Have you ever wondered, “hey what happened to so and so who used to buy from us all the time” in this short blog I’m going to give you the 3.5 reasons why this happens? We all want people to buy from us again and again but sometimes people stop buying from us. So read on and find out more..
Reason 1. They’ve forgotten about you.
Here’s what’s happened, they’ve come across you or your business and decided that they need or want, what you sell and have bought from you. They’ve then gone away and got on with the rest of their lives. However, when they need what you sell again they’ve forgotten about you and it’s your fault. One of my favourite sayings is that “it’s not your customer’s job to remember to do business with you, it’s your job to remind them”.
So how are you reminding them to do business with you? Here are three ways you may consider keeping in contact:-
- Newsletters (both physical and email). I have a client that includes a copy of their physical newsletter with every new order and then the new customer goes on the mailing list for their newsletter. It really does work like a treat, even in these days of email and social media. Physical newsletters hang around and get read when it’s convenient.
- Courtesy calls. Both in-person and via telephone. Customer acquisition costs are as a rule considerably more than customer maintenance costs. So that quick call to your customer really is a marketing cost and worth every penny.
- Drip campaigns. These can take many forms, the most popular is email, but you can also use Social media messages, postcards, letters, and leaflets. Whatever medium you choose it’s important to be present in your customer’s world on a regular basis.
Don’t forget to remind them why they chose you in the first place, i.e. we’re the most recommended supplier of widgets in ‘Yorkshire’ or whatever your competitive advantage is.
Reason 2. They no longer need what you sell.
Let’s be honest people’s needs and wants change so if they needed a particular service or product from you because they were in a certain place or situation, and that’s changed then there is a significant chance that they won’t need you anymore.
However, if you were in contact with them and had built a relationship then there’s a chance that they would indicate in advance that their needs were changing and you could react accordingly.
Also just because they no longer need you or your products doesn’t mean that they don’t know somebody who does. So an effective referral scheme works really well even when they don’t need you, they can refer you to somebody who does.
Reason 3. They’ve fallen out of love with you.
You’ve managed to p**s them off. I know what you’re saying, let’s be honest customers are not always reasonable and you can expect a small percentage to be completely unreasonable and some even completely bat Sh!t crazy. However I’m not really talking about these, even I can’t do anything about them. No the ones I’m talking about, are the ones you could have done something about if you’d have known about the different types of components that make up a transaction.
In every transaction, there are two components, the explicit component, and the implicit component.
The explicit component is the actual service or product you’re selling and the terms and conditions that go along with that. So for example, when I bought a new car recently the explicit component of the transaction was the car, the warranty, roadside assistance etc.
The implicit component is the bits that were implied but are not contractually detailed. So going back to my car as an example, when I had an issue recently I’d assumed that the dealer who I’d bought the car from would look after me. After all, they’d sold me an extended warranty saying I’d bought ‘peace of mind’, knowing that if anything happened in the next two years I would be covered and wouldn’t have to worry. If you read my last blog you’ll know about MOT’s (Moments of Truth) and I detailed what happened to me in that blog (you can read it here). This is often called the psychological contract.
The term ‘psychological contract’ refers to subjective expectations, beliefs, and obligations, as perceived by the vendor and client. The concept emerged in the early 1960s and is core to understanding the transactional relationship. … Client’s and Customer’s perceptions of the Vendors’ implicit obligations are often informal and imprecise, to say the least, however, they are extremely vivid and important in the ongoing relationship.
More customers are lost forever because of a breach of the implicit (psychological contract) component than the explicit component.
Reason 3.5 They’ve died. Not much you can do about this one.
So if you’ve a reasonable client or customer and they’re still alive, and they’ve suddenly stopped doing business with you then ask yourself the following questions:-
- Are we reminding them that we exist on a regular basis and why they should do business with us?
- Do they still need what we sell? If they don’t, have we set up a comprehensive referral scheme?
- Have we breached the implicit component of the contract and if so how are we managing the implicit element in the sales process?
- Are they still alive?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and found it useful. If you’re looking for a little help then why not take my Ten-minute Business Success Review. You can find it here, as the title suggests it takes about ten minutes and gives you a snapshot of where your business is. Click Here to find out more.
Twelve intensive half-day meetings.
