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If you’ve been in business for any extended period of time, you know that you’re not going to satisfy every customer. Occasionally, a customer is going to get ticked off at you. They might threaten to stop doing business with you, or they may go online and say some nasty things about your company. The situation might have been caused by a mistake you or someone at your company made. Or it could have been caused by something that was totally out of your control.

While I don’t subscribe to the theory that the customer is always right, I do believe there are many instances where your best play is to apologize and try to smooth things over with the customer. And because you only get one chance to apologize (and you can’t apologize for a bad apology, Larry David), you have to make sure you get the apology right.

Here are some helpful tips for apologizing to a customer.

• Don’t blame others—Customers hate it when companies try to pass the buck. Even if you’re not directly responsible for the mistake, you need to take full responsibility and give a sincere apology. Playing the blame game will only upset the customer more.
• Don’t add a “but”—You can’t say “We apologize, but…” and expect the customer to accept your apology. Swallow your pride, apologize, and move forward. A half-hearted apology is often worse than no apology at all.
• Be prompt—Don’t wait until it’s too late to apologize. You have to take swift action when a customer is angry at your company. The longer you wait, the angrier they get and the harder it gets to win the customer back.
• Make sure you actually apologize—Apologizing means using words like “sorry” and “apologize.” Too many times, people are afraid to fully apologize because they think that admitting guilt will harm their reputation. But the reality is that you have to fully apologize in order for the customer to get over their anger and resentment toward your brand. An effective apology can restore that relationship.

Have you ever had to apologize to a customer? How did you handle it?

No company is immune to the risk of a PR crisis. From BP to Toyota, we’ve seen some major brands take huge blows to their reputations over the past few years. While you might not find yourself facing a crisis that garners as much attention as those previously mentioned, your brand’s reputation could still take a serious blow that puts your company’s future at risk.

Here’s what you need to do when the worst happens.

• Act swiftly—The longer you wait to respond to the crisis at hand, the worse it will get. You can’t just bury your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong. You have to jump on the problem immediately to minimize the damage and gain control of the situation.
• Admit fault—Why do so many people hate corporations? It’s because corporations rarely take responsibility for their actions. They point fingers at others any time a problem arises, killing any goodwill they might have had with their customers. There comes a time where you just have to swallow your pride, step up to the plate, and admit you made a mistake. A sincere apology can go a long way to recovering your reputation.
• Correct the problem and take measures to prevent it from happening again—Just saying your sorry isn’t going to cut it if you make the same mistake again and again. You have to identify the source of the problem and take major steps to correct it and keep it from ever happening again.
• Go above and beyond to make things right—It’s important that you take the necessary steps to make things right with anyone you may have wronged. But rather than doing just enough to make it right, go above and beyond what’s expected to show your commitment to rebuilding the relationship.
• Don’t give up—Repairing your reputation is going to take time. Think about it like this. When someone you know does something horrible to you, do you repair that relationship overnight? Not usually. It takes time for them to win back your trust. The same goes for when your company gets caught in a scandal. You have to keep working to win back the trust of your customers. Just look at BP. They’re still running ads trying to recover from damage done to their brand after the oil spill disaster.

What other tips would you add? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

One of the biggest ongoing battles your company will fight is winning the trust of customers. Consumers have become more skeptical of companies than ever before. They know that the web is full of shady businesses, so their first instinct is to call “B.S.” on any company they aren’t familiar with.

What can you do to gain the trust of customers? Here are some tips to help you gain the upper hand in this never-ending battle.

• Ask your satisfied customers for testimonials—Customers don’t trust you, but they do trust your customers. If they see that other consumers have had positive experiences when dealing with your company, they’ll feel more at ease doing business with you. But you can’t always expect your satisfied customers to brag about your company. You need to be proactive and ask them if they’d be interested in submitting a testimonial about their experience.
• Encourage customers to review you—Many customers now turn to independent review websites, like Yelp and Angie’s List, to research companies before doing business with them. These websites can make or break your reputation, so you need to kindly encourage your customers to review your company. Remember, you can’t bribe them to submit reviews or tell them to leave a positive review. Just ask them to leave honest feedback about their experience.
• Display your credentials proudly—If you have strong credentials and professional affiliations, your credibility will instantly increase. Post these affiliations and credentials prominently on your website and marketing materials.
• Never promise what you can’t deliver—If you lie to a customer only once, they’ll likely never trust you again. Never promise what you can’t deliver. If you tell them you’re going to do something, do it. In fact, go above and beyond what you promise so they’ll take notice and tell others.
• Be transparent and authentic—People trust people, not companies. That’s why it’s important that you build personal relationships with your customers. Be open with them. Be yourself. Connect with them on social networking websites, and make yourself available to talk to your customers. This will earn you that trust you desire.

What are some other tips you have for companies looking to earn trust from their customers?

I’ve been a freelance copywriter for about 3 or 4 years now, and I’m still learning valuable business lessons on a regular basis. Last year, I learned a number of important lessons that have helped me grow my business, better serve my clients, and be better at everything I do.

Here are the 5 biggest business lessons I learned in 2011. After you’re done reading them, I’d love for you to comment and share some of the important things you discovered last year.

1. Even the most satisfied clients require nurturing—Customer relationship management is very important to running a successful business. It’s so much easier and more profitable to keep your current clients happy than it is to try to find new clients. When you think about keeping clients loyal, it’s only natural to focus your attention on strengthening your weakest relationships. However, you have to remember that a client who is happy right now may not be happy one month from now. Every client needs attention. Even the ones who you think will never leave you.
2. Giving up control can be a good thing—When it comes to my business, I’ve always been something of a control freak. I’ve been wary of turning to others for help, outsourcing certain menial tasks, or letting go of any power over my business. But I finally had a revelation. If I want my business to grow, I’m going to have to give up some control and trust others to help me. I started doing so in the latter half of 2011 with some great results.
3. It’s about value, not price—Will there always be price shoppers? Of course. But for the most part, price isn’t that important. It’s the value you provide. Your products and services can be more expensive than the competition’s as long as you do a clear job of showing what they’re still a better value at that price point.
4. Some clients will never be happy—Let’s face it. There are certain clients who just want to complain. No matter how far backwards you bend over for them, they’re still going to be angry. Avoid doing business with this type of client at all costs.
5. The competition is always improving—Your competitors are always getting better. Their services are improving, and they’re always adding new services and features. That means you have to keep getting better too. You have to always be pushing forward, finding new ways to improve the quality of the services you provide for your clients.

What business lessons did you learn in 2011?

Look, you might never find yourself in the middle of a PR crisis as bad as the ones faced by the likes of BP and Toyota, but just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you’re immune to controversy. You never know when you could find yourself in hot water, and if you don’t respond properly, the problem will worsen and your credibility could be irrevocably shot to pieces.

Here are a few of the mistakes companies often make during a PR crisis that can cause their customers to stop trusting them.

1. Take too long to issue a response—Waiting too long to issue a response during a PR crisis looks suspicious. You can’t just stay silent and hope that the problem will magically go away. It won’t It will only get worse because your customers will assume that you’re hiding something, and  since you’re not out there telling your side of the story, they’ll have no other choice than to believe what they’re hearing about you.
2. Lie or conceal the truth—Unfortunately, the general public has been trained to believe that most companies can’t be trusted. Too many corporations flat out lie or try to hide the truth. Be better than that. If you’ve made a mistake, admit it and issue a sincere apology.
3. Not offer a plan for fixing the problem—The public can be more forgiving than you might think, but they need to be reassured that you won’t make the same mistakes again. If you want to keep their trust, you need to have a clear plan for resolving the issue and preventing it from happening again.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a PR disaster? How did you handle it?