Repeat Sales Murdered! Look For These 6 Suspects
There are many reasons customers will take their future business to one of your competitors instead of coming back to you… Are you aware of potential murderers lurking around your business that will kill your repeat sales?
Many businesses are not… which is a huge mistake.
What Makes Customers Choose NOT to Come Back To You?
- You are not staying in touch with them – your customers come in and make a purchase… then they’re gone. Is that how you want the relationship to end? Of course not. What you really want is for them to come back over and over again to purchase more. The only way to achieve this is by staying in touch with them. Whether it’s via email, text messaging, direct mail, phone, mobile app, or other forms of technology, establish some type of connection with your customers for an on-going relationship.
- Your staff was not attentive or they were rude – no one likes to be treated unprofessionally when doing business with a company. If a consumer experiences unprofessional, rude behavior by one of your staff members, they’re as good as gone in most cases. Rude behavior is almost like a slap in the face. Therefore, top-notch customer service must be stressed and practiced by everyone in your company.
- You were pushy or hard-selling – whenever a customer feels like they’re being “sold-to,” a red flag goes up immediately. Put yourself in their shoes – do you like aggressive sales people? Therefore, make sure your employees do not pressure your new customers to purchase your products/services – otherwise, they won’t return. (That doesn't mean it's ok to pressure your existing customers!)
- They did not feel appreciated – there are many different ways to show your appreciation for your customers. Even a simple thank you beats nothing at all. Keep in mind that every time you fail to show them your appreciation, you missed an opportunity to make them want to come back.
- Your product/service didn’t meet their expectations – nothing else matters in marketing if your product/service is not up to par. Most of the time, when a customer receives a bad product or bad service, you may as well call it their last visit – they will not be back.
- Your product is not priced appropriately – when pricing your products/services, be sure they make sense, are in-line with the value you provide, and you adequately convey the value in your marketing and interactions with the customer. Your customers will bolt if they feel like you’ve only milked them when it comes to prices – especially if they already know that they can go elsewhere and get the same product/service for a much better price.
On the other hand, competing from a low price position is a losing proposition. In the eyes of people who are loyal to quality regardless of price, low price makes your product/service appear to be of “poor quality” despite what the reality is. So be careful with that as well.
Obviously, acquiring brand new customers is always a good thing. But your ultimate goal should be geared towards converting them into long time loyal customers who will buy from you over and over again. Keep these repeat customer killers away from your business and you're on your way to getting more repeat sales.
Rob Calhoun
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