Why Customers Leave

Why Customers Leave – And What You Can Do About It

If you run your own auto repair shop — or restaurant, amusement park, or really, any small business — you will lose customers. That is just a fact of life. You will not be able to win over everyone.

Instead of spending large amounts of money to acquire new customers via expensive advertising efforts, try to build your business by retaining your existing customers. How do you accomplish this? Well, knowing why customers leave a business is a start. You’ll find some clues below in research from the Rockefeller Corporation (via Smashing Magazine),

Clearly, there are a few factors that are not within your control, like when a customer dies or moves away. But the good news is there are many factors that you can influence. Nearly 70% of consumers leave a company because they have the perception that the business does not value them. The other 24% leave because they feel that they can find better service somewhere else. So, all together, 91% of the reasons why customers leave are potentially within the business owner’s control.

While increasing customer retention takes time and dedication from the entire team, the basic idea is pretty simple: Treat your customers the way you would like to be treated. You will find that the more time you invest in your customers, the more loyal they will become, and the less likely they are to be hooked by one of your competitors.

Any business can make a sale and take a customer’s money. However, it’s much harder to retain a customer for life. Try some new strategies at the shop to help connect with your customers, and it will leave a lasting positive impression of your business. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Build Rapport with Your Customers — This means asking engaging questions when they visit your shop. Questions like: “How’s the family?” “Any plans for the weekend?” and “How do you like the vehicle so far?” are all great examples that you can incorporate into your daily conversations with them. The more personalized the experience, the better rapport you will establish with your customer. Building rapport increases your customer’s satisfaction level, which leads to building loyalty and retention.
• Respond to Customer Reviews (all of them) — Yes, all of them, even the 5-star reviews. Most businesses tend to respond only to negative reviews, which is good, but it is not great. As a business you want to be different from what the competition is doing. This is why it’s smart to respond to every review you receive, good or bad — to acknowledge and thank the customer, as well as to showcase to the world that you go above and beyond what the competition does.A large portion of consumers look at business reviews online before deciding to use its services. Because the SocialCRM SureCritic reviews are visible to the public, it’s that much more important to respond to every review and thank them for their feedback. Also, don’t take the cookie cutter approach by copying and pasting the same response for each customer. When responding, I recommend keeping it short and brief, but friendly and unique to the customer.
• Capture Customer’s Emails — This is a deciding factor when it comes to getting the most out of the SocialCRM platform. I can’t stress this enough. If there is no email for the customer, then we are not able to communicate with them via our automated “smart emails” — Service Reminder emails, Thank-You emails, Lost Customer emails, etc. At Mitchell 1, we see a definite trend that the most successful shops stay in constant contact with their customer base, because they know that customer retention and loyalty are essential when it comes to maintaining and growing their businesses.

Keeping in close contact with customers is vital because, “If you are not marketing to your customers, then who is?” Nothing will work as effectively to grow your business as making it a priority to build loyalty with your existing customers through excellent customer engagement and of course, delivering a first-class vehicle repair.

Read more from the SocialCRM blog:

• Showing Customer Gratitude Creates Loyalty: Thank You
• Showing Customers Gratitude Creates Loyalty: Thank You AGAIN
• Identifying and Thanking Your Most Valuable Customers 

Read more about customer service and retention:

• From HubPages: Bad Customer Service: The Single Most Important Reason Why Customers Leave
• From Smashing Magazine: Taking a Customer from Like to Love: the UX of Long-Term Relationships
• From BuyerLegends.com: A Question about Delivering Great Customer Experience