Do you spend as much time as possible trying to win new customers, as little time as possible with complaining customers, and no time at all with customers who have stopped buying from you?

The most successful Hudson Valley companies have turned those priorities upside-down and spend as much time as possible to win back ex-customers and satisfy unhappy current customers.

An unhappy customer can tell you more priceless information about your business than the most expensive market research firm. Any person who has bought from you is more valuable than any ten prospects that “might someday”, or never, make a purchase.

Hudson Valley organizations realize that all the costs that go into making that first sale to a customer cancel out the revenue gained from that sale. Real profits only come from repeat business. It makes sense to do everything you can to keep current customers and win back old.

US West Cellular, marketing mobile phone services, found people dropping out almost as fast as they’d signed on. A survey revealed that many customers left right after getting their first bill because it seemed too expensive. US West tackled the problem without lowering rates. When the first bill is sent, a sales rep calls to explain that it’s going to seem high because of the one-time activation charges, but that later bills will be lower.

The company calls three times a year offering suggestions, answering questions and reminding customers that US West Cellular appreciates their business. Whenever someone tries to cancel, a member of their “customer loyalty team” does everything possible to keep the account open.

Thanks to this strategy, US West is a leader in its industry and has cut its customer attrition rate in half while multiplying profits.

Ask unhappy customers to speak up so you can fix the problems quickly. Surveys tell us that for every customer who speaks up, 19 others are quietly making up their minds to avoid you for the very same reason. On top of that, they’ll tell many other people, everyone they can but you.

Customers whose complaints are handled well are much more loyal than dissatisfied customers who don’t take the trouble to complain. If you do a superb job of fixing the problem, they are nine times more likely to buy from you again.

When the problem is your company’s fault, use your unhappy customers as the best market researches you could ever have. No research firm can give you the customer’s perspective as well as actual customer.

When your customer is upset, do what it takes to win them back, find out what went wrong and fix it. Avoid bad publicity by showing that you care about the customer’s satisfaction. If you handle this well enough, you can rack up repeat sales without all the expenses of landing a new account to replace the one that you’ve lost.

Successful Hudson Valley organizations know that the most profitable moves you can make are to strengthen your relationships with your current customers, and to do all you can to regain the old ones that have slipped away.

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