![\"winning](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/winning-back-biz-300x132.jpg\")
How strong are your customer relationships?\u00a0 You\u2019re probably answering, \u201cvery strong,\u201d \u201cour customers love us,\u201d or words to that effect.\u00a0 That\u2019s great.\u00a0 Now answer this question: \u201cWhat percentage of your customer base would allow you one big mistake and continue doing business with you?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a killer of a question, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 You might be doing some deep thinking right now.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the truth:\u00a0 If you\u2019re only one mistake away from losing the business at any given time, your relationship with your customer isn\u2019t very strong.\u00a0 Strong relationships will withstand a service boo-boo \u2013 even a big one.\u00a0 The strongest will withstand multiple boo-boos.\u00a0 If a lot of your customers are one away, don\u2019t feel bad.\u00a0 Your competitor is probably in the same situation.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked before about how to build stronger relationships; today, let\u2019s talk about how to win back lost business.\u00a0 Specifically, we\u2019re talking about winning back business that YOU lost by making a mistake of some sort.<\/p>\n
First, you must understand that your biggest obstacle in regaining a lost customer is fear \u2013 yours and theirs.\u00a0 You fear going back to the customer because you don\u2019t want to be rejected again.\u00a0 Your customer fears doing business with you because they don\u2019t want to get into another bad situation.\u00a0 First, you have to lose your own fear.\u00a0 If your customer is open to persuasion, you can help them lose theirs.\u00a0 You do so by performing a few simple steps:<\/p>\n
Be honest with yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0 Honesty begins in the mirror.\u00a0 You might not think that your mistake was a big deal \u2013 but look at it from the customer\u2019s point of view.\u00a0 What did your mistake cost them?\u00a0 What was the aggravation involved?\u00a0 How did it impact your customer, and how would you feel if you were on their side of the desk?<\/p>\n Eat crow.<\/strong>\u00a0 To recover from a mistake, you must first admit that you screwed up.\u00a0 You do so by admitting and apologizing.\u00a0 What\u2019s important here is that you not pass the buck when you apologize; the customer doesn\u2019t care if it was the shipping department that messed up their order while you, the honest salesman, did your best to take care of the customer.\u00a0 The customer looks at the entire company as one person.\u00a0 Either say, \u201cWe failed, and we\u2019re sorry,\u201d or, \u201cI made a mistake, and I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 If your customer wants to vent, let them and empathize with them.\u00a0 They\u2019re angry, and without venting that anger, they won\u2019t be able to move beyond the current problem.<\/p>\n Make good.<\/strong>\u00a0 In advertising, there is a concept called a \u201cmake good\u201d that kicks in when promises are unfulfilled; for instance, if an advertiser buys an ad for a particular TV show with a particular ratings expectation, and the show delivers well below that expectation, the advertiser may well receive a \u201cmake good\u201d \u2013 a free ad that completes the exposure expectation.\u00a0 Whatever business you\u2019re in, you can figure out a \u201cmake good\u201d gesture.\u00a0 What\u2019s important is that the gesture be proportional to the screw-up.\u00a0 Cause a company downtime costing them $30,000, and a $15 candy basket may not be good enough.\u00a0 \u201cMake goods\u201d are designed to assign some of the burden to you, so if you want the business back, you should be prepared to make it worthwhile.<\/p>\n Re-sell.<\/strong>\u00a0 Now it\u2019s time to rediscover the reasons your customer was doing business with you in the first place.\u00a0 Ask some good questions, and present some powerful benefits that remind the customer why they enjoyed your company as a vendor.\u00a0 Re-present, and re-close.\u00a0 If it\u2019s appropriate, gently remind your customer about the positive relationship you\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n Above all, don\u2019t compete with your customer!<\/strong>\u00a0 Sometimes, the customer is so upset or disillusioned that they aren\u2019t willing to change their minds.\u00a0 When this happens, it\u2019s important not to make a contest of the dialogue; when you argue with your customer, you always lose.\u00a0 If the customer is dead set on not accepting an apology or re-sell overtures, it\u2019s best to let the problem rest for a while.<\/p>\n Depending on how serious your service issue was, winning your customer back can range from an easy project to impossible.\u00a0 If you are fortunate enough to regain their business, don\u2019t allow yourself to get back into the same position \u2013 work to strengthen the relationship until it will withstand some service issues.\u00a0 By the way, you should also make sure that winning the customer back is worth the effort; sometimes, customers that leave are doing us a favor.\u00a0 Whatever you do, make sure you do it with class and integrity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How strong are your customer relationships?\u00a0 You\u2019re probably answering, \u201cvery strong,\u201d \u201cour customers love us,\u201d or words to that effect.\u00a0 That\u2019s great.\u00a0 Now answer this question: \u201cWhat percentage of your customer base would allow you one big mistake and continue doing business with you?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a killer of a question, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 You might be doing some deep thinking right now. Here\u2019s the truth:\u00a0 If you\u2019re only one mistake away from losing the business at any given time, your relationship with your customer isn\u2019t very strong.\u00a0 Strong relationships will withstand a service boo-boo \u2013 even a big one.\u00a0 The strongest will withstand multiple boo-boos.\u00a0 If a lot of your customers are one away, don\u2019t feel bad.\u00a0 Your competitor is probably in the same situation.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked before about how to build stronger relationships; today, let\u2019s talk about how to win back lost business.\u00a0 Specifically, we\u2019re talking about winning back business that YOU lost by making a mistake of some sort. First, you must understand that your biggest obstacle in regaining a lost customer is fear \u2013 yours and theirs.\u00a0 You fear going back to the customer because you don\u2019t want to be rejected again.\u00a0 Your customer fears doing business with you because they don\u2019t want to get into another bad situation.\u00a0 First, you have to lose your own fear.\u00a0 If your customer is open to persuasion, you can help them lose theirs.\u00a0 You do so by performing a few simple steps: Be honest with yourself.\u00a0 Honesty begins in the mirror.\u00a0 You might not think that your mistake was a big deal \u2013 but look at it from the customer\u2019s point of view.\u00a0 What did your mistake cost them?\u00a0 What was the aggravation involved?\u00a0 How did it impact your customer, and how would you feel if you were on their side of the desk? Eat crow.\u00a0 To recover from a mistake, you must first admit that you screwed up.\u00a0 You do so by admitting and apologizing.\u00a0 What\u2019s important here is that you not pass the buck when you apologize; the customer doesn\u2019t care if it was the shipping department that messed up their order while you, the honest salesman, did your best to take care of the customer.\u00a0 The customer looks at the entire company as one person.\u00a0 Either say, \u201cWe failed, and we\u2019re sorry,\u201d or, \u201cI made a mistake, and I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0 If your customer wants to vent, let them and empathize with them.\u00a0 They\u2019re angry, and without venting that anger, they won\u2019t be able to move beyond the current problem. Make good.\u00a0 In advertising, there is a concept called a \u201cmake good\u201d that kicks in when promises are unfulfilled; for instance, if an advertiser buys an ad for a particular TV show with a particular ratings expectation, and the show delivers well below that expectation, the advertiser may well receive a \u201cmake good\u201d \u2013 a free ad that completes the exposure expectation.\u00a0 Whatever business you\u2019re in, you can figure out a \u201cmake good\u201d gesture.\u00a0 What\u2019s important is that the gesture be proportional to the screw-up.\u00a0 Cause a company downtime costing them $30,000, and a $15 candy basket may not be good enough.\u00a0 \u201cMake goods\u201d are designed to assign some of the burden to you, so if you want the business back, you should be prepared to make it worthwhile. Re-sell.\u00a0 Now it\u2019s time to rediscover the reasons your customer was doing business with you in the first place.\u00a0 Ask some good questions, and present some powerful benefits that remind the customer why they enjoyed your company as a vendor.\u00a0 Re-present, and re-close.\u00a0 If it\u2019s appropriate, gently remind your customer about the positive relationship you\u2019ve had. Above all, don\u2019t compete with your customer!\u00a0 Sometimes, the customer is so upset or disillusioned that they aren\u2019t willing to change their minds.\u00a0 When this happens, it\u2019s important not to make a contest of the dialogue; when you argue with your customer, you always lose.\u00a0 If the customer is dead set on not accepting an apology or re-sell overtures, it\u2019s best to let the problem rest for a while. Depending on how serious your service issue was, winning your customer back can range from an easy project to impossible.\u00a0 If you are fortunate enough to regain their business, don\u2019t allow yourself to get back into the same position \u2013 work to strengthen the relationship until it will withstand some service issues.\u00a0 By the way, you should also make sure that winning the customer back is worth the effort; sometimes, customers that leave are doing us a favor.\u00a0 Whatever you do, make sure you do it with class and integrity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1866],"tags":[2140,2141],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11725,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11723\/revisions\/11725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}