Complaints Spawn Complaints Spawn Complaints

As part of the RTA Business complaints series, this week we want to look at the knock on effects of complaints on your business.

We Know About Potential Buyers Here at RTA Business

We know a thing or two about what you need to do, when you decide it’s time to part with your company here at RTA Business. A market leader in the field, we have the largest business database of any UK transfer agent, ensuring that we’ll find the right buyer for your firm, and the right company for you to buy.

We have a lot of experience when it comes to selling a company here at RTA Business, and we know what potential buyers are looking for, and what they most certainly aren’t.

The More Complaints You Get, the Worse It Is

That’s’ why we’ve been taking the time over the last few weeks to talk about the damming effects that complaints can have on your business when you decide to up sticks and sell. If a potential buyer finds out that customers have been complaining about you, they’ll wonder why, and it’ll have a really good chance of turning them off your business.

Of course, the more complaints you have, the more likely they are to impact a potential buyer’s decision. Think of it like this; more complaints suggest that more people have reason to complain, which suggests more problems to deal with for your business; not what a potential buyer wants to hear.

One Complaint Will Spawn Another

You may be thinking at this point that complaints tend to be one offs, that they don’t build up. But they can, and it’s often a case of that if you don’t deal with the problems at hand, then one complaint will spawn another complaint, which will spawn another etc.

Take the energy industry for example. According to the BBC, the Financial Ombudsman has revealed that in the first six months of this year, complaints more than doubled from the same period in 2014; up to 22,671 from 10,598.

Deal With the Underlying Issue behind the Complaint

So why did this happen? Was there some sort of major one off scandal that caused complains to skyrocket? No, all that happened was that the cost of energy continued to rise; the ombudsman found that 84% if all these complaints related to billing.

So you see what happened here? The energy companies didn’t deal with the problem of rising costs, even though it was already causing customers to complain, and what did customers do? They kept on complaining, making the problem worse.

That’s why RTA Business Consultants always suggests you deal with the underlying problem that caused a complaint, to ensure that it doesn’t get any worse, and ruin your chances of finding a potential buyer for your business.

UK Trade Deficit Widened In May

Figures have revealed that last month the UK’s trade deficit widened, and at RTA Business we ask what this means if you are looking to sell your business.

RTA Business, the Business Sales Specialists

When you decide it’s time to profit from your hard work and sell your business, RTA Business are here to help. With our expertise, you can be sure that you will find the right buyer for your company.

Therefore, we know how a potential buyer thinks when they’re considering whether to take your business off your hands, and one of their main considerations is the economy. Is the economy strong enough to make sure that when they take over, the firm they’ve bought will grow and make them a profit?

What Is The Trade Deficit?

That’s why the UK’s trade deficit figures are so important to note here. A trade deficit is basically the amount by which a country’s imports exceeds the values of its exports; in other words, they’re paying more than they’re taking in, leaving less funds to devote to economic growth.

It appears that the UK may be paying more out than it’s taking in right now, as the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), have revealed that last month, the UK’s trade deficit grew, in no small part, on the back of aircraft imports.

Why Did The Trade Deficit Widen?

Specifically, the ONS revealed that the UK’s goods trade deficit widened to measure just over £9.2 billion. This is rise from the £8.8 billion figure for April, which was famously revised because of an initial miscalculation of oil imports.

So essentially, last month saw the goods deficit widen by a margin of £400 million, and figures have gone on to show this was largely pushed up by aircraft imports; which are notoriously high value and traded fairly infrequently. However, their impact was in part offset by the country’s services sector, which measured a £6.8 billion surplus.

What Does This Mean for You If You Are Looking to Sell Your Business?

So what does this mean for you if you are looking to sell your business? Obviously, the fact that the deficit widened suggests a weaker economy, which could be bad.

However, the fact that aircraft imports are so infrequent, means that this is unlikely to be indicative of larger economic trends, and that it’s unlikely that these figures will dissuade a potential buyer from thinking now is the right time to take your company off your hand!

If you want to learn more or need to speak to a member of the team, please contact the RTA Business Complaints department today.

RTA Business Complaints Advice: Handle Customer Complaints like O2

If you’re looking to sell your business and you don’t want customer complaints to damage your chances with a potential buyer, RTA Business would advise you take a leaf out of 02’s book.

RTA Business: Complaints are a Minefield

Throughout the years RTA Business has built a reputation for brokering the best possible deal we can for you, when you decide it’s time to sell your business. Come to us for help getting the sale through and you’ll have all the experience you need on your side to sell your company off for a huge profit.

Our experience has taught us what buyers are, and more importantly are not, looking for. Complaints comes top of the list for the latter. They indicate a faulty product, a sub-standard service and a headache that most buyers will just think isn’t worth the hassle. Those that do, will use it as an excuse to undervalue your business.

Honey is Sweeter than Vinegar

That’s why you need to make sure that you get complaints under control as soon as possible. You may think that one person with one voice can’t shout that loudly, but with modern social media on their side, one voice can echo around the world and damage your reputation, along with your bottom line, forever.

There are many ways you can handle complaints, but want some RTA Business complaints advice? We say that you should remember the phrase ‘honey is sweeter than vinegar’ and handle it by being nice. Take a leaf out of O2’s Book.

O2: A Case Study in How to Handle Business Complaints

The BBC featured an article on the power of the Twitter complaint and spoke to expert David Schneider, who runs social media consultancy That Lot. He spoke of a Twitter campaign that was provoked by an outage on the O2 network.

He then praised the way 02 handled the Twitter complaints campaign, saying that: “They happened to have a very skilful, self-deprecating, humorous person on their Twitter feed at that time who dealt with the abuse in a very amusing way.”

An Amazing PR Opportunity

Can you believe it, they got complaints and actually turned them into good press! It made 02 look good and negated the bad press that could have been generated by the dreaded viral Twitter complaints campaign. If you’re looking to make sure that complaints don’t effect the sale of your business, follow O2’s amazing example!

UK Regions to Receive Billions in Funding

The announcement of billions in funding to local regions could be great if you’re looking to sell your business and this week, RTA Business explains why.