What to Do When You Lose a Customer

What to do when you lose a customer begins with learning from it. You’ve recently lost a long-standing customer to competition. You’ve worked with this customer for years, built relationships, played golf, and watched their children grow. The thought of losing them makes you physically ill. So, what can you learn?

What to Do When You Lose a CustomerDon’t Oversell

Begin by contacting the customer with an open heart and mind. Although your first inclination may be to beg, borrow, or steal their business back, the first thing to do is listen. Don’t immediately go into defensive mode to retain them as a client. By listening, you may learn why they left and what they needed that you didn’t supply.

Thank Them

Next, thank them sincerely. Thank them for their patronage and for everything you’ve appreciated about working with them. Let them know if they ever need anything, advice, recommendations, or service to let you know because you are thankful for the relationship you developed.

Find out Why

Politely ask why they decided to go in a new direction. One way to do this is to ask for their help. Tell them you’d like to learn from this experience and improve your organization. Anything they can share about why they’ve left could greatly help you and your business.

Share Your Strengths

Once you’ve determined why they left, if it’s possible and profitable to retain them, offer to do so by solving their problems. You may be inclined to “win” their business back by disparaging your competitor. If you do, you will likely lose. Remind the client of your strengths, not your competitor’s weaknesses.

Learn From the Experience

Next, whether you retain this client or not, what can be learned? How can losing other loyal customers be averted? What needs to be changed? Ask yourself if there was anything you could’ve done differently.

Bring Your Team Onboard

It’s time to assemble the team—sales, marketing, production, installation, service, and any department involved with the customer. Lead your team in discussing what you’ve learned, how to implement changes, and why it’s vital to your business.

It’s easy for this to become a finger-pointing session, but what good would that do? If you want to learn and improve, this needs to be an open discussion of how you will improve as a team. It’s not who’s right; it’s what’s right.

I’ve been where you are. As I wrote this, I got a sick feeling remembering a customer I’d lost years ago. It hurt, but it was a learning experience, and I believe I saved other customers because I learned from my mistakes. What have you learned from losing a customer?

How Can I Help You?

I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me. 

So, does your business have a management training plan? Because, if not, many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course in effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program. Check it out. It might help you stop putting off what you want to do.

If you enjoyed this post you might also appreciate, How to Create a Customer Service Survey.

 

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