June 25, 2010 by Ken Dooley

Posted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Sales & Marketing



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A lot of companies are missing out on a likely source of new sales: former customers.
Here are 10 strategies that help get former customers back in the active file. Share them at your next sales
meeting.
Let former customers know youre interested in finding out why the business was lost. One study showed that many
former customers stopped buying because no one let them know they were valuable to the company.
Stress the fact that former customers have been missed as individuals, not as names on a list.
Take responsibility for your actions and those of your company. Admit your mistakes, and take responsibility for
everything that was done to lose the customer in the first place.
Assume there are logical, workable answers to why former customers stopped doing business with you.
Give former customers information about anything new or different that youre providing.
Concentrate on meeting the former customers needs in order to deliver full satisfaction.
Give former customers your undivided attention. It cuts through the resistance, tension and suspicion that may
accompany former relationships.
Understand that former customers are trying to make or save money by increasing sales or reducing costs. You can sell
them again if you show former customers how to create and hold an economic advantage.
Let customers know why its smart to do business with you again. Former customers want to feel theyre making the
right buying decision in doing business with you again. Try to reinforce that decision throughout your relationship.
Assure former customers that regardless of what happened in the past, things will be different in the future.
John R. Graham is the president of Graham Associates, a marketing and sales firm based in Quincy, MA.
How to win back old customers
Keeping sales flowing is a major challenge when people are spending less.
Rather than using your resources to chase new customers, it can be more economical to revisit old leads. Kate Horstead finds out
how to get dormant customers to buy from you again
"Current customers are your gold dust, but if you've let customers go, it's cheaper and easier to look at that old base before you start with
brand new people - especially if you once had a good relationship with them," says Paul Cooper, director of the Institute of Customer
Service.
Attracting back customers
Your old customers can be a valuable source of sales. They already know your business and were once interested in buying from it, so you
may be able to persuade them to buy from you again. With new sales leads you have the time and expense of finding customers from
scratch.
As long as you have kept good records of customers, you will know their buying habits. If you don't already have a system that stores this
information, you need to set one up to retain future customers' purchasing behaviour.
"If you have a system that tells you that a customer hasn't bought from you for four months or longer, you should follow that up straight
away," advises Cooper. "The system doesn't have to be on a computer - it can be a spreadsheet or simply a piece of paper."
If you are worried about data protection regulations preventing you from accessing old customer details, don't be put off. As long as you have
a genuine reason to contact an old customer and haven't held their details for an unreasonable length of time, there won't be a problem.
Find out why customers stopped buying
It is crucial to find out why the customer left you. But you also need to try to establish a connection with them before trying to sell to them
again.
"Just contact them to ask how things are going," suggests Cooper. "The key thing is to get an answer to the question: 'Why aren't you
dealing with us?'
"If an old customer is short of money, it's useful to know because you might be able to help," he adds. "For example, you could offer flexible
credit terms."
Alternatively, they might be dissatisfied with the customer service they received or have found a better deal elsewhere. However, you might
be able to show them you have revised your customer service policy or are offering substantial discounts.
"It's essential not to kick current customers in the teeth by offering a better deal to old customers," warns Cooper. "But get a staff member the
former customer knows to call and say they might be able to extend an existing offer to them."
Sometimes customers drift away because they have no regular contact with your business, so you need to make them feel valued. Sending
out friendly emails or a newsletter to old customers could lead to renewed custom.
If you have no luck the first time, contact them every few months. Your competitor may disappoint them, or they may revise their budget or
strategy. "Customers' needs change," says Cooper. "There is no reason to write them off forever."
You might also like to read the following:
Why Care About Lost Customers
If we already know that a loyal customer is the most profitable customer and that a referred customer provides our
best return on marketingthen lost customers certainly have more value than stone cold prospects.
A study done by Marketing Metrics says you have
A 60 to 70 percent chance of successfully selling again to a current customer
A 20 to 40 percent chance of winning back an ex-customer
A 5 to 20 percent chance of turning a prospect into a customer
1. Decide if you want them back. Not every customer is an ideal customer. If the customer you lost was difficult to
work with, then they may not be a good customer to have. The best thing you can do at that point, is to make sure
that they are leaving happy and that they will continue to refer you.
2. Find out exactly why they left. If they are a customer that you want back, find out exactly why they left. If they
say price then you know there is disconnect between what you offer and the value they perceive. No matter what the
reason, ask at least two more probing questions to find out exactly what you could do to improve the offer. You may
not get them back, but you will have information that you can use to save a customer who may be thinking of leaving.
3. Adjust your offer. Your lost customer research might uncover some information that you can use to create a new
and more profitable offer for your customers. Document your existing offer and the price paid for that offer, then
collect other offer and price combinations. You can survey your customers using a trade-off analysis technique called
conjoint analysis.
4. Take responsibility. If you made a mistake to lose them ask them what they would need to have to make them
stay. That means that you fix what went wrong with no requirement for them to remain as a customer. They may still
choose to leave, but if they have a great last experience with you, they may refer you to friends and family who may
be a better fit as a customer.
5. Ask for permission to send them industry information. Create a marketing list that is for special prospects and
past customers. This list should be used to send information and education on industry topics that they are interested
in. There is a terrific and unknown fulfillment service out there called Cyrano System that profiles your audience and
then delivers information that they are interested inno heavy sales involved, but keeps you in front of them.
Do an analysis on all the sales that you won and what it was about those customers that got them to choose you over
any other alternative. Then dig into your lost customer list and take a look at why those customers left. Finally, dont
forget to match those lists against the competitive strengths of your organization. Dont just take customers for the
sake of having more customers. Focus on delivering on your brand promise and nurturing your customer experience.
Only make adjustments that will further those two elements and make a positive impact on your bottom line.
Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers
By Ed Sykes

Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and
broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area left much to
desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for
lunch.

Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with
their lunches in hand. They apologized and quickly explained that they
received poor service at a restaurant (This restaurant is part of a national
chain. Hint: The restaurant's name references a day in the week). They
explained that after the waiter initially took their order, they waited 45
minutes before their food finally arrived. During the wait, no one came to
check on them.

Finally, when the food arrived, it was time for the group to return to class.
They were not happy, so they asked to speak with the restaurant manager.
The manager approached and asked, What was the problem? One of my
students explained the situation to which the restaurant manager replied,
The food ticket only shows you were waiting for eleven minutes. My
students were still not satisfied and said as much to the manager. She
asked them, Would you like dessert? My students re-emphasized their
dissatisfaction. Each time my students expressed their unhappiness, the
manager would say she was sorry. But my students werent buying it. The
manager then left without explaining where and what she was doing. The
manager returned and told my students that their meals were free. Even
though the manager gave them free meals my students said they will never
go back to that restaurant or any other restaurant in that chain.

So why werent these customers happy? The restaurant had an opportunity
to turn a difficult customer service experience into a winning situation for all
and squandered it. Not only will these patrons never go back to any
restaurant in that chain, but they will tell others about their unhappy
experience. The unhappy customer, on average, will tell 27 other people
about their experience. With the use of the internet, whether web pages or
e-mail, that number can increase to the thousands, if not millions with the
click of a button. However, according to the Department of Consumer
Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy customers will come back if impressed
and actually refer five new customers.

Lets take a look at the ten secrets that will not only win back your customer
in any situation, but have them referring new customers that will add more
money to your bottom line revenue.


1. Smile
Nothing can turn a hostile situation into positive moment faster than a sincere smile.
A smile that says, I want to help you. It communicates that you are positive about
the interaction with the customer. A sincere smile enhances the communication
process so that you can find the solution faster.

2. Introduce Yourself as the Solution Creator
Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customers name, and let your
customer know your position and why you are there. This lets the customer know
you are taking responsibility for finding a solution. You might say something like:
Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I am here to assist you
in this situation, please tell me about it.
Notice I didnt say, Whats the problem? By using Whats the problem? you start
the customer service situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking Youre
the problem, This establishment is the problem, The whole world is the
problem, etc. By starting your conversation with I am here to assist you in this
situation, please tell me about it you are setting up a verbal agreement in the
customers mind to move to a solution.
Note: If possible, please use the customers name throughout the
conversation.
3. Listen
Customers to want tell their side of the story and feel like they are not only heard
but that you listened to them. Mentally take a step back and dedicate yourself to
actively listening to the customers story with an open mind so that you can find a
solution. In the above situation, the manager stood silently while my students were
explaining their story. Be active in your listening and create empathy (put yourself
in the customers shoes) with statements such as:
I can appreciate what youre saying.
I can understand how youd feel that way.
I can see how youd be upset.
It sounds as if weve caused you inconvenience.
What I understand the situation to be
Please stay away from communication that alienates the customer such as:
I dont know why you are so upset.
Thats the first complaint we ever got on that.
I know how you feel. (Because you dont)
Boy, youre sure mad
In the above story, the students told the manager that they werent happy with the
service because they didnt have time to eat their meals. The manager, not
listening, said, Would you like dessert? The solution was not more
food. Listen for the solution!
4. Be Sorry for the Right Reasons
Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry the correct way. Many
time in the heat of the customer service situation we want to show some sign of
concern so we do the following:

The first words of the interaction are with the words, Im sorry. First, you
didnt find out any information from the customer to be sorry.
When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are sorry for.

The students, even though the manager kept repeating she was sorry, didnt think
the manager was sincere in her apology. The correct way to say you are sorry is:

Im sorry you had to wait so long for your food.
Im sorry that you were treated that way.
Im sorry that our employee said that to you.
Im sorry this situation happened to you.

Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The students thought the
managers sorrys were insincere because she never mentioned why she was sorry.
5. Give Your Personal Assurance.
Let the customer know you will personally create a solution for them. It could be as
simple as saying, Im taking personal responsibility for this.
6. Ask Them What They Want
One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the customer is that we think
they want something out of our reach. Ask the customer, What would you like
me/us to do? or What would make this situation right for you? You will be
surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less than you were expecting.


7. Use Statements of Conviction
Say the following to gain the confidence of the customer:

Were going to do something about that!
We will make a change right now!


8. Present a Clear Plan of Action
Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to correct the situation for
them. Ninety-five percent of making things right for the customer involves making
them aware that you are taking action to make a difference for them. Explain to
them the actions and timelines you need to take to make things right for them. If
you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain additional information, say:

Excuse me while I make a telephone call to obtain the best solution for you.
This will take five minutes, can you please wait?
Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the missing piece of information
so that we can quickly resolve this for you. Do you mind waiting five
minutes?

Note: Make sure you get back to the customer before the time you
specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to the customer before ten
minutes. Rule of thumb, double the time it would normally take to get the
information. If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the
customer then tell the customer you will get back to them within twenty
minutes.



9. Move Quickly to the Solution
If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer the solution they wanted
for a win-win situation. You can confirm this by saying the following:

Would this be agreeable for you?
Is this the solution you were looking for?
Will this make things right for you?


10. Ask for the Business
If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the customer to come back
and do business with your organization. You showed that you were professional,
caring, sincere, positive, and proactive. Why wouldnt they do business with you
again?

Some of the way you can say this include the following:

We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you again in the future.
Please come back and I will personally guarantee you receive outstanding
service.
Here is a 20% coupon. Please use it on your next visit to our
establishment.

Its important that you let the customer know that you appreciate their business and want
them to come back. Remember, if you did everything right, not only will they come back
but they will tell other people to do business with you. Use challenging customer service
situations to win back your customers and build your business.
Win Back the Customers You Lost in the Recession
Article by Jill Griffin on February 1, 2011 Editor's Pick No Comments
In the erratic economy of these past years, you probably have customers who have left you. Many had no choice. It was about the
economy not about you.
Many are ready to return IF you just ask them.
But before reaching out, you need a well thought-out plan to win back these lost customers. And that begins by defining the term
win back. The Direct Marketing Association tells us, A win back is a dormant customer who begins to purchase again due to a
targeted sales and marketing effort.
Are you ready to win back a lot of lost customers? Heres a five-step plan get you there:
Step #1: Conduct Your Win-back Opportunity Analysis

How many inactive and lost customers do you have?
When did they leave?
Why did they leave?
Where did they go?
How much impact do these lost customers have on your revenue?
What amount of incremental revenue could you reasonably expect to earn by implementing win-back programs?
Use your customer database and purchase records to identify those customers that have stopped buying from you.
Next, segment your lost customers into groups based on potential ROI. For example:
Number and segmentation of lost and dormant customers
Segmentation based on highest potential win-back customer candidates
Win-back spending levels and corresponding incremental revenue projections
This phase of work is the most vital you will do around customer win-back. Thats because your strategies and tactics should be
based on solid analytics from data about your lost customers. Once this phase of work is complete, you will know the impact of lost
customers on your business and the payback potential for winning them back.
Step 2: Assess Your Firms Win-back Readiness
How equipped is your firm today to implement a win-back strategy?
To begin to answer this question, look at certain key areas in your firm that are important to win-back success:
Frontline employee capabilities
Customer listening posts
Techniques for rapid trust reinstatement
Service recovery protocols
Customer defection data collection
Customer complaint collection
At risk customer profiling
Its important you access your firms readiness, adjust performance gaps and prepare your organization for win-back success.
Step 3: Prepare Your Win-back Blueprint
What win-back programs will provide your firm the shortest time to revenue?
What is the specific action plan and roadmap?
This is the how part of the strategy youll need to custom design a comprehensive win-back action plan for your firm that outlines
key objectives and the action programs supporting them. This written plan will outline in detail a comprehensive roadmap for your
organization. It covers what each group or department will do, when, how and in what sequence, and with what win-back tools and
ties the whole program together to be the most effective for you.
Your shortest time to revenue plan should address all critical roadmap issues including:
Communication vehicles and creative briefs
Re-approach messaging
Contact frequency
Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience deployment plans and responsibility assignments
Revenue forecast timeline
Budget requirements
Testing strategies
Reporting benchmarks
The Win-Back Blueprint is just that: The detailed plans for implementing a win-back programs that generates incremental revenue in
the shortest time.
Step Four: Implement Your Win-back Plan
Youve got the plan, now how do you execute it for greatest results in the least time?
Who does what and when to optimize results?
In addition to creating and testing multiple win-back offers, implementation activities may include:
Identifying emotions that bond reactivated buyers deeply to your firm and choreographing customer experiences around these emotions
Mobilizing and managing a win-back teamwhether temporary or permanent
Designing and executing direct mail campaigns including letters, brochures, postcards, etc.
Designing and implementing social media campaigns
Designing and implementation of email campaigns
Writing scripts for contact center personnel
Planning and scripting for in-person sales calls to use with targeted accounts
Front line training on serving newly regained customers
Step Five: Evaluate Your Win-back Results
How do you measure, evaluate and refine your win-back program?
Experience is a great teacher and thats why every one of your win-back action programs should be measured and monitored for
success. Youll want to track results and, in doing so, look for opportunities to alter existing protocols and programs to maximize
your ROI.
Your continuous improvement auditing should include:
Latest win-back offer redemption rates by segment and test cell
Revenue generated from win-back offers and ROI
Cost per customer regained
Post purchasing habits of reactivated customers
This is the pivotal step to making your win-back programs as optimized and effective as possible . This step provides you with the
measurement that your win-back programs are working and creating significant incremental revenue and meaningful ROI.
Know this: A lost customer is not a lost cause! Studies show you have a higher likelihood to successfully sell a lapsed customer than
a new prospect. Think of lost customers as hidden treasure and start digging now!
For Jills free tutorial, Customer Win-Back Bloopers: What Not To Do When Reactivating Lost Customers, click
here: http://www.loyaltysolutions.com/win-back-gift
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