In This Article
– Winning Back That Lost Customer: Introduction
– 5 Tips to Win Back That Lost Customer
– Ask What Went Wrong
– Ask to Contact Them Again
– Honour Their Decisions
– Don’t Let Them Forget You
– Sweeten the Deal
– Winning Back That Lost Customer: Conclusion
Winning Back That Lost Customer: Introduction
Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. You can put so much effort into someone, hoping they’ll stay. But the warning signs were there, and even though you thought you’d be good together, you watched as they faded away.
Dramatic partings aside, there can be a happy ever after for you and lost customers. You can ‘warm’ up your prospect once more and ensure you never miss out on a sale again, by following these 5 tips.
5 Tips to Win Back That Lost Customer
Acknowledge and Ask What Went Wrong
The best way to prevent this from happening in the future is to find out what occurred, and what you can do to improve. Better yet, you can find out what happened so you can make amends in that specific situation with that lost customer. Acknowledging what went wrong is the best way to start making amends!
Hopefully, they are actions that can be rectified by a clarification, or by trying again—for example, the wrong information was used; or you might have caught them too late to fix their problem, but that doesn’t mean they won’t ever need you again. This is the best case scenario as it doesn’t rule out the lost customer coming to you in the future (especially if assurances are made for them). However, sometimes it really is out of your hands. Despite this, any feedback you can glean out of your conversation will still be helpful for when you find yourself in a similar situation in the future.
Ask to Contact Them Again
Timing can be difficult to get right, and sometimes it can get in the way of a prospect and a sale. But your business might have better luck in the future, where enough time has passed that you can nurture your lost customer back into the buying journey again.
It’s always worth asking if you can follow up at a later date, in order to give the transactional relationship another go. This might work in your favour, as they may go with a competitors only to find the grass is greener with you. Until then, asking to contact them at a later date puts the lost customer in control, which they prefer; setting the relationship on their terms can increase the chance of successful future nurturing.
If they do want to be contacted in the future, make sure you remember it! Adding sections in your sales pipelines that allow for contact to be made in however many months’ time will make sure you won’t leave the lost customer behind.
Honour Their Decisions
How you approach your customers—i.e. how you conduct your customer service—is vital. Every interaction sets a precedent, and you’ve got to act in good faith as much as your customers should.
Trust is integral to any transaction, and this is especially the case when you’re trying to win back a lot customer. Because there are terms being set, you need to honour them. As such, don’t agree to following up in 3 months’ time only to call back in just one month—you’ll break their confidence in you.
Another way you can avoid this mistake is by making sure you have their contact details in a separate pipeline to your current prospects, so you never forget to follow up as your CRM can remind you when you need to do so.
Don't Let Them Forget You
If they’ve consented to still receiving marketing from you—use it. Let your lost customer know what they’re missing out on!
As you’ve already collected information about them from your time nurturing them as a prospect, you already have an angle you can nurture them with. Make sure all the marketing they receive is targeted to their needs, wants and pain points, so you look like the viable option that they should have gone for.
Customer testimonials can be a real asset here, especially if they’re describing a similar situation to the one your lost customer is going through. Of course, customers will always listen to other customers over the business.
A word to the wise: market to them, absolutely. But don’t overwhelm them in your attempt to get them back. By bombarding them, you’ll only drive them further away, decreasing your chances of retaining your lost customer right down to zero.
Sweeten The Deal
Because you want to regain a lost customer, you’re now in a rarer position that allows you to market differently. Sometimes, that means you have to make unique proposals too.
It may be a matter of finances that caused you to lose your customer, or value for time. This can be rectified, if you’re willing to make offers or discounts to appeal to the lost customer specifically. Of course, this can be a temporary or one-time measure, but it can be surprisingly effective. Sweetening the deal can mean the deal gets made!
Winning Back That Lost Customer: Conclusion
Losing customers can be disheartening, but sometimes a lost customer can be turned into a success story. What this requires is the ability to listen, bargain and angle effectively, so you can remind them what they’re missing out on. If you work together in good faith, honour each other’s word to come to a conclusion, you stand a good chance of winning back your lost customer. By employing these tips, you’ll reduce the amount of customers you lose, meaning you’ll be able to see your sales take off.
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