Question

6. All salespeople suffer losses, either through the loss of a sale or an entire account to a competitor. What can a salesperson do to win back a customer?

Answer 1

A company may suffer loss in the form of sales or in the form of lost customers to competitors. A lost customer always results in loss of sales and can hurt the sales people but there are certain ways by which companies can bring back lost customers:

1. Decide if you want the lost customers back: Salespeople must understand that every customer is an ideal customer. If the losy customer was difficult to work with, then they might not be a good customer to have back. The best thing companies can do at that point, is to make sure that the customers are leaving happy and that they will continue to refer you.

2. Find out exactly the reasom why they left: If companies want a lost customer back, they find out exactly why they left. If price was the reason then companies must understand there is disconnect between their offerings and the value customers perceive. No matter what the reason was, companies must ask at least two more probing questions to find out what can be done to improve the offer. Companies may not get the customers back, but they will have information on how to save a customer who may be thinking of switching to another brand.

3. Adjust the offer: Your lost customer research might uncover some information that companies can use to create a more profitable offers for their customers. Companies should document their existing offers and the price paid for that offer, then gather other offers and price combinations. Companies can survey their customers using a trade-off analysis technique also known as conjoint analysis.

4. Take responsibility: If companies made a mistake to lose the customers, ask them what they need to have to make them stay. That means that companies need to fix what went wrong with no requirements for them to remain as a customer. Customers may still choose to leave, but if the customers have a great last experience with you, they may refer you to family and friends who may be a better fit as a customer.

5. Ask for permission to send them information: Create a marketing list that is for past customers. This list must be used to send information and education on topics that they are interested in. Companies need to perform a complete analysis on all the sales that they won and what it was about those customers that got them to choose your company over any other alternative. Then dig into the list of lost customers and find out why those customers left. Finally, companies must match those lists against the competitive strengths of the organization. Companies must focus on delivering on brand promise and nurturing customer experience.