Lost Business is Serious
Quality
It's harder to win new Customers than it is to keep them ... but sometimes we do loose Customers as a result of not delivering their requirements.
So if you loose a Customer take it seriousoly and find out why you've lost the busines so you can take a considered view as to whether you need to make any changes in your business processes.
It's important to note that an amount of churn (lost business) can be healthy for a business as it ensourages the development of new business relationships and challenges the "reliance" on a few regular Customers.
When (not if) you loose a Customer take the time to gain an understanding from them as to why they are un-happy. In fact if your business process is operating smoothly you will have a process of ensuring their satisfaction during the delivery process.
So, when you loose a Customer make a courtesy call to ask:
- How could we have served you better?
- What was the issue that lost our business?
- Did we not see the issue or acknowledge it seriously when we did?
- How you could improve service for future Customers?
These few questions will allow you to collect the informtion you need to improve your Customer Service (& Retention).
This type of feedback is most important when you're running a business that has a number of Employees and you as the business owner are stepping back from some of the day-to-day operations ... it's a great way to gain an insight into evolving business hickups before they become major business challenges.
(© Profit Advantage #37970)
