By Evan Vitale
Every business has suffered losses when it comes to a value customer or client who decides to leave your firm. It’s painful and personal.
But before you decide if you should try gaining back a lost customer, you should first find out why the customer decided to leave in the first place.
Did they find a better pricing for the same service or product?
Were they not happy with your company’s product or service?
Did your company’s customer service cause them to become sour?
Even if you feel your firm won’t miss a lost customer, you should still reach out to them; tell them you are sorry they are leaving and ask them why they left. Granted, you might not be able to beat a competitor’s price, but it’s always nice to break the relationship on good terms and see if there’s a bigger (and sometimes hidden) reason why the customer decided to take their business elsewhere.
Pricing differences might be out of your control. However, poor products or customer service issues can be – and should be – immediately fixed within.
In addition, it doesn’t hurt to stay in touch with lost customers/clients and they might return to your company some day. This could definitely happen if a customer leaves to do a competitor’s pricing. Yes, they might have found a better price, but they may later realize their new vendor has quality control or customer service issues. If so, you’ll always welcome back an old customer!