As you build a solid customer base, the hope is that each customer is satisfied and happy with your product. You can also hope that each and every customer is equipped with the savvy and drive to go through the purchasing,  downloading (or receiving), and the using process with very little trouble.

In most cases, you’ll find that as long as you’ve provided a good product and good, easy-to-follow directions for buying, downloading or receiving (by whatever mode), and usage instructions, all will go smoothly. In fact, when this works really well, you’ll get repeat business and referrals.

Thankfully, most customers are a joy to work with at best, or non-problems at worst. But as the saying goes, “There are a few rotten apples in every bunch.” You’re going to find a few troubling customers who, at some point, you may have to cut ties with. If it hasn’t already happened to you, it will. These customers buy your product and very quickly become problems –not withsimple issues, but with repeated complaints coupled with rude communication.

This can occur in a few different ways:

They have no clue how to use your product, and are unable or unwilling to follow the instructions and explanations that are included with your product.

They become demanding of your time and energy by emailing andasking many, many, many questions.

They begin to use the product and blame you if they don’t immediately have excellent results or accuse you of misrepresenting your product.

They continuously contact and badger you for no apparent reason.

At some point, a customer like this becomes a liability, a drain on your time and energy, and costs you much more than they paid for the product. It’s up to you to determine when it’s time to let the customer go.

In an effort to avoid what’s probably inevitable (that you will get a bad customer), ask yourself these questions and make sure you can answer yes to each of them:

Am I marketing to the right target market(s)?

Is my product fully explained – what it does, how it will help the customer, what format the customer will receive it in, guarantees, how to complete the purchase and receive the product?

Does the product come with clear usage instructions?

Does the product come with any mention of “help desk” time, if the customer is having issues?

Is the product good?

If you’ve answered yes to the above questions, you can feel confident that you’re doing your part to ensure a good, smooth transaction. If you’ve answered no to any of the questions, take some time to revise your product and plan so that you’re sure all of the answers are yes.

Once this is done, at least when a difficult customer disrupts your day, you’ll know you’ve done what you can to start them off on the right foot. Next, you have to determine just what you’re willing to do to help confused, frustrated, or otherwise upset customers.

How much time and energy are you willing to spend? What are the advantages and disadvantages of trying to go above and beyond the call of duty to keep this customer happy?

Create your own set of guidelines so you know just how far you’ll go in certain situations.

For example: Your customer seems either unable or unwilling to follow clear instructions that are included with the product. You may want to give this customer a certain amount of your time to help them figure it out.If they still can’t or won’t, it may be time to issue a refund.

Your customer is making demands that seem unreasonable based on the fact that they only paid you $17 or $47 or whatever the price was for your product. At some point, you’ll have to decide if you’re going to issue a refund and cut them loose.

After the refund guarantee expires, your customer is unhappy with his or her individual results and wants you to make things better for them. Do you give a refund in this situation, or adhere to the guarantee period?

Before cutting any customer loose, ask yourself if you can gain by doing anything and everything to make this person happy. If not, find out where your cut-off point is.

In every case, you should always treat a customer with complete respect, but  that doesn’t mean you should disrespect yourself by accepting ongoing wrath from the customer.

Always be polite and never insult your customer. When you get to the point where you know there’s no hope of salvaging the situation and keeping your sanity, tell the customer that you believe your product is not right for them and that you would be happy to offer them a refund.

If they argue this with you, explain that you’ve done everything you can for them, and that you’ll issue a refund. Stay firm with them once you’ve decided to remove them from your customer base. Give the refund promptly and move on.

With your Internet business, just the same as any business, your mantra should be “The customer is always right.” But you must add a caveat to that, remembering that sometimes the wrong customer has hooked up with the wrong product.

Certain customers will never be fully satisfied with your product – or anyone else’s for that matter – it’s rarely an isolated incident with terminally rude or unsatisfied customers. And some people simply aren’t savvy enough or willing enough to learn how to do something new.

Don’t let those difficult customers who come along once in awhile slow down your momentum. Learn how to deal effectively with them, don’t take it personally, and keep the ball rolling.

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