{"id":5801,"date":"2013-09-06T08:23:41","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T12:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=5801"},"modified":"2013-09-06T08:23:41","modified_gmt":"2013-09-06T12:23:41","slug":"10-sure-ways-to-lose-a-customer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2013\/09\/10-sure-ways-to-lose-a-customer\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Sure Ways to Lose a Customer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"angry-main_full\"<\/a>(Editor\u2019s note: This is an excerpt of an article that I wrote in 2007 for ENX magazine. It\u2019s just as relevant today as it was then.)<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re selling imaging technology you don\u2019t need me to tell you how competitive it is out there, especially if you\u2019re in a major market. Even if you\u2019re not, you\u2019re probably not the only show in town. Every day, if you\u2019re good at what you do, you\u2019re probably touching base with your existing customers and courting new ones. But so is every other imaging technology dealer in your market.<\/p>\n

You pride yourself in service and taking good care of your customers. Occasionally, you lose one to a competitor, and if you\u2019re lucky, you win one of theirs or somebody else\u2019s customer.<\/p>\n

It takes time and effort to hang onto what you\u2019ve got. But what does it take to lose a customer to a competitor? I\u2019m not talking a competitor who comes in with a lower price that any self-respecting dealer would be a lunatic to match, but the things that dealers say or do that turn them from a shining star in their customer\u2019s eyes to a black hole. What follows is a time-tested list of 12 sure ways to lose a customer based on conversations with dealers across the industry.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Tell the customer you will be there today and don\u2019t show up until two days later. <\/strong>\u201cIt happens all the time,\u201d says Glen Plank, service and parts manager with Spectrum Business Centers in Huntington Beach, California. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many calls we get where the customer says, \u2018We called our regular provider, but it\u2019s been two days and they still haven\u2019t shown up or given us a call, so we\u2019re calling you.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Tell the customer you will return with parts and then not keep them informed of when you expect them. <\/strong>Plenty of dealers are good at providing customers with an quick response on a service call, but then the tech needs to go back to the shop to pick up a missing part or the part is on back order. Three days later the customer still hasn\u2019t heard anything. \u201cIf you kept them informed, they\u2019ll understand, but if you don\u2019t tell them anything, that\u2019s the end of it,\u201d states Plank.<\/li>\n
  3. Leave the customer\u2019s machine down when they have no other equipment available to them. <\/strong>It happens from time to time that their equipment is down and the tech doesn\u2019t have the part and it\u2019s going to take a week to get it. But to just throw your hands up in the air and say, \u2018Sorry.\u2019 Give them an option.\u00a0 It may be as simple as telling them, \u2018I can get your machine running poorly, but it will at least kind of work until then.\u2019 Or maybe it\u2019s providing a free loaner or a lower volume machine that they can rent for a week or two until the part comes in. \u00a0\u201cAt least try to work with them and feel their pain and find them an alternate solution until you can get their machine running,\u201d observes Plank. If you don\u2019t give them options, they may call someone else for a loaner or a rental. \u201cThat lets the competition in the door and you\u2019re looking bad and they\u2019re looking good,\u201d says Plank.<\/li>\n
  4. Consistent poor response times on service calls.<\/strong> Your guaranteed response time may be four hours, but things happen and sometimes it takes longer than that to reach the customer\u2019s location. But when it happens all the time, then it\u2019s a problem. If you\u2019re consistently giving poor response time, the customer is sitting there saying, \u2018Do I really want these guys as my servicing company?\u2019<\/li>\n
  5. Stop showing customers that you care. <\/strong>\u201cThis is sales 101,\u201d says Al Aaron, sales manager with Saxon Office Technology in Morrisville, Pa. \u201cIt\u2019s so simple that it\u2019s hard. People just don\u2019t get it. When you stop showing people that you care, they go away. It\u2019s that simple. As a salesman, you put in so much energy to get a client and if you only put in just half that energy to keep them, they\u2019d stay forever. What happens is most people put in no energy, so they go away. It\u2019s like dating. You know how hard it is to date and you finally got her and then you start taking her for granted, things fall apart. It\u2019s the same concept. You\u2019ve got to let them know you care.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. Don\u2019t give them what you promise.<\/strong> \u201cIf your promise was that you\u2019re going to perform, however you\u2019re going to perform, and you don\u2019t follow through on those promises, you deserve to lose them,\u201d opines Aaron.<\/li>\n
  7. Don\u2019t make promises you can\u2019t keep. <\/strong>\u201cIf I can\u2019t do it or I don\u2019t know I can do it, I\u2019ll let the customer know,\u201d says Aaron. \u201cI don\u2019t want to promise something I can\u2019t deliver.\u201d He acknowledges losing customers because of that honesty. Aaron often sees competitors promise things to customers that they can\u2019t deliver. \u201cHere\u2019s the problem with our industry,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a salesman who lies to their customer. The customer buys into it and they\u2019re stuck for the next three to five years and then they complain to me for the next three to five years, saying, \u2018I should have gone with you.\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. Not returning phone calls or e-mails in a timely manner.<\/strong> Timing is everything and not returning phone calls and e-mails ASAP is a great way to lose a customer says sales rep and Print4Pay Hotel founder Art Post.<\/li>\n
  9. Vague quotes. <\/strong>\u201cThere can\u2019t be anything left open to question,\u201d contends Post. His example of a vague quote is a document written in MS Word that shows the customer the price per month, the term of the lease, and that there are 360,000 copies of service and supplies included for black. The problem though was the leasing rep was providing a quote on a color machine. \u201cIt mentions nothing about tax, nothing about who is paying for color toner, nothing about who is paying for color service, and nothing about insurance, taxes, delivery, installation, and \u00a0installing software or print drivers,\u201d says Post \u201cEven though it\u2019s all on the lease, most customers will not read what they sign. In order to not lose a customer you need to make sure up front you tell them these are charges you\u2019re going to have down the road.\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. Being pushy and talking down to people.<\/strong> Post has seen his company lose deals to competitors and win deals from competitors because of overly aggressive sales people or sales people that treated customers like idiots. It all goes back to the Golden Rule of treating people the way you want to be treated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Editor\u2019s note: This is an excerpt of an article that I wrote in 2007 for ENX magazine. It\u2019s just as relevant today as it was then.) If you\u2019re selling imaging technology you don\u2019t need me to tell you how competitive it is out there, especially if you\u2019re in a major market. Even if you\u2019re not, you\u2019re probably not the only show in town. Every day, if you\u2019re good at what you do, you\u2019re probably touching base with your existing customers and courting new ones. But so is every other imaging technology dealer in your market. You pride yourself in service and taking good care of your customers. Occasionally, you lose one to a competitor, and if you\u2019re lucky, you win one of theirs or somebody else\u2019s customer. It takes time and effort to hang onto what you\u2019ve got. But what does it take to lose a customer to a competitor? I\u2019m not talking a competitor who comes in with a lower price that any self-respecting dealer would be a lunatic to match, but the things that dealers say or do that turn them from a shining star in their customer\u2019s eyes to a black hole. What follows is a time-tested list of 12 sure ways to lose a customer based on conversations with dealers across the industry. Tell the customer you will be there today and don\u2019t show up until two days later. \u201cIt happens all the time,\u201d says Glen Plank, service and parts manager with Spectrum Business Centers in Huntington Beach, California. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many calls we get where the customer says, \u2018We called our regular provider, but it\u2019s been two days and they still haven\u2019t shown up or given us a call, so we\u2019re calling you.\u2019\u201d Tell the customer you will return with parts and then not keep them informed of when you expect them. Plenty of dealers are good at providing customers with an quick response on a service call, but then the tech needs to go back to the shop to pick up a missing part or the part is on back order. Three days later the customer still hasn\u2019t heard anything. \u201cIf you kept them informed, they\u2019ll understand, but if you don\u2019t tell them anything, that\u2019s the end of it,\u201d states Plank. Leave the customer\u2019s machine down when they have no other equipment available to them. It happens from time to time that their equipment is down and the tech doesn\u2019t have the part and it\u2019s going to take a week to get it. But to just throw your hands up in the air and say, \u2018Sorry.\u2019 Give them an option.\u00a0 It may be as simple as telling them, \u2018I can get your machine running poorly, but it will at least kind of work until then.\u2019 Or maybe it\u2019s providing a free loaner or a lower volume machine that they can rent for a week or two until the part comes in. \u00a0\u201cAt least try to work with them and feel their pain and find them an alternate solution until you can get their machine running,\u201d observes Plank. If you don\u2019t give them options, they may call someone else for a loaner or a rental. \u201cThat lets the competition in the door and you\u2019re looking bad and they\u2019re looking good,\u201d says Plank. Consistent poor response times on service calls. Your guaranteed response time may be four hours, but things happen and sometimes it takes longer than that to reach the customer\u2019s location. But when it happens all the time, then it\u2019s a problem. If you\u2019re consistently giving poor response time, the customer is sitting there saying, \u2018Do I really want these guys as my servicing company?\u2019 Stop showing customers that you care. \u201cThis is sales 101,\u201d says Al Aaron, sales manager with Saxon Office Technology in Morrisville, Pa. \u201cIt\u2019s so simple that it\u2019s hard. People just don\u2019t get it. When you stop showing people that you care, they go away. It\u2019s that simple. As a salesman, you put in so much energy to get a client and if you only put in just half that energy to keep them, they\u2019d stay forever. What happens is most people put in no energy, so they go away. It\u2019s like dating. You know how hard it is to date and you finally got her and then you start taking her for granted, things fall apart. It\u2019s the same concept. You\u2019ve got to let them know you care.\u201d Don\u2019t give them what you promise. \u201cIf your promise was that you\u2019re going to perform, however you\u2019re going to perform, and you don\u2019t follow through on those promises, you deserve to lose them,\u201d opines Aaron. Don\u2019t make promises you can\u2019t keep. \u201cIf I can\u2019t do it or I don\u2019t know I can do it, I\u2019ll let the customer know,\u201d says Aaron. \u201cI don\u2019t want to promise something I can\u2019t deliver.\u201d He acknowledges losing customers because of that honesty. Aaron often sees competitors promise things to customers that they can\u2019t deliver. \u201cHere\u2019s the problem with our industry,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a salesman who lies to their customer. The customer buys into it and they\u2019re stuck for the next three to five years and then they complain to me for the next three to five years, saying, \u2018I should have gone with you.\u201d Not returning phone calls or e-mails in a timely manner. Timing is everything and not returning phone calls and e-mails ASAP is a great way to lose a customer says sales rep and Print4Pay Hotel founder Art Post. Vague quotes. \u201cThere can\u2019t be anything left open to question,\u201d contends Post. His example of a vague quote is a document written in MS Word that shows the customer the price per month, the term of the lease, and that there are 360,000 copies of service and supplies included for black. The problem though was the leasing rep was providing a quote on a color machine. \u201cIt mentions nothing about tax, nothing about who is paying for color […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[407,106,151,788,790,789],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5801"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5804,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5801\/revisions\/5804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}