One of the things that keep business owners awake is the possible loss of customers. Customer defections are part and parcel of any business plan because losing customers mean that you’re going down. No more customers; no more profits.
And it’s not just losing one or two customers that’s the problem. Because one unsatisfied customer means that others would know about the dissatisfaction. Especially when the griping is done online, even people in China can know about your customer’s complaints. And you might not even get another lead to turn into a buying client.
Hence, it is very important that as a business owner, you minimize customer defections as much as you can. Even if everybody’s telling you to get as many new customers as you can (well, more and more experts are saying otherwise); it is still more practical and effective to retain the old ones. It’s far cheaper to keep an existing customer happy than convince a target client to try out your offer.
But it is also a fact that no matter how hard you try, there will always be those who would never be satisfied and cancel out on you. This time, it is more appropriate and life-saving if you know how to win them back. Here then are some easy and simple tips to help you bring back your customers when the time comes that they decide to defect to the competition.
Develop a save-a-customer-from-defecting program
Make it a little bit difficult to leave.
But not so much that they would feel choked to death with your contracts and agreements. As one expert marketer suggests, put friction into your system so that your customers can’t leave that easily. Nevertheless, don’t get to the point where they abhor you already because they can’t find a way out of your service. Give them a chance to talk to you and discuss whatever it is that’s bugging them with your service. And then provide them with a way to terminate your contract when you can’t reach an agreement.
Have a good customer service.
This is actually the system in your organization that can really help save you your customers – your customer service representative. It is actually an art and a skill that one has to learn. If you’re a small business and you don’t have a budget for additional manpower to take care of this particular process, then be sure to learn everything you need to learn about good customer service so you can train yourself or an employee to wear the hat. One expert marketer tells of the basic keys to good customer service – listen, be patient, and above all else, have a positive attitude.
Listen…a lot.
When a customer calls you or get in touch with you through email to vent their complaints, be sure to be ready to listen until they can finish everything they need to tell you. Don’t ever butt in during the tirade. Your customers are unhappy and they deserve to have your time to vent their outrage. Just listen. That is the most important characteristic you need to have. Don’t even argue with them regarding the issues they raised. After they’ve said enough, you can then tell them you’re sorry and that you’ll be happy to do something about it. In fact, go the extra mile and tell them that you had done something about it already.
Confirm the issues raised by your customer. This would assure them that you indeed listened to what they were saying. And then provide a resolution to their problem. Listening and understating your customers mean that you value the business they give you. And it will see that when you listen to them attentively.
Provide immediate resolution.
Don’t just tell your customers that you understand their concern. So what can you do about it? That is what they’re asking from you. Ask them directly what you can do to resolve their issue. Don’t give them something they don’t want such as stock answers and pocket folders that contain your FAQs, even if they’re made by the best pocket folder printing company. They actually know what they want and all you have to do is to ask. And most of the time, what they want is simple than you imagined it to be.
Find a resolution to your customer’s concern immediately and you can always win back a possible defector that easily.
Author Resource:
Troy Duff works as a businessman and currently runs a printing company that offers pocket folder printing , banners, magazines, flyers, door hangers, bookmarks, poster templates, pocket folders , presentation folders, print newsletters and other printed ads.
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