Winning them back: How to regain lost business
By Troy Harrison
How strong are your relationships with your customers, particularly your top customers?
When I work with my clients, I always like to ask how strong their customer relationships are. I usually hear that “our customers love us,” or words to that effect. Great, I say, and then I ask the most important question: “What percentage of your customer base would allow you one big mistake in your service and continue doing business with you?” Usually, the room gets very quiet at this point in time.
The room gets quiet because, when I ask that question, people begin imagining that scenario. That’s what I’d like you to do right now. Think about any of your top ten customers. You’ve been doing a great job for them, maybe for years. It’s been a while since you’ve had a major mistake. Now, imagine that you’ve made a big one. The kind of mistake that makes it all the way to decision maker level. Can your relationship withstand that mistake?
Too many in sales don’t really understand the nature of customer relationships. Just because someone buys from you doesn’t mean that you have a genuine, bankable relationship with that customer. Here are my three levels of customer relationships:
The Occasional Buyer: The Occasional Buyer does spend money with you, but they don’t really identify with you. Every purchase is a new buying process, your offer is weighed against competitive offers, and whoever makes the best offer at that given time gets the business. Make a mistake, and you might get eliminated from the list – or at least get demoted.
The Habitual Buyer: The Habitual Buyer is a deceptive relationship. As the name suggests, they buy from you (all the time or nearly all the time) out of habit, not necessarily out of any particular identification or affinity with you. They buy from you because they buy from you, but there’s no loyalty there. Make a mistake, and they will break the habit.
The Loyal Customer: This is what we all want. Not only does the Loyal Customer buy from you, they know why, they can articulate what you do for them, and they will evangelize for you to other potential customers. More to the point of this article, one mistake doesn’t kill the relationship.
Here’s the truth: If you’re only one mistake away from losing the business at any given time, your relationship with your customer isn’t very strong. Strong relationships will withstand a service issue – even a big one. The strongest will withstand multiple issues. If a lot of your customers are one away, don’t feel bad. Your competitor is probably in the same situation. We’ve talked before about how to build stronger relationships; today, let’s talk about how to win back lost business.
First, you must understand that your biggest obstacle in regaining a lost customer is fear – yours and theirs. You fear going back to the customer because you don’t want to be rejected again. Your customer fears doing business with you because they don’t want to get into another bad situation. First, you have to lose your own fear. If your customer is open to persuasion, you can help them lose theirs. You do so by performing a few simple steps:
Eat crow. To recover from a mistake, you must first admit that you made one. You do so by admitting and apologizing. What’s important here is that you not pass the buck when you apologize; the customer doesn’t care if it was the bad ol’ shipping department that messed up their order while you, the honest salesman, did your best to take care of the customer. The customer looks at the entire company as one person. Either say “we screwed up, and we’re sorry,” or “I screwed up, and I’m sorry.” If your customer wants to vent, let them and empathize with them. They’re angry, and without venting that anger, they won’t be able to move beyond the current issue.
Make good. In advertising, there is a concept called a “make good” that kicks in when promises are unfulfilled; for instance, if an advertiser buys an ad for a particular TV show with a particular ratings expectation, and the show delivers well below that expectation, the advertiser may well receive a “make good” – a free ad that completes the exposure expectation. Whatever business you’re in, you can figure out a “make good” gesture. What’s important is that the gesture be proportional to the screw-up. Cause a company downtime costing them $30,000, and a $15 candy basket may not be good enough. “Make goods” are designed to assign some of the burden to you, so if you want the business back, you should be prepared to make it worthwhile.
Re-sell. Now it’s time to rediscover the reasons your customer was doing business with you in the first place. Ask some good questions, and present some powerful benefits that remind the customer why they enjoyed your company as a supplier. Re-present, and re-close. If it’s appropriate, gently remind your customer about the positive relationship you’ve had.
Above all, don’t compete with your customer! Sometimes, the customer is so upset or disillusioned that they aren’t willing to change their minds. When this happens, it’s important not to make a contest of the dialogue; when you argue with your customer, you always lose. If the customer is dead set on not accepting apology or re-sell overtures, it’s best to let the problem rest for awhile.
Depending on how serious your service issue was, winning your customer back can range from an easy project to impossible. If you are fortunate enough to regain their business, don’t allow yourself to get back into the same position – work to strengthen the relationship until it will withstand some service issues. Whatever you do, make sure you do it with class and integrity.
Troy Harrison is the Sales Navigator and the author of “Sell Like You Mean It” and “The Pocket Sales Manager.” He helps companies navigate the Elements of Sales on their journey to success. He offers a free 45-minute Sales Strategy Review. To schedule, call 913-645-3603 or e-mail Troy@TroyHarrison.com.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
