Top 8 Reasons Why Customers Leave And Never Come Back

With every relationship comes a great amount of responsibilities, ups, and downs. Sometimes errors are made intentionally because we all make mistakes and even people forgive us too. But sometimes certain mistakes cost us our relationship, customers walk out that very second to never come back. As a business, try to put yourself in customer’s shoes to understand what made them frustrated and they left.

One of the many reasons could be that you took your loyal customers for granted or haven’t offered them what they want. No need to stress though, it is a very natural thing that happens with almost every business. Let’s take a look at 8 major reasons why customers leave and never come back.

1. Bringing In New Faces

When a brand becomes a fast selling name, it is very easy to assume that it is the charm of products/services that are attracting the customer. Well, high-quality goods and services are definitely what consumers want but they don’t always buy from your company but from your people. They are the face that peaks customers attention towards the product and closes the sale. In short, they love your employees and the way they treat the patrons.

Brands make the mistake of replacing their old employees with the new ones or not holding on to star member of the staff. The next time when a customer steps into your store, he/she looks around for that familiar face. That face missing turns the patron hostile and they leave the store. Even if they do buy something, there is a very less chance that they would like to come back, especially after that friendly face is gone.

It is imperative to understand that creating relationships is the lifeblood of businesses and work should be done towards achieving the same. The right course of action here would be to not rotate salesperson, customer service reps, or key contacts unless you have to. Make a little extra effort to protect and foster the relationship with your employees. When your sales team will be happy, they will work extra hard and keep the customers happy. Thus, resulting in the profit of the business.

2. Treating New And Existing Customers The Wrong Way

Offering discount and special prices to attract new customers? Without any doubt, this is a great idea but what about the existing customers? If you are not offering your loyal customers with any rewards, they will move onto some other brand where they are celebrated. Surely, you would hate losing your patrons over such a petty issue.

Make it a point that you not only offer carrots of discounts and special offers to new customers but something extra to those loyal ones. Reward them in a way that it makes them feel special and they continue being your customers for as long as possible. Strategically plan your loyalty program that it has something for everyone so that your existing customers also refer you to their friends and family. As you know, how amazingly word of mouth works, make the most of it by rewarding you new and existing customers in the right way. We would suggest you, do not opt for “one approach fits all” approach. Bring variations so that the old customers know what is in the store for them that are not applicable to new customers.

3. Lack Of A Strong Customer Service Team

Surely, as a business, you have been trying super hard to keep all your customers happy, giving them what they love or want. Obviously, every customer is unique in his/her own way and set of needs, liking and dislikes. If you want to make them all happy, it will be quite a daunting task. There might be certain instances when they won’t be happy with your products or services. So what will you do in such circumstances?

Well, the answer is pretty simple. You need to have a knowledgeable and strong customer support team working round the clock. No matter what sort of a situation arises, they are there to support the customers and solve their grievances. If they are able to do it at the earliest, this fact will work in your advantage. The trust of patrons in you will solidify as they would know that no matter what, your team is there to comfort them and give solutions that are in their favor.

Go ahead, create one such team, train them right and equip them with the thorough knowledge of your products and services so that they know how to handle unhappy customers. With the right approach, you can be sure that the customers are not leaving you any time soon.

4. Long or Unclear Purchase Funnel

There are a lot of eCommerce websites out there that literally confuses their visitors. In order to make their website outstanding, they include so many things and pages that look like a puzzle to the prospective customer. Even if they are able to handle this and find their way through the maze, making a transaction is even more complicated. It makes them feel as if they have to complete lengthy paperwork in 2 minutes of time.

If you are running an eCommerce website, the most important thing to remember here is that customers are visiting your site because they seek comfort. If you are going to make shopping a troublesome task for them, they will leave instantly and will never return. They want on the spot gratification and difficult navigation or a complicated purchase funnel will only put them off.

The solution to this issue is to create a user-friendly website and purchase funnel keeping the customers in mind. Keep it as simple as possible with the least number of steps. If you could sum up the buying process in just 3 or 4 steps that would just add to the convenience. If you have customers that are not too educated, try making this process simpler for them.

5. Losing The True Identity

Every business starts from somewhere, with particular products or services that attract the customers in the first place. Slowly, as the company starts reaching a height, businessmen start experimenting with other products. Their progressive steps do help in bringing more customers but the least amount of focus on your original products or service can make all those old patrons runaway.

The principal product is the foundation of the business and that’s what you need to keep in mind. Along with that, your key customers play an equal part in forming a firm base. There’s no harm in stepping into newer and higher profile initiatives but don’t set all your focus on that. Make a list of your long term customers and see what they usually buy from you. Make sure while you venture into new domains, you don’t lose hold on your old products and customers. Keep offering them what they want because after all they are the ones who made you a popular brand.

6. There’s No Reason for Them to Return

Products and services are good, your eCommerce website is attracting a lot of visitors every day and sales are too going high and steady. Officially, you have landed in a comfort zone where everything is going the way you expected it to be. Now, the question is – what’s next? Once the visitors have purchased something for you, the next step is to give them a reason to come back. You need to reward the customer’s loyalty in some way or the other. This way they too will realize that they are important for you.

Evolve the way you deal with the customers, give them something new when they visit your site for the second time. You can add some new products, offer special discounts or loyalty program benefits so that they have a reason to choose only you the next time as well. There are endless options when it comes to customer retention. Try to add a little WOW factor once in a while, it will definitely prove beneficial for your business. The brighter side to such deals is that it also engages new customers.

7. Making Problem Resolution A Painful Process

Either eCommerce or offline retail, in both cases customers from time to time do have certain issues with the product. Definitely, you must be having certain policies and guidelines in place but the customer is not going to care about that when he/she has a problem. They just expect you to fix it and soon. Some eCommerce websites or retailers make the mistake of sticking to their policies and guidelines, leaving patrons high and dry. If there’s a solution, they don’t comply with it because it is not a part of their guidelines. They consider it as a rule that apparently upsets the patrons. If you can’t go an extra mile to resolve their issue why would they be loyal to you?

Making problem resolution a painful task will only put off the clients and no way will that benefit you in the long run. Let your employees use complaint-resolution policies as guidelines not as strict rules that cannot be bent. Resolve their issues in the best way you can. It will help your business establish even a stronger customer relationship. When customers will be happy, the business will automatically start growing.

8. Failed To Complete Your Promise 

What is the most disappointing thing for the customers you ask? It is when a company fails to fulfil the promise they make. This could be the major mistake that you too are making in your business. Be it the quality of products or services, return policy, delivery times or anything else, when you make certain promises to your customers, you must honour them. This way your customers start trusting but the moment you break a single promise, their trust in you gets compromised.

So if whatever promises you are making, whether its sale prices, free gifts with a particular product, on- time delivery or easy returns, fulfil them. Don’t take such things for granted because the customers are never in the mood to wait for anything because the competition is high. If you fail to give something to your patrons, someone else will and there go your customers. Definitely, you would never want that to happen.

Conclusion

Follow the above-mentioned points closely and make sure that your ship doesn’t have any such holes through which the customers can slip away. Be proactive about not making any such mistakes if it has already happened. The solutions provided will help you to fix those major breakouts, bringing the customers away from the edge. What we should learn in such a scenario is to avoid making mistakes and work towards building a stronger relationship with the patrons.