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Keep your clients by keeping your grip
Let’s say you need to make a change in procedure or pricing in your company, and you are not sure how it is going to go over with your customers. How do you approach your customers about the change? What if we don’t even bother saying anything? Instead, just make the change. Then, at the next staff meeting, the boss asks, “So, is anyone hearing any complaints about the price increase? No? Good.” No, your team isn’t hearing any complaints, but what they are also not hearing is the sound of quiet footsteps walking away.
I hope your company or organization doesn’t use this communication strategy described above. Here are a couple of examples of how this approach can hurt you:
Last year I received a notice from the company that prints my planning supplies. I had been their customer for over 30 years. My supplies included a separate planning book for each month. Each year I would renew my order and the company would send my 12 booklets running from April through March. The notice announced that from this point on, we could only order January through December. That meant I would have to have to throw away 3 months of books. (January – March) As I was reading their announcement, I took a step back and began to think about the system and whether it as still the right one for me. After all, a lot of technology has come along in 30 years. I did not re-order, and ended up with a system I like better, and it is half the price. They lost a 30-year customer! They could have kept me by delaying the start of the change for a year and applying some sort of credit. Instead, they just plowed ahead.
The same type of situation happened to me the past week with my computer protection service. I had been with them for six years. The renewal was due this month. I couldn’t get the order through online and looked for a number I could call for help. There was none. Within 24 hours, I had done my research, and changed to another service.
The message from these two examples: If we want to keep our customers, we need to stay close to them and be sensitive to their needs. Otherwise, bye bye!