Often, business processes in a company are focused on attracting new customers. But in order not to lose profit, it is also worth concentrating efforts on retaining them, and in the case of customer departure, on returning the most valuable customers.
In this article, we will tell you how to bring back lost customers. We will create a strategy for returning customers, analyze techniques, methods and mistakes. We will also answer the questions: how to prevent leaving and how to understand when it is not worth returning lost customers.
The concept of “customer churn”
Customer churn is a normal phenomenon for business. It means that part of the audience has stopped using your product. But its scale and reasons are important.
The reasons for the churn may be natural. For example, in a business such as children’s goods, there is always a certain percentage of customers who leave. A new generation comes, and sales figures remain stable.
Why do customers leave?
We have already briefly listed the reasons in our article on how to retain a client . Here we will develop the idea in more detail.
Low level of customer serviceBusinesses can lose customers due to poor service. A high level of service is one of the factors that builds customer loyalty. If a company manager is unable to solve a customer’s problem, the person will turn to those who will.
This also includes situations where the company failed to fulfill its obligations or did not notify about changes in working conditions. For example, a client refused to continue working after his order was not delivered on time or the manager did not tell about additional paid services.
Lack of established communication with the client
If a company does not have constant communication with customers, the following problems may arise:
- the man left because he was forgotten;
- Different employees communicate with the buyer.
For example, a customer bought drinking water for a cooler. The water ran out, and the person ordered elsewhere simply because he received a discount from another company. Perhaps if the sales manager had reminded about himself in time, asked for an opinion on the quality, the buyer would have stayed. Now, to return the lost client, the business needs to make more efforts.
Unjustified price increases
“Expensive” is an individual concept. As a rule, buyers are ready to pay for quality and a well-known brand. When a client buys an A-class car, he understands what he is paying for.
Email marketing b2b lists for your digital marketer team b2b email list to generate leads. Our business mailing lists will bring success for your marketing strategy. If you like to purchased email lists then you can buy business list from Latest Mailing Database. Our mailing list database will give you return on investment.
If the price of a product has increased, but the quality has remained high, then it will be easier to convince customers to continue buying. You need to explain to them why. For example, the price of product parts has increased.
The product no longer meets market demands
Customers leave when the product has become worse, i.e. the quality has objectively deteriorated. But it is possible that the product has remained the same, but it no longer satisfies the customer’s needs.
There is no loyalty program
If the quality of your product is excellent, it does not mean that you no longer need to retain customers. Even a customer satisfied with the product can go to a competitor. The latter also has a similar offer, but the advantage is, for example, cashback on purchases.
How to bring customers back
To return lost customers, you need to determine who will be considered lost. Start from the frequency of orders. Let’s say the consumer orders once a month for a certain amount. Depending on the business niche, lost customers can be identified by the following signs:
- when the buyer has not placed a new order, but more than a month has passed;
- inquiries come in, but they don’t result in sales;
- the client began to place orders less frequently and for much smaller amounts;
- Customers stopped answering calls or opening emails.
Which clients are worth bringing back?
Before you try to bring back lost customers, you need to understand that it will be profitable for you. The cost of returning customers should not exceed the profit the company receives from them.
To determine how much value a customer brings to a company, you can calculate customer lifetime value, or LTV.
Thus, based on the indicators, it is definitely worth returning lost customers if:
- The client who left had regular orders for large or medium amounts. These could be monthly orders if the service is subscription-based. But there could also be a large purchase once every six months.
Instructions for returning your clients
To get customers back, you need to develop a plan. First, you need to study the information from the customer database.
1. Segment your customers.
You need to make a list and distribute clients into groups. With the help of segmentation, you will first understand which clients should be considered as having left. Then, which ones you want to return first.
2. Find out the reason.
Now it is important to understand the reasons for leaving. Find out what exactly happened. To do this, you can collect sales information, look at the purchase history, listen to calls in the CRM system or read correspondence in chats. You can ask the manager what happened in his opinion.
3. Think about what needs to be done to get back the lost client.
Based on all the data, decide what offer you will make and how. For some clients, a profitable promotion in the mailing list is enough, another group of clients will be interested in special conditions.
4. Estimate the cost of return and act.
Analyze how much it will cost you to return the client, taking into account the chosen method, and start working.
Ways to get customers back
There are several ways to bring back a customer: mailing, SMS and push notifications, retargeting and calling.
Newsletter
Email marketing or promotion of goods via email. The method what is the budgeting process and how to create one is suitable and shows good results if you need to return the user to the site, for example, to an online store. Customer reactivation begins with a trigger letter, which is sent in response to inaction – the subscriber no longer opens letters.
Push notifications and sms
This is a way to bring customers back if you have an app. These are short messages reminding you of yourself and using techniques that can attract the client again. We will talk about them later in the article.
Retargeting
Retargeting is an effective tool that allows you to remind about yourself and return a lost subscriber who has already bought from you. For example, you can try to return customers if you launch advertising on social networks for those who have a birthday in August and offer them a special promotion.
Calling
A way to get back a former customer, which is more applicable to sales in the B2B segment, where communication and an individual approach are important for the client.
Techniques to help bring customers back
Let’s take an example of marketing actions that companies use to bring back customers who have left:
- Discounts. The easiest way to get a former client back is to offer them a discount. Personal offers help clients get back. Emphasize that the promo code is created only for this person.
How to return a client who was dissatisfied with the service due to the company’s fault
To win back a client who has a negative impression of working with you, you need to prepare for the conversation.
Analyze the situation
Depending on how serious the mistake was on the company’s part, consider whether a personal meeting is necessary or whether you can get the client back over the phone.
Admit your guilt and be honest
An attempt to return a customer will be more successful if you do not make excuses and deceive. Apologize and honestly tell at what stage something went wrong. The client should see that you have analyzed and sorted out the situation within the company. You also need to convince the client that such a case is not typical for you, and you understand his indignation.
Make an offer
Correct your mistake, provide solutions, and make a special offer that the client will be interested in. Tell how you corrected the work in the company so that the mistake will not happen again.
Try to compensate for the damage
To bring this customer back, offer additional services for free. For example, equipment installation, a month of service, an extended warranty. Perhaps it would be appropriate for the person to give a gift.
Take control of your collaboration
The last step: take personal control of the process. Agree that you will talk about the stages of work, and the client can always call you.
What to do if a client has gone to a competitor
We offer the following possible options to return customers:
- Customers can be returned, there is a talk about the advantages of your company. For example, you have payment after receipt or an extended warranty.
Mistakes Companies Make When Customers Leave
In an effort to win back customers, businesses can make a number of mistakes. Most often, companies make them when they do not have a well-developed return strategy.
They lower prices and give too big discounts
We wrote above that discounts are the easiest way to bring back a customer who has left. But the difficulty is that, by trying to bring back customers, the company starts working at a loss.
Business must earn: if not now, then in the future. Therefore, if you make concessions, then in any case, calculate how this will affect sales and the company’s budget in the future.
To ensure that discounts are beneficial to all participants, it is best to return lost customers in the following way:
- give discounts from a certain amount;
- provide discounts within the framework of the loyalty program;
- indicate the period for which discounts are provided.
They act without regard for the cause
Before giving discounts, find out why the customer left. Not all customer problems are universal. Each customer can name their own reason, and it is not about the discount. In the retail segment, it is more difficult to find out. But if you use mailings, you can test different methods and look at the effectiveness. Or find out why customers leave themselves. For example, with the help of a survey.
They don’t work on the errors
It is important that customers not only return, but also stay. To do this, you need to implement a system for working with the customer base, conduct business phone number mx processes that monitor the quality of the product and customer service.
How to Prevent Care
Here are some recommendations to help you retain your customers.
Remind yourself
The most cost-effective way is to simply stay in touch. Provide news, send current selections. You can calculate the average time when a client makes an order and remind them to place a new one.
Collect feedback
Customers can and should be asked for feedback. Many customers will respond normally if a manager calls and asks their opinion about the service. With the help of customer reviews, you can even prevent negative situations and generally gain a lot of useful data.
Continuously improve service and product
- The customer journey shouldn’t be complicated. Simplify the checkout process on your website, use a CRM system and chatbots.
- Find out from the staff how customers feel about the company, what they ask. For example, cafe waiters can tell you that guests often ask about the availability of high chairs for children.
- Train your team. Employees should be motivated to make customers regular. Aim to improve not only sales skills, but also communication skills.
Study your competitors
See what competitors offer to the audience and what mechanics they use. You need to use this to your advantage and make your product better.
Results
Returning customers is one of the important areas of work with clients. But the outflow is inevitable, especially if the business is related to children’s or seasonal goods.
