Don't Silence Your Business

June 23rd, 2009

Here today… gone tomorrow
Have you ever had customers drift away in silence? They did less and less business with you and then, without warning, they stopped doing business altogether. They didn’t complain. They didn’t raise a fuss. They didn’t make demands. They didn’t do anything—they just stopped buying from you.

Customers have a tipping point
There are customers who, experiencing a problem, become very vocal very quickly—they do make a fuss and they do make demands. And, they let you know exactly what it will take to retain their business. Be grateful for them. At least you know there is a problem and you have an opportunity to fix it. But, there are other customers who become unhappy bit by bit over time. They appear to put up with problems or inconveniences until suddenly they are no longer buying from you. If they do say anything, it’s at the very last moment and then, if it’s at all possible to hold on to any part of the business, it takes a mammoth effort.

It’s a fact of life
Most companies lose customers over time. And so will you. Accept it. But, you do have some control over how many customers leave and how quickly.
Don’t wait for customers to complain.

Get your customers to complain!
Part of your job is to find ways to uncover complaints before your customers reach their tipping point. Conduct quarterly performance reviews with your customers.
(Your performance—not theirs.) Provide Customer Satisfaction surveys. Make sure your customers know who to contact at your company if they have a problem with YOU.
When you provide your customers with channels through which to voice their concerns and complaints, you obtain valuable feedback for fixing existing problems and heading off future problems. And, your customers are much less likely to drift away in silence.

© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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