|
| | home | mature market news | contact us | community links | |
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
 Marketing Effectiveness |
Impact Presenters Change Your Thinking Change Your Results Or be left behind. . . |
|
|
||||
| Mature Market News - Thought Leaders and Noteworthy Events |
|
Why Customers Leave Customers can fall away from your business for many reasons. Finding out why they went is the first step in winning them back. Contacting lapsed customers is an important part of maintaining an active, lively customer base. But before you woo them with incentives, try to uncover why they might have left you, so that you can adjust your marketing accordingly. Was there a pattern to their buying? Some reason why they suddenly stopped doing business with you? Getting to the wherefores behind their desertion may be the key to regaining their regular custom. For example, customers may stray because: They had a bad experience. Such customers can provide some of the most important corrective feedback for your business. For instance, if they experienced poor service or broken promises, you should address these issues promptly. You can thank them for bringing the problem to your notice, as it's an opportunity to improve your business. You should then let the customer know that you've fixed the problem that caused them to leave, guarantee that it will not happen again (or their money back) and invite them to use your business again. If appropriate, you could offer them a "welcome back" discount on their first order. These kinds of overtures represent marketing that will set you apart, possibly to the extent that you will undo whatever damage occurred upon the initial injury. They found cheaper/better products or services elsewhere. Here again, the feedback is valuable, because it offers you market research into what the competition is offering and is capable of, and this in turn allows you to put in place marketing tactics to match or do better than the competition. If you can't match prices, then perhaps you can offer better value in other areas, such as knowledge, skills, service, back up, etc. Perhaps you now have new products or better services? If so, point this out. They simply lost touch. This might be because you broke the 'golden rule' of not keeping in contact with your customers at least every 90 days. It often pays to be quite direct - in other words, ask them why they left and what would it take from you to get them back as customers. Adjust the script to suit your business circumstances, but do use a script: it helps you to project a consistent approach and business image. The purpose is to open up a conversation with them so you can find out what might be bothering them and then make an appropriate offer. Even if they show no interest in further business with you at present, don't give up. Their circumstances might change in the future. Perhaps you send out a regular newsletter with great business tips in it – ask if you can add them to your mailing list. In this case, ask for their email address as well as their physical address, because an email newsletter (a future marketing project for you if you don't offer one yet!) will enable you to keep in touch with them very inexpensively. Back To Mature Market News → Go To The GenerationTarget.com Mature Market Bookstore → |
| COMPANY INFORMATION | MARKETING BOOKSTORE | TRAINING AND EDUCATION | PRESENTERS AND SPEAKERS | |
|
|
©2005 . All Rights Reserved. home | essential books and reports | mature market news | generation x market news | contact us | community links |
