Why Do Customers Leave?

Why do customers leave? 

• Move away or die/become insolvent - 4% 
• Influenced away - 5%
• Get a better deal - 9%
• Unresolved conflict - 14%
• Perceived indifference - 68%

(Source: Michael LeBoeuf – How to Win Customers and Keep them for Life) 

When I first saw those figures I was astounded. Customers leave because they don’t feel ‘loved’. We’ve ignored them! This is our life blood we are talking about, without customers we can’t survive, and we’re letting them leave, for some businesses in their droves. 

The same research suggested that a customer thinks you’ve forgotten them if you don’t speak to them for 6 weeks or more. Wow! That’s a big ask for most businesses, but it does demonstrate why the modern keep in touch mechanisms via Twitter, Blogs, Linked In and so on, which put the customer or receiver of information in a position of control, have been so effective for some brands.

I always recommend to clients regular communications via e-newsletters, e-shots, mailings, service calls and face to face meetings with the most important customers. You can make the process as formal or informal as you like and of course it doesn’t have to be the business owner making the contact.

As a business grows it’s important to not only delegate work tasks but also client contact and ownership. I think many professional firms really shoot themselves in the foot in this regard. Getting this balance right isn’t easy, but data intelligence and proper systems can help the client continue to feel ‘loved’.