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Your customers are your business’s most valuable resource.<\/p>\n
And, though we wish we could hold onto every customer forever, the truth is that customers move on.<\/p>\n
Some no longer need your service, others move to a competitor, or they are distracted by something else.<\/p>\n
The constant media bombardment that goes hand in hand with our modern digital age makes it harder than ever to capture customers’ attention, let alone long-term loyalty.<\/p>\n
In fact, businesses expect<\/em> to lose customers. There’s even a term for measuring that loss – churn rate. <\/em><\/p>\n But just because something is expected doesn’t mean that it’s good.<\/p>\n And, for obvious reasons, your business should aim to minimize the number of disengaged customers.<\/p>\n If you’re starting a business<\/a>, this is particularly important. As you write your business plan<\/a>, consider ways you can reduce churn.<\/p>\n Sometimes, it takes just a little effort to prevent customers from leaving when something goes wrong.<\/p>\n Don’t take my word for this. It’s 5-25 times less expensive<\/a>\u00a0to maintain relationships with current customers than to acquire new customers.<\/p>\n That doesn’t mean that you should stop seeking new customers.<\/p>\n But, it does mean that you should evaluate how much time your business spends trying to get new customers vs. building stronger relationships with the ones it already has.<\/p>\n Or had.<\/p>\n This might seem obvious, but past customers were once active<\/em> customers.<\/p>\n What if you could resurrect those customers who have “ghosted” your business? What if you could rebuild those relationships and reclaim that revenue?<\/p>\n You could grow your business and spend less doing so.<\/p>\n And the truth is that you can<\/em> re-engage with lost customers. But only if you put in the effort.<\/p>\n Before formulating a plan to re-engage customers, you need to know what a disengaged customer looks like.<\/p>\n Consider customer activity and timeline to define what a disengaged customer looks like in your business.<\/p>\n What sort of activity does an active customer exhibit? Is it enough to open an e-letter? Or does the customer have to make a purchase periodically?<\/p>\n Define what behaviors your business considers active.<\/p>\n Next, ask how long it’s been since the customer last interacted with your business. Also, consider how frequently you expect an active customer to interact with your business.<\/p>\n Set a timeframe for an active customer. Any customer who falls outside of that timeframe should then be considered disengaged.<\/p>\n For instance, if I expect my customers to make a purchase roughly once every 3 months, and 6 months have gone by, and I haven’t heard from them… they’re now on my disengaged list.<\/p>\n It’s possible that your customers will fall into different groups (these are called “cohorts”). Let me illustrate with a few examples.<\/p>\n Crowdspring has helped tens of thousands of the world’s best entrepreneurs, small businesses, agencies, and big Brands with naming businesses and products<\/a> and logo design<\/a>, among other creative services.<\/p>\n Typically, a business will use the name and logo for a long time, so it would make little sense for us to consider clients that purchase naming or logo design services as lost customers after only 6 months. We put clients who post only a naming or logo project into one cohort.<\/p>\n On the other hand, crowdspring has many clients who purchase other creative services.<\/p>\n Take packaging design<\/a> or product design<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n Companies that create new products will often create successive new products, and each new product will need product packaging and package graphics<\/a>. Some of our clients regularly create new products and packaging, and we do consider them “lost” if they don’t post another similar project within 6 months.<\/p>\n Therefore, we put clients who post mostly product packaging, product design, or package graphics projects into a different cohort from our naming and logo clients.<\/p>\n Keep a running disengaged or “ghost” customer list (or lists!) to track your churn rate and know who to contact when you launch your re-engagement efforts.<\/p>\n Build a stronger brand with our free guides. Get actionable insights to define your brand\u2019s unique voice, understand your market, and stand out to customers. The guides are concise, actionable, practical, and tailored for the busy entrepreneur.<\/p> Build a stronger brand with our free guides. Get actionable insights to define your brand\u2019s unique voice, understand your market, and stand out to customers. The guides are concise, actionable, practical, and tailored for the busy entrepreneur.<\/p> Build a stronger brand with our free guides. Get actionable insights to define your brand\u2019s unique voice, understand your market, and stand out to customers. The guides are concise, actionable, practical, and tailored for the busy entrepreneur.<\/p> If a customer has gone silent – no purchases, no email opens, no anything – it’s probably safe to assume that whatever you’ve offered hasn’t quite hit the target for this customer.<\/p>\n So, offer an alternative.<\/p>\n But be strategic.<\/p>\n If you’ve already lost touch with a customer, you won’t endear yourself to them if you reach out with an equally off-base offer.<\/p>\n If your email subscriber has gone dead, consider offering a more limited form of contact that still offers valuable content.<\/p>\n This could mean a more streamlined email schedule or digest format, a subscription to your blog, an ebook download, or even simply asking them to follow you on Facebook instead of via email.<\/p>\n If a customer has stopped purchasing your products or using your service, consider offering an alternative product or service that might better meet their needs.<\/p>\n You won’t hit the mark with everyone – that’s an impossible goal. But, if you’re smart about assessing why you’re losing customers’ interest, you’re bound to find some success.<\/p>\n Not everyone responds to a break-up the same way.<\/p>\n Some folks go on a drinking binge, while others may watch a sappy rom-com or read self-help books.<\/p>\n But, everyone tends to wonder, “Why???”<\/em><\/p>\n “Why?” is a valuable question.<\/p>\n The answer to “Why?” can help guide you to a better relationship or strengthen your business next time.<\/p>\n So, when a customer breaks up with your business, take the time to ask why.<\/p>\n There are several benefits to asking for feedback:<\/p>\n Showing your customers that you actually care about them and that you’re willing to learn and improve builds stronger customer relationships<\/a>. And stronger relationships pave the way for customers to return if they should ever need your product or service again.<\/p>\n Here are a few suggestions for executing a feedback campaign like a pro…<\/p>\n If you want to revive a relationship with a customer who has moved on, it helps to show them that their loyalty is appreciated and valued through a reward.<\/p>\n Enter the loyalty program.<\/p>\n Marketing guru Joanna Lord points out<\/a>:<\/p>\n One of the best ways to engage a customer after they have cancelled is to give them another reason to engage with your brand other than their subscription or membership. Inviting them to join a loyalty program or to participate in a loyalty campaign gives them a new way to benefit from your brand.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Rewarding customers for their patronage increases the range of offerings\u00a0your business can provide its customers. You provide a fantastic product or service – that’s great! Now, you can also offer loyalty benefits as well.<\/p>\n Loyalty programs<\/a> can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. This means that they can be scaled to work for nearly any business.<\/p>\n At the simple end of the spectrum is the humble punch card. (Ex. The 10th\u00a0punch will get you coffee for free!)<\/em><\/p>\n You can also offer consistent loyalty discounts for frequent shoppers, a point system that earns buyers a discount over time,\u00a0 freebies, or exclusive content and special offers.<\/p>\n There are so many options for how to execute a loyalty program! Just remember to make choices for your program that complement your business model and will provide real value to your customers.<\/p>\n The old saying goes, “It’s not personal; it’s just business.”<\/p>\n But the truth is that if you want to build lasting relationships with customers<\/a>, you have to make it personal.<\/p>\n Customers are more likely to invest in your business if you invest in them.<\/p>\n This isn’t just hearsay; it’s based on elementary principles of psychology.<\/p>\n In a previous article, 7 Marketing Psychology Tips to Improve Your Business Marketing<\/a>, we discussed the law of reciprocity:<\/p>\n Reciprocity is the idea that we want to do nice things in return when people do nice things for us. Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion<\/a>, tells us that even the simplest gesture can trigger our desire to reciprocate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, investing the time and effort to show your customers you care about them personally increases the likelihood that they will invest time and effort in your business.<\/p>\n So how does this translate into actual practice?<\/p>\n Here are a few ideas you can implement:<\/p>\n Showing sincere personal interest in a client or customer who has ghosted your business gives them a powerful motivation to return.<\/p>\n When I go shopping with my husband, we rarely leave the store without a product we don’t need that’s labeled “NEW!”<\/p>\n This isn’t surprising since “new” is one of the most powerful words in marketing. In fact, if you google “powerful marketing words<\/a>,” you’ll see “new” appear on nearly every list.<\/p>\n Our human brains are wired to identify things, put them in categories, and then pay less attention to them. Once something becomes familiar, it tends to fade into the background.<\/p>\n But “NEW!” cuts through the white noise of familiarity and tells your brain to pay attention.<\/p>\n So, if you want to re-engage with a customer long gone, approach with something shiny and new to wake them up and build excitement.<\/p>\n This could be a new product, website, or blog… Maybe even a new study, infographic, or e-book.<\/p>\n Just remember that while novelty might open the door, substance will encourage them to walk through it.<\/p>\n A new item offering your disengaged customers real value will likely entice them back. So, make sure that whatever new item you offer is actually relevant to your customer.<\/p>\n One of the most tried and true methods for winning back a lost customer is the “win-back” incentive. Joanna Lord explains<\/a>,<\/p>\n This involves sending your recently cancelled customer an email inviting them to try the product again at a discounted price or for another incentive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And people love discounts.<\/p>\n So, this tactic may work… for a time.<\/p>\n If your customer left as a negotiating ploy for a lower price… Or simply got distracted and wandered off, the win-back incentive may be just the ticket to reeling them back in.<\/p>\n But Lord also reminds<\/a> us that customers who re-engage due to a low price point are usually the least loyal customer group. And, it’s likely you’ll be saying goodbye again as soon as they’ve taken advantage of your discounted offer.<\/p>\n So, if your customer left because of a larger issue, a win-back incentive may serve only as a final hurrah unless you remedy the initial problem.<\/p>\n While discounts and promotional offers can encourage customers to come back, you’re more likely to retain those customers if you provide financing options<\/a> and pair your offer with another of the techniques we’ve discussed.<\/p>\n Let’s face it – it’s harder to say “no” to someone in person than in an email or on a phone call.<\/p>\n So, create opportunities to spend real face time with your customers. You’ll find that this is the easiest way to create real connections with people. And your customers are, after all, people<\/em>.<\/p>\n If it’s appropriate to your business, consider inviting lost clients or customers to lunch to catch up.<\/p>\n Or, host an exclusive customer event to thank your customers for their patronage.\u00a0 You’ll also get to know them better and hopefully remind them why they wanted to do business with you in the first place.<\/p>\nHere are 8 effective techniques you can use to revive customers your business lost.<\/h2>\n
Start by defining your disengaged customers<\/h3>\n
Essential Branding Toolkit for Entrepreneurs<\/h2>
Get your free branding toolkit<\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>Essential Branding Toolkit for Entrepreneurs<\/h2>
Get your free branding toolkit<\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>Essential Branding Toolkit for Entrepreneurs<\/h2>
Get your free branding toolkit<\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\nOffer an alternative<\/h3>\n
Request feedback<\/h3>\n
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Pro tips<\/h4>\n
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Reward customer loyalty<\/h3>\n
Make it personal<\/h3>\n
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Share something new<\/h3>\n
Offer a “win-back” incentive<\/h3>\n
Get in some face time<\/h3>\n
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