If you’re running a business, finding and retaining customers is your lifeblood. But there are proven ways to lose customers, which we describe below. Fortunately, you can improve your customer retention by using a variety of helpful tools and software.
Using Poorly Trained Employees
Imagine you start shopping in a store for carpet. Several people approach you to help, but none of them know anything about carpet. That would be frustrating, right?
Customers want sales professionals in a store or on the phone to know the products and services for that business.
Some companies have gotten around this problem by getting rid of too many salespeople in stores. This allows the store to drop prices, which many consumers see as a fair tradeoff.
The important thing here is if your company is supposed to have trained sales professionals to help customers, it’s essential to have them available.
Defective Products
Having defective products might not always be on you. But responding to customer complaints and resolving them permanently falls on you. Problems and defects with your products make customers unhappy because the products can’t be used as intended.
If you have control over the problem, put a lot of effort into making the product better, so you meet customer expectations. Giving customers a flawed product is bad business and will lead to significant customer retention problems.
Making It Hard For Customers To Buy
Sometimes trying to conduct a business transaction in a store or online can be a hassle. Some problems that can happen are:
- A website that only takes one or two credit cards
- An online store that is confusing to use and makes it hard to purchase
- A company with no voice mail or answering service
- Retail businesses that are cash only
Companies that make it hard to purchase or make it difficult for customers to find them may find themselves out of business soon.
Slow Response Time
Time is money these days. Whether it’s online shopping, fast food, or 24-hour deliveries, everyone wants their products fast these days.
A quick way to lose customers is to make it look like you don’t value their time. Whether it’s responding to customer questions or complaints, how quickly you respond to what the customer wants can determine if they will return.
New Management
Sometimes a change in management can be a good thing, but it often can be a hard transition for the customers and the company. Your customers may be accustomed to things being done one way and working with specific employees.
Part of what your new managers need to understand is a period of transition where they need to impress current customers and retain them. You need to make them feel at home and show that you’ll still meet their needs even with new management.
Making It Tough To Return Items
If you make it difficult for customers to return products, they may get frustrated and not return them. But they’ll never buy from you again.
Hopefully, not many of your customers will want to return products, but it’s vital to handle them the right way when they do happen.
Broken Promises
A vital tool in your business is promising a certain level of performance or quality. Keeping your promises is a great way to get your clients to praise you publicly and refer others to you.
But if you make promises and fall short, many customers will go somewhere else. While impressing people by making big promises is excellent, people will resent it and tell others about their experiences if you don’t deliver.
Keeping your customers isn’t always easy, but it’s easier than losing them and having to find new ones!