Regardless of the size of the company, customers leave businesses every day. The truly tragic aspect of it all is that almost all companies have no idea at all as to why a customer or client has left them. What is more, most companies don’t even bother to find out. All they seemed focused on is jamming that sales funnel full of new prospects instead of tending to the ones they have. After all, those are the ones who are paying your bills and allowing you to grow. Generally, customers don’t leave a company suddenly. It is a gradual dissatisfaction that could spell your doom if you allow it to continue.
- While the cause is relatively simple, the fix can be more complex. Regardless of the research you may look at, most of it declares that well over 70% of all customers who leave a company tend to give the same reason for leaving a company. The reason, of course, is that they believe that the business doesn’t care enough about them. Further, they leave because of bad attitudes on the part of the sales and customer service staff and/or a feeling of indifference.
- What’s been happening of late? More complaints? More contact with your customers service people about the products/services? Worse, haven’t heard from them in a long while? All of these actions are early warning signs that this customer/client is about to flee to your competition. The responsibility, and the fault, lies with ownership, management and with the sales and customer service staffs.
- Don’t underwhelm anyone. That’s too easy to do and, frankly, too many businesses do it. Deliver far more than you promise. Stay in regular contact with them and communicate with them to determine their current satisfaction. You and your staff must always be around for them and you must find solutions to their particular situation. Customize how you deliver to each individual customer. They must feel that they matter to you or they are surely gone. Being complacent means getting stagnant which means customers feel like they are being taken for granted. You must resolve any problems that arise immediately and to the customer’s advantage if possible. They are the foundation of your business. Without the foundation, the house you have been building for so long will surely crumble and fall.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
