Conventional wisdom targets the most satisfied customers and offers them more of what they want. New opportunities can often be found when looking at the least satisfied customers and asking them what they would like to see instead.

When and how to apply Least Satisfied:

For entrepreneurs and small business owners, each customer is important. And despite your efforts to meet their needs, a dissatisfied customer is inevitable. Instead of becoming defensive or burying your head in the sand, these complaints should be viewed as an opportunity for your business to learn and grow.

On average, Americans share their negative experiences with a company with 15 others. To put this into perspective, if you receive 10 complaints, 150 additional individuals will be less likely to conduct business with you. However, it is also important to note that when complaints are resolved within five minutes, customers are more likely to spend more on future purchases. Therefore, it is relatively easy to convert these unhappy customers into profitable ones. For this reason, you must plan for dissatisfied customers, determine in advance how you will handle their complaints, and ensure you learn from their experiences to mitigate future business damage.

Seven tips:

1. Gain a new perspective on what’s important to your customers

2. A test of your conflict resolution skills

3. Evaluate if you’re truly delivering on your promises

4. See your flaws

5. Gain an understanding of what your silent customers are experiencing

6. Evaluate if enough information is given upfront to your customers to avoid the situation

7. They’re more valuable than customers who leave without providing feedback

Well-known companies that use this pattern are WW and Biogen.