As a business owner, you focus your attention on bringing in new customers. But what about the customers that no longer do business with you? Does your business have any processes to understand why customers canceled your service or what you can do to acquire customers back?
First you need to realize that the rate of customer turnover can vary from business to business and industry to industry. Then you can begin to determine how many customers you lose in a given period of time versus how many customers you have total. In order to grow your business, you have to replace any customers who left with new ones and then continue to add more customers to actually grow your business.
There are different ways of getting more business, including adding new customers and getting your existing customers to sign up for additional services or bundle products. However, your business should also focus on acquiring customers who canceled. Acquiring customers who left your business may take less marketing dollars than a cold prospect because they are familiar with your brand and may have a reason as to why they left.
4 Tips to Acquire Customers Who Canceled
1. Do you want those customers back?
A business should have a firm understanding of what their ideal customer looks like and their target audience. If you do not have a target market, you should develop it for your business. Not everyone may be the right fit for your business, so this is key in your marketing strategy. Does this former customer fit the ideal customer profile and target audience? If so, it may be worth the effort and marketing dollars on acquiring these customers back.
2. Understand why customers canceled. Do you ask customers why they canceled service or returned a product? Just as you should understand what led them to your business, you should also understand why they left. Did something change with their situation and they just don’t need your service anymore?
Did they have an issue with their service, billing, customer service or something else? If the latter, it should be addressed immediately with your staff. It is in your best interest to understand why you lost a customer’s business. If the issue is cost versus poor service, a customer is more likely to come back.
3. Target Your Message
Once you understand if you want them back and why they left, you can generate a marketing message tailored to that group. An emotional message can be very persuasive. Consider this: a direct mailer or e-mail showing a sad puppy with his paws over his eyes and the caption, “We miss you!” Your former customer may realize that they did matter and you notice the loss of their business.
4. Cost Versus Service
If cost was the reason why a customer left, you may consider providing them with a re-subscriber promotional price: “Buy X months and get the next month free” or another offer that provides them with a perceived value. Even if the issue was service-based, offering the promotion and asking to be given another chance shows that you are owning up to the mistake and want to try to make things right.
Pet Butler’s National Call Center Provides Customer Support
One of the benefits of being a Pet Butler Franchise Owner is having the support from the National Call Center. This dedicated team answers all calls, from initial leads that come to customers with service feedback, and provides immediate information to the franchise owner.
One of the things Pete Hulse, Pet Butler Franchise Owner in Columbus, OH, likes about the National Call Center is that when someone calls, a live person answers the phone. A lot of the day-to-day back office work for a franchise owner is eliminated.
The National Call Center answers all calls, from initial prospects to upset customers, and provides immediate information to the franchise owner. “Somebody answers who knows what is going on,” Hulse said. “They will find out who you are, where you are, and will start working with you to resolve whatever problem you have.”
Whether you are in the pet industry and want to diversify or are looking for a turn-key franchise with the marketing and back-office support to help your business be successful, Pet Butler may be the perfect fit for you. Learn more about Pet Butler by calling 844-777-8608 or visit us at www.growmypetindustrybusiness.com.
