Have you ever wondered why customers leave? It’s dangerous to ASSUME you know why they leave, so I did some research to find out the true reasons.
It can be frustrating when someone walks out the door, especially when you don’t know why.
Here’s what I found – let’s discuss some of the most common reasons customers leave and what you can do to prevent it.
REASON 1: YOU DON’T CARE
Most customers leave because they don’t think you care about them. That’s how they feel after their emails are ignored, they don’t get a return phone call, or you don’t follow through on a promise that was made.
It feels like you don’t care about them.
They could also feel taken for granted. When was the last time you said “Thank You” for their business? If you don’t say it, they didn’t hear It, and now they’re starting not to feel valued…
REASON #2: THEY’RE UNHAPPY WITH YOUR SERVICE
This one is actually the easiest to fix because you can solve a lot of the service complaints with some simple automation (like acknowledging that you got their email or text, etc.)
If you don’t help them *right when they need you*, then they’ll leave. Great service Is a combination of how FAST you respond, how THOROUGH you respond, and how often you follow-up.
REASON #3: COMPETITOR WINS THEM OVER
This one stinks, but it happens. The competitor gives them a big promise or a new opportunity and they leave… you served them well and made them feel valued, but they leave anyway.
This happens. You can either Improve your services, upgrade your offerings or stay the same. Either way, there’s always turnover. Work to reduce It, but know that it happens. The “shiny object syndrome” draws people away.
Do not give up on people who leave. Stay In contact with them, remind them of how you serve them, and make them offers to come back to you on a regular basis.
REASON #4: THEY QUIT THE BIZ…
There was a lot of upheaval the past two years, and many people quit their current positions or businesses and made a switch.
There’s not too much you can do about this…it happens.
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ACTION ITEMS:
1. Tell your customers that you care about them, in tangible ways. Even small things like sending a Christmas card with a brownie goes a long way, and it costs you like five bucks.
2. Improve your internal processes so you can respond faster and follow up with your clients to make sure they’re good.
3. Study your competition and proactively Improve rather than react too slow
4. Send an email to people who have left and let them know that you miss them.