When clients leave, it feels like a disaster. But it’s not a judgement on you. It just means that right now, your services aren’t lining up with the person’s needs. If you practice skillful customer service, this can be an opportunity to connect with the person and bring them back on board. Here are five proven strategies for winning back lost clients.
Make an Enticing Offer
Send an email with an interesting offer or incentive for the person to come back. This could be a discount on your services, free exclusive content, a freebie, membership to a website, or anything else that’s highly valuable to your audience.
Offer Free Educational Opportunities
Clients might be leaving because they’ve bought your course or program and don’t know how to make the most of it. You can win them back by offering educational opportunities where you teach them how to get the most out of your services.
This can be done through content or, even better, webinars and training sessions. Engage with your clients personally and actually show them one-on-one or in groups how to maximize their purchase.
Show How You’ve Grown
Send former clients content that outlines the changes you’ve made to give them a better experience. Highlight new courses or systems, and show how these make life better for your audience. Examples could include things like a new course platform, online community, or improvements to your coaching program based on client feedback.
Find Out Why
When a client is thinking about leaving, contact them to see if they wouldn’t mind taking a short exit survey. Find out why they’re leaving and use this to improve your future marketing, programs and services. It’s also an opportunity for you to make contact and remind the person of the benefits you offer, or make a special offer to get them back.
Recommend a Competitor
This might sound counterintuitive, but it demonstrates your commitment to their success. If you’re not fulfilling your client's needs, help them get those needs fulfilled somewhere else. Recommend them to a competitor or point them to resources they need. Sure, they’re leaving you, but they’re leaving you on good terms. The goodwill you create will help your brand and they’re more likely to return in the future.
If you manage it well, you can bring clients back and win them over so that they’re even more loyal than before.
If you want to know about more ways to retain customer long-term, download my free guide, "Clients to Fans: 5 Simple Strategies to Retain Your Best Customers."
