How strong are your customer relationships? You’re probably answering, “very strong,” “our customers love us,” or words to that effect. That’s great. Now answer this question: “What percentage of your customer base would allow you one big mistake and continue doing business with you?” That’s a killer of a question, isn’t it? You might be doing some deep thinking right now.
Here’s the truth: If you’re only one mistake away from losing the business at any given time, your relationship with your customer isn’t very strong. Strong relationships will withstand a service boo-boo – even a big one. The strongest will withstand multiple boo-boos. If a lot of your customers are one away, don’t feel bad. Your competitor is probably in the same situation. We’ve talked before about how to build stronger relationships; today, let’s talk about how to win back lost business. Specifically, we’re 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 – yours and theirs. You fear going back to the customer because you don’t want to be rejected again. Your customer fears doing business with you because they don’t want to get into another bad situation. First, you have to lose your own fear. If your customer is open to persuasion, you can help them lose theirs. You do so by performing a few simple steps:
Be honest with yourself. Honesty begins in the mirror. You might not think that your mistake was a big deal – but look at it from the customer’s point of view. What did your mistake cost them? What was the aggravation involved? How did it impact your customer, and how would you feel if you were on their side of the desk?
Eat crow. To recover from a mistake, you must first admit that you screwed up. You do so by admitting and apologizing. What’s important here is that you not pass the buck when you apologize; the customer doesn’t 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. The customer looks at the entire company as one person. Either say, “We failed, and we’re sorry,” or, “I made a mistake, and I’m sorry.” If your customer wants to vent, let them and empathize with them. They’re angry, and without venting that anger, they won’t be able to move beyond the current problem.
Make good. In advertising, there is a concept called a “make good” 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 “make good” – a free ad that completes the exposure expectation. Whatever business you’re in, you can figure out a “make good” gesture. What’s important is that the gesture be proportional to the screw-up. Cause a company downtime costing them $30,000, and a $15 candy basket may not be good enough. “Make goods” 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. Now it’s time to rediscover the reasons your customer was doing business with you in the first place. Ask some good questions, and present some powerful benefits that remind the customer why they enjoyed your company as a vendor. Re-present, and re-close. If it’s appropriate, gently remind your customer about the positive relationship you’ve had.
Above all, don’t compete with your customer! Sometimes, the customer is so upset or disillusioned that they aren’t willing to change their minds. When this happens, it’s important not to make a contest of the dialogue; when you argue with your customer, you always lose. If the customer is dead set on not accepting an apology or re-sell overtures, it’s 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. If you are fortunate enough to regain their business, don’t allow yourself to get back into the same position – work to strengthen the relationship until it will withstand some service issues. 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. Whatever you do, make sure you do it with class and integrity.
