Strategies to Manage Customer Complaints

Poor customer complaint-handling strategies can negatively affect customer loyalty. Leaders in the pharmaceutical industry who fail to improve complaint-handling strategies can experience a decrease in profitability. Grounded in the double-loop learning theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore effective strategies business leaders use to manage customer complaints in a pharmaceutical company. Participants included six business leaders in Northwest New Jersey, United States, who successfully used strategies to improve customer complaint handling in the pharmaceutical industry. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents relevant to customer complaint handling and were analyzed using thematic data analysis. Two themes emerged: improving the investigation process and organizing the management structure. A key recommendation for business leaders is to focus on organizational learning to improve investigation strategies. The implications for positive social change include the potential to improve the investigation processes and organizational structure, which may improve the health of the population and lead to providing high-quality and low-risk products to patients