Are You Losing Customers

Are You Losing Customers

Gaining new custom is not the easiest thing for a business to do but it is one of the most important. New customers can keep a business going through tough times and can become loyal customers and free advertising if treated properly. A customer that is treated well might buy from you again and may tell friends about your business. A customer that isn’t treated well probably won’t buy from you again and will definitely tell their friends about their experience. For some reason negative experiences seem to have longer legs than positive ones.

There are many ways to lose prospective and old customers: unsuitable customer communications, sloppy brand standards and no attention to detail. You’ll no doubt be aware how crucial it is to get new customers and keep old ones. Let’s look at ways that prospective and previous customers can become someone else’s customers. We’ll look at prospective customers first.
Prospective Customers
There are lots of different points of contact where a new customer will become aware of and interact with your business. The business premises, website, email, telephone, adverts and social media covers most of them. Think about your own business. Are you making the most out of every point of contact listed? Every time a prospective customer is exposed to your business do they come away with the message and the impression that you need them to? If not, why not? A solid brand message combined with the right sales channels can ensure that the most is made from every point of contact.
How you answer your phone calls, email enquiries and respond on social media can have an impact on the perceived brand value and trust of your business which all makes a difference to new customers. New customers need assurance from every angle that your business is one they can trust. These assurances can be as subtle as up to date web design elements, official email signatures or the manner in which a telephone is answered. Alternatively trust factors could be as obvious as customer reviews or the type of payments available. Here is a checklist of items to get right to make the best impression.

Website:
• Up to date, consistent, functional and appropriate design.
• Up to date informative and helpful content.
• Contact information easy to find and use.
• Helpful information such as premises location, delivery, payment and returns information can go a long way to assuage any fears that yours is the business to use.
• Testimonials and reviews.

Email:
• Consistent email signatures with contact information and appropriate email names. E.g. info, contact, noreply.
• Timely email responses to enquiries.

Telephone:
• All calls answered in a timely and professional manner.
• Consistent informative and helpful telephone answering.

Premises
• Clean and tidy premises
• Helpful and present staff to deal with enquiries and appointments.

If you ensure that your customers are getting the right service from every single point of contact you will have helped secure your business against losing customers.

Current Customers
But what about the customers you already have? It is unlikely that you will serve a customer only once and even if you do that one customer may at some point mention your business to someone else. One thing’s for sure. It’s easier to keep customers than it is to get new ones. Depending on your business model you may be looking for a customer to make a repeat purchase every week, month, year or every few years. Your customers are also valuable as a source of reviews.

How can you make sure you are making the most out of your current customers? It all starts when they make contact or place an order with you. Every experience of your businesses customer service from then on needs to be in keeping with the brand message you wish to convey. The service you give your customers has to be exceptional at all times. Communicating with the customer about their product or service, delivering on the promises and ensuring customer after care will give your business a very good chance of receiving repeat custom.

Keeping in touch with customers through email and social media channels can ensure that the next time your customer needs the products or services that you offer your business is firmly at the front of their mind. You also have the opportunity to attempt to sell through email newsletters and social media. You have done the hard work with current customers. They already know and trust your business so that’s an opportunity not to waste.

By: Blue Square Offices