4 Tips for Winning Back Lost Customers

The aim of every business is to identify and satisfy customer needs in order to increase their market share. However, running a business means that you have to be prepared to face all kinds of customer-related situations, no matter how difficult they are to deal with. For example, there might be times when you find customers leaving your business and you have to understand why this happens so that you can win them back and serve them in the best possible manner. Research shows that an average company loses about 10 percent of its customers every year. Taking all this into consideration, here are some tips for winning back customers who have left your company.

 

Identify Every Possible Reason

The first step is to think of all the possible reasons that may have caused your customers to stop doing business with you. Did they have a bad experience with your company or do they prefer your competitors’ offerings? Have your products and services failed to come up to their standards? Are your prices too high? Whatever the reason, approach your clients intelligently. You can either contact them directly or create an online discussion forum of your business where they can share their views on your products or services and give opinions about changes they would like to see in your company. Interview your clients and ask them if there is anything that has been unsatisfactory to them. Talk to your customer service representatives and ask them if there were any specific situations in which your clients said anything about your business that may have led them to leave your company. Visit review sites online and search for reviews that may have been posted about your company. Always be welcoming and express your sincere desire in rebuilding and strengthening your relationship with them.

Look at Sales and Customer Records

Your company’s sales records can provide vital clues about the reasons behind why customers have left your business and also the specific target group which has left. For example, your company sells running shoes to athletes who suddenly stop buying them after your competitor launches a new line of sports shoes equipped with pads that provide them with more comfort. Going through the records of individual clients will help you in pinpointing changes that may have occurred in their purchasing patterns. Check if there are any problems with your products or service if your regular customers suddenly stop buying from you. Examine your competitors’ products, services and marketing tactics and see if they have attracted your customers. Conduct market research and get information through focus groups, surveys and social media to reassess customers’ needs and see if their requirements have changed overtime. If the problem lies in what you are selling, you may need to introduce new products and offer enhanced services that will bring them back.

Offer Incentives and Set up a Loyalty Program

One way of winning back lost customers is to provide them with incentives to do business with you again. For example, you can offer discounts, membership perks and rewards based on the number of purchases made by your clients over a certain period of time. Give incentives to your sales team for winning back lost consumers. You can give them rewards on the basis of the additional value they bring to your business by winning back lost customers. In this way, their efforts will be reflected through an improvement in your overall business performance. Develop a loyalty program to reduce the risk of clients from leaving your company. You can place offers such as Best Buys and Buy One, Get One Free so that they will be encouraged to repeat business with you. The purpose is to prevent consumers from leaving you again in the future and this, in turn, reduces the risk of potential losses.

Always Respond to Your Customers

Examine the feedback provided to you by customers who have left your business. Make note of any problems that may be occurring repeatedly and inform your clients that every possible action will be taken to correct the issues at hand. Show them that you will do everything it takes to make a difference for them. Be sure to fulfill your promises and deliver results. Improve your customer service standards to regain consumers’ trust in your business.