Solutions looks forward to supporting you. Whether you need vector artwork, embroidery digitizing, image editing, marketing materials or any other graphic services, our goal is to make you look good by delivering reliable, quality and cost-effective designs you and customers can count on.