There comes a time in every business owner’s life when their customers leave them for their competition. It happens even to the best in the business but, many times, that’s simply because consumers feel like trying something new. However, a variety of other reasons could draw customers away from your business into the wide-open arms of your competitors.
What happens if you experience the loss of some customers, despite all the time and effort that you put in your business? Do you blame it on them or do you stop and think about why they left?
In order to stop them from leaving, you need to put yourself in their shoes and think about whether or not you are doing everything you can to meet their needs and expectations. With that in mind, consider the following reasons why they may be choosing your competitors over you, as those are the most common culprits responsible for lost customers.
You Have Poor or No Online Presence
You need to have a strong online presence if you want to attract more customers, because most of them are checking social media pages and online reviews to make their purchasing decisions. Even if you offer the best products or services in your niche, it wouldn’t make a big difference if people cannot find you online.
If you don’t have a business website, you need to build one fast, as well as become active on social media, so that you can communicate with your customers and form meaningful relationships with them. That way, you will give them a chance to get to know you better and show them exactly why your brand is unique.
Your Website Is Not Good Enough
Your website is often the first place that people visit to learn more about you and your brand. If it is not easy to navigate, has poor design features, and lacks vital information, such as your phone number or email address, your customers will bounce back and go to your competition.
You need to regularly invest in the quality of your website, because not only will your customers find it more appealing, but search engines will also recognize the effort and improve your SEO ranking, driving more people to your site. Among numerous features to account for, make sure you prioritize page load time and mobile friendliness.
You Target Everyone
Targeting everyone will get you nowhere, because you simply cannot impress and satisfy every single individual. It’s just like writing content for your blog – if it is too general, it will not provide real value, but if you focus on specific topics and include relevant keywords, you will hit the bullseye and engage your readers with something truly useful.
Therefore, instead of trying to attract and please everyone, target a specific group of people who will be genuinely interested in what you have to offer. Provide them with personalized solutions tailored to their specific needs and preferences, and you will eliminate their need for leaving.
You Focus on the Price instead of Value
If you focus too much on offering your products or services at lower prices than your competition, and you fail to provide value at the same time, you risk being beaten by your competitors. All it takes is them cutting their prices for your customers to leave you.
On the other hand, if you offer greater value than your competition, people won’t mind if your prices are higher, as long as the value is much bigger than the price difference between their and your products or services. Relying only on pricing will not help you retain your customers, while focusing on value will make all the difference.
You Don’t Care about Negative Customer Feedback
As Bill Gates once said: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”. If you are not taking unhappy or frustrated customers seriously, then it’s not that big of a surprise that you are losing them.
Negative customer feedback can be extremely valuable, because it can help you improve your business. If someone is not satisfied with your products or services, you need to listen to them carefully, because they will show you the precise improvement areas.
Never ignore any kind of feedback and always respond positively as you will show that you care about your customers value their opinion.
You Don’t Provide the Convenience They Need
People expect great convenience when interacting with a brand and, if you fail to provide it, they will simply move on to someone who can. You need to provide them with a seamless and memorable brand experience if you want them to be satisfied and keep coming back.
People want fast checkouts, various payment options, excellent customer support, friendly staff to converse with, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores, and they want it 24/7.
Live chat support is one of the solutions to implement on your website in order to be available 24/7, but there are plenty more steps you can take to provide your customers with the level of convenience they need and give them a reason to return.
You Don’t Nurture Your Customers
Nurturing your customers is crucial for their retention and satisfaction with your brand. Do you stay in touch with them after they have completed a purchase? Do you send them emails and share interesting news about your brand? Do you inform them about new products or services, or the latest discounts? Do you engage with them on social media?
Staying in touch with your customers helps you build strong relationships with them and helps you stay on top of their mind. However, don’t push it too hard, so as not to paint the picture of someone who is only looking to make a sale.
You Offer Poor Customer Service
Poor customer service is often the main reason why customers choose to leave a particular company for their competition. If your customer support staff doesn’t provide them with top-notch service to help them solve their problems, you will end up with many unhappy customers.
Whenever they need your assistance, you need to be there for them to offer a helping hand. Only then will they trust you and remain loyal to your brand. Again, live support chat is the best solution for quality customer service, so be sure to add it to your website. Live support chat will enable fast, easy and reliable service that will delight your customers and provide them with personalized engagement.
If you have recognized yourself in any of these reasons why your customers could be choosing your competitors over you, make sure you implement proper changes to stop them from leaving. There is always room for improvement, and the sooner you identify key areas that need changing, you will gain a competitive edge to retain your customers.
Jason is a technical writer currently associated with ProProfs Chat. He enjoys writing about emerging customer support products, trends in customer support industry and the financial impacts of using such tools. In his spare time, Jason likes traveling extensively to learn about new cultures and traditions.
