It’s all over the news. Prices are on the rise again, are you afraid your customers are going to leave you for the company with the lowest price – possibly leaving you out of a job? Sure, there are some customers who will always chase the best bargain, but cost is a pretty small percentage of why customers disappear and don’t come back. So what’s the real reason customers leave?

1% die
3% move away
68% quit because of an attitude of indifference towards the customer by the staff.
14 % are dissatisfied with the product.
9% leave because of competitive reasons.
Source: How to win customers and keep them for life (2000) – Michael Leboeuf

Are you surprised by these numbers? It’s easy to blame the economy for driving our customers elsewhere when the facts clearly show what we really need to do instead is take a long, hard look in the mirror. Because the truth is customers leave when you stop loving them and don’t treat them the way they want and expect to be treated. This is actually good news because how you interact with customers is something that is completely under your control. When surveyed the top 5 things your customers are looking for are recognition, service, information, helpfulness and friendly employees.

Think about it like this. If your good friend helps you move, you would never think about offering them money. You’d offer to buy them a beer, cook them dinner or return the favor. This is what your regular customers want. They want to be treated like a friend or at least a good neighbor!