Regardless of how perfect you might think your businesses, chances are there are places that you can make improvements. There are some things that customers just can’t stand that you might even realize you’re doing. Take a look at some of the most common things that drive customers away and how you can avoid them.
Wasting Time
Today people expect instant gratification —they want what they want when they want it. Unsurprisingly listed as one of the top reasons why customers are willing to walk away from a business is wasting time. Whether it’s waiting in line or having to find an ATM because your store only accepts cash, customers don’t like to lose time.
Make sure that your processes and methods are up to par in every area of your business. That means things like restocking products as soon as possible and having enough employees on board during busy times. If you make your customers wait too long for too often, or there’s too much friction in your checkout process, eventually, they’ll stop coming back.
Bare Minimum
As a business, it may seem straightforward. A customer pays you for something, and you give them what they paid for. However, delivering the bare minimum isn’t enough anymore. Customers expected to receive what you promise and then some. If you truly want to beat the competition, then you have to be willing to go above and beyond.
Not Getting Back To Them
Getting back to your customers should be a number one priority. However, as many as one out of three businesses take longer than 72 hours to return to client questions and concerns. This is about 36 hours too long. If you don’t have the manpower to be able to take in and reply to all of your customer messages and calls, then it’s time to start outsourcing to someone else.
Time isn’t just money for you as a business. It’s also time for your customers. Don’t waste their time and by taking too long to return their calls or emails.
Over-Selling
Don’t make the error of going overboard when it comes to trying to get your customers to buy more. There’s a fine line between trying to upsell and just plain overselling. Your customers are sick and tired of spam emails, too many calls, or not being able to get off the phone with your representatives.
Remember, clients, are people —the idea is to serve them, not try to push them into what they don’t want. Don’t be too aggressive in your sales pitches, or your customers will hate you for it.
Dishonesty
If there’s one surefire way to lose a customer forever, it’s being sneaky or dishonest. It’s important to be as transparent as possible with your customers if you hope for them to be loyal. Make sure that you are always honest in your dealings with them and answer any questions they have with total honesty.
Otherwise, you’re just one unfavorable online review away from getting a bad reputation.
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