Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Figuring Out Why a Customer Left

Before you can hope to win back former customers, you need to understand what hastened their departure in the first place. Although you might think that every situation is unique, customers leave for a variety of reasons:

• Product dissatisfaction: Among the top customer frustrations is the poor quality of a product (or service). Maybe it didn't perform as expected, didn't fit properly, or was poorly made — the reasons are endless.
• Poor service: Customer service is one of the most influential factors in maintaining customer loyalty. Allowing one bad service experience, or a string of experiences involving consistently mediocre service, is a sure way to drive away paying customers.
• High prices: Technology increasingly allows online customers to compare price points with little effort. Customers who install price-comparison toolbars or check out online shopping sites that root out the biggest bargains can easily be lured by good deals — especially if no other compelling issue, such as brand loyalty or customer reward programs, makes them stay. Another price issue driving customer decisions is that if they can no longer afford your product, they search for affordable alternatives.
• Difficulty in buying: One of the biggest customer-loyalty roadblocks you can create is making it difficult to do business with you. Making changes that help you manage your online business can also inadvertently make buying more difficult for customers. An update can leave ...