We work so hard to win new customers, but all too often pay little attention to our existing customers. Surely, giving a little focus to the customers we already have would be the quickest win to our business. But to do so means that we need to understand why customers leave and this takes more than a bit of honesty and the willingness to change. Get better at retaining existing customers often leads to winning plenty of new customers off of the back of the improvements implemented.
Here are the top five reasons why customers might leave your business:
Poor Customer Service
68% of customers leave because of poor treatment. This can include rude behaviour, long wait times, lack of responsiveness, or failure to resolve issues. To avoid this, make sure your team are well-trained in customer service and has the necessary tools to respond quickly to customer inquiries. Improving your team’s approach & attitude to this one area would have a massive effect on client retention. Worth the cost of a little in-house training & ongoing development?
Perceived Indifference
14% of customers leave because they feel ignored or unappreciated by your company. This can be avoided by actively engaging with customers, responding to feedback and complaints, and showing appreciation for their loyalty. If you’ve not seen our article on Critical Non-Essentials (CNEs) then I recommend starting there.
Product/Service Quality
9% of customers leave because they are dissatisfied with the quality of the product or service. This can be avoided by regularly monitoring and improving the quality of your offerings, seeking customer feedback, and promptly addressing any quality issues. It’s important to let your clients know that you’re being pro-active to resolve issues and, even if it’s too late for them they’ll likely be willing to give you a second chance.
Price
5% of customers leave because they find your price too high. Given that you or your sales team will often use price to explain why you lost a customer, it’s actually not that much of an issue. Remember: “Price is only an issue in the absence of vale”. Your price can be addressed by providing clear value propositions, offering discounts or promotions, and regularly reviewing pricing strategies to ensure they are competitive. The best way to overcome price is to add additional benefits to the sale that make it impossible to compare price.
Convenience
3% of customers leave because it is too difficult or inconvenient to do business with your company. This can be avoided by making sure your business is easily accessible, offering flexible hours or online services, and optimizing the customer experience across all touchpoints.
By understanding these reasons, you can take proactive steps to address them and improve your customer retention rates.
Death/Move Away
1% of customers move away from the area or the company you are supplying or actually die. This obviously isn’t within your control so, accept this 1% loss.
Simply by improving the quality of your customer service, staying in regular contact with your customers and proving you know, understand and appreciate their needs will help you retain some of the 91% covered in these areas. Changing the way you present your product or service price wise and removing any obstacles to purchase will address the other 8% available customers to retain.
