Anger management: your best form of advertising is a satisfied customer. And your worst? An unhappy customer. One of the best things you can do for business
Author: Aftermarket Business

It's 7 a.m. on Tuesday. and you're barely halfway through your first cup of coffee when Steven calls. He bought parts for his SUV yesterday, and at the moment, he's not the calm, levelheaded customer you remember working with.

In fact, his voice is so loud, you have to hold the receiver away from your ear. And he's ranting and raving in such circles that a full three minutes pass before you figure out he's upset because he was given the wrong part.

After about five minutes, he finally pauses to indicate that it's your turn. How do you respond? You have two choices: you can do your best to get Steven off the phone as quickly as possible, or you can work some customer relations magic, salvage this relationship and prevent him from discouraging his friends, family and co-workers from visiting your store.

Understanding the value of customers

Before you decide how to handle Steven, ask yourself this: do you know the lifetime value of each customer? This isn't just how much your average customer spends with you in the course of their lifetime but also the potential of their referrals and influence on others.

Taco Bell estimates that the lifetime value of each of its customers is about $12,000, says Maribeth Kuzmeski, president of Red Zone Marketing of Libertyville, Ill. For the carmakers, the figure increases exponentially to $340,000 per customer. Neither of those figures is anything to take lightly, especially in today's economy.