In the fight for new customers, what is your company doing to retain those you already have? Probably not enough. Increase customer retention by addressing the three reasons most customers stop doing business with a particular company:
- Value discrepancy. This means that you're not delivering what customers think their money is worth. It includes such mistakes as inadequate guarantees (or not living up to them) and poor or unreliable quality. Prices can be high as long as the customer perceives a justifiable value. In general, your organization needs to work hard to help buyers feel that they're getting what they paid for.
- System snafus. Customers want transactions to be simple, accurate, and timely. You need to deliver what you've promised on time and otherwise provide the customer with efficient service. This requires everything from making sure sales and support teams can answer questions and resolve conflicts quickly to designing telephone menus that aren't overly complicated.
- People turnoffs. Your sales team and support staff need to be attentive, polite, and empowered to solve problems and make things happen. Buyers are quick to drop a company whose people treat them rudely or in an unprofessional manner.
