Conventional wisdom suggests that it is more cost-effective to woo back former customers than to develop new ones. But, that doesn't necessarily make it an easier task. "When you dig into why customers leave, it's often because sellers are not staying top-of-mind with them," says Priscilla Koeckeritz, president of Attune, a Minneapolis business development consulting firm. "That means finding creative ways of keeping your company's name, brand and value in front of key people."
While it is never pleasant to lose a customer, there are ways to help turn a short-term issue into a long-lasting success story. These include:
Diagnosing the cause. If a salesperson is losing a disproportionate amount of work to competitors, that person would be wise to identify and contact key decision-makers in those firms. That allows the salesperson to probe for clues about what worked well - or poorly - in the relationship. "If you take time to do that, the customer's perception of your value and services will increase exponentially," Koeckeritz says.
Finding value-added opportunities. Since business leaders are bombarded with internal and external messages, savvy sellers find ways to cut through the clutter. For example, Koeckeritz says an environmental services business successfully lured back some past clients when it started a regular series of e-mail messages that provided timely updates on Federal and State regulatory actions affecting that industry.
Asking for advice. If a customer left over a work-related dispute, winning back the business can be difficult. However, Koeckeritz says a little humility can go a long way.
"If a project blew up, one way to work back on that is to ask the client for advice on what went wrong and how it could be done better," she notes. "Then, if you give it a little time and act on what you learned, it provides an opportunity to go back and say, `Thanks for the advice. Here's what we're doing differently.' That can open the door to new projects."
Brett Pyrtle is principal of Turning Point Communications LLC, a communications consulting firm based in St. Paul.
