Some of your customers would really like to share an idea or two with you on how you can serve them better. On the other hand, some are upset or dissatisfied and plan to take their business elsewhere. Do you know which is which?
Predictably, with every business, some of your current customers will become ‘lost.’ But, it’s likely you can save more of them by finding out what detrimental issues are driving them away. Is it employee attitude? Poor treatment? Neglect? A negative change in service protocol? A new feature that a competitor offers? Your increased pricing that seems unfair to them? What is it? How can you deal with it? What about the diminished customers? Why are they buying less from you than before? And, what about your ‘lost’ customers? What’s the real reason they stopped buying from you? Can you win them back?
Although it’s nice to get positive and polite feedback from customers, what are they not saying? What if they were allowed anonymously to speak their minds more freely? How much more honest would they be? Are there real improvements needed but they are reluctant to share? Are some too polite to say they are actually thinking of leaving?
The third-party, non-company approach that I offer gives them anonymity, should they chose (and certain ones will choose this). And, from my experience, you can get very useful insights among just a small number of customers (between 10 and 30), in just a couple of weeks or so, and at a reasonably low cost. The upside can be huge.
Not all customers are as happy as you would like to think. Do you really know what’s on their minds? My current rate for this is $50 / hour with a minimum of 10 customers, or a minimum $500 order, 50% prepay, 25% midway, 25% upon completion. This includes working with you to come up with five to ten key questions, and a summary report that details and outlines the relevant findings.
You can reach me at Chris@ChristopherAnacker.com