Why Customers Leave (And How to Win Them Back)

4

DON'T CLOSE—EVER

Opportunity doesn't knock. It plays Ding-Dong Ditch!

–Author

In yesteryear, when we wanted to buy something, we drove to a place of business, parked, went inside, and looked for our item. Then we brought our selection to the counter and the clerk rang it up. We had to plan ahead to make sure we got there during business hours, and if they were closed, we waited until they opened again. The physical presence of the merchant or an employee was required for commerce to take place.

In the early twentieth century, catalogues allowed people in rural areas to mail in their orders and buy items that city dwellers had easy access to through larger merchants like Sears Roebuck, Woolworths, Montgomery Ward, and others. And while they ...