If you’re like most business owners, then you know how frustrating it can be when a customer wants to cancel their order. It’s even more difficult when the reason they give is something that could have been easily avoided. After all, no one likes losing a sale. That’s why we’ve put together a list of strategies on how to stop a customer from cancelling.
How to Stop a Customer From Cancelling
The best way how to stop a customer from cancelling is to provide them with excellent customer service. If they feel like they are being treated well and their needs are being met, they are less likely to cancel their service.
You should also keep them updated on any changes or new developments with your company or product. If they feel like they are missing out on something, they may be more likely to stay with your company.
Finally, you can offer them a discount or incentive to stay with your company. This can be something as simple as a monthly discount or a free month of service.
What is Customer Retention?
Keeping your customers happy and engaged is how you retain them, create advocates for your brand, and reduce the likelihood of them churning. By doing these things, you ensure the longevity of your business and keep it going.
Imagine if your only source of new customers is your existing customer base. Your salespeople would all go home, and you would have no new business coming in.
You would spend much more of your time trying to keep customers that cancel or don’t purchase again. This would affect your bottom line in a big way.
Customer retention is when you keep customers coming back.
The thing about customer retention is that even when you sell, you could still be losing money. If your retention rate is 10%, then that means 10% of your customers have left you.
It’s kind of like filling a leaky bucket. It might take a lot of work, but you’d probably be better off if you didn’t have to waste all that extra water!
How to Calculate Your Retention Rate
To figure out your customer retention rate, simply divide your net new customers by your total customer count.
The lower your churn rate, the fewer customers you lose every month. As you decrease your churn, the “leaky bucket” becomes less of a problem and your number of total customers will grow faster!
Why You Should Focus on Customer Retention
The importance of keeping existing customers happy and satisfied cannot be overstated. Happy customers are far more likely to refer others to your business, and less likely to cancel.
A 5% improvement in your retention rates can result in a 75% rise in profits. Any money you put into retention strategies will return you more in profit than it costs you. Thus, it is clear that you should focus on keeping your customers happy if you want to be successful in the long run.
Some great companies have customers who’ve been with them for over ten years. This is possible with software as a service and ecommerce, where businesses can retain clients for years.
10 years is a long time, but imagine being relevant to customers 10 years after you first signed them up.
By implementing a customer retention strategy early, you can make sure that they never even consider leaving you.
Keeping your customers satisfied is the secret to long-term success. We’re here to help you do just that.
Why is Customer Retention Important?
70% of businesses say that it makes more sense to keep an existing client than to go out and find new ones. The general rule of thumb is that the cost of acquiring new customers is 5 times more than retaining existing ones.
Your customer turnover rate is an indicator of the health of your business and should be monitored closely. A higher rate of turnover means you have more potential customers, but it also means you have more unsatisfied customers who may switch to a competitor.
Satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal to your brand.
How to Keep Customers Who Are About to Cancel
Sometimes customers aren’t happy with your product or service. A possible reason could be that they didn’t gain any value out of it.
Why doesn’t this work? Did they implement this feature incorrectly?
Retention is important for a lot of reasons.
Doing the right thing for your customer, such as giving them a discount on their next purchase, can go a long way towards keeping them. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can retain customers who are on the verge of canceling.
1. Analyze What You Know
Let’s begin with what you already know. Have you already identified why your customers are cancelling? Is this something you were aware of or is this a complete surprise? Can the problem be fixed?
As you are aware, the issue is that customers are churning. To get to the root of the problem, it is important to ask why you were not able to address the issue earlier. What attempts have you made to solve the problem?
It is also worth considering what other options are available that you have not yet tried.
2. Understand What the Customers Want
Reach out to your loyal customers, high-value customers, and ex-customers.
Knowing why your customers buy, why they stick around, and why they quit can help you build better relationships with them.
The following methods can be used to learn more about your customers:
- Social listening
- Surveys
- Net Promoter Scores
- Support tickets
- Interviews
3. Build Workflows Around Your Customer Churn Red Flags
Once your campaigns have been set up, you’ll want to create a workflow that determines which triggers are used based on which factors you identified as being potential risk factors for churning.
If you’re a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, you can identify customers who aren’t logging in, haven’t completed their onboarding, or aren’t using your service anymore.
You may also notice signs that they are trying to avoid your phone calls and emails from you, or canceling meetings you have scheduled with them.
This could mean that they’re becoming less emotionally attached to you and that their satisfaction with you is declining.
4. Talk to Churned Customers
Churn happens, but it’s important to analyze why it happens.
This lets you learn from your failed efforts, so you can avoid repeating the same mistake.
If a customer isn’t satisfied with the product or service you provide, they will most likely contact you.
If a client decides to not do business with you, find out the reason why. That feedback is extremely valuable for you.
There are a variety of reasons why customers leave. Find out what they are and this will help you improve your product or service.
5. Know When to Move On
If you are unsure if you can solve the problem, it may be best to move on. Consider if the customer is worth the effort required to save them.
Obviously, you can’t fix all reasons for cancellations.
Having an amazing product that solves real issues is a good start, but your customers need to be able to use the product to its full capacity.
5 Ways to Help Unhappy Customers and Save the Sale
While there is no way to avoid customer complaints and cancellations, there are steps you can take to prepare yourself for when they do occur.
Respectful engagement is always key when speaking with customers. This will not only increase your chances of retaining their business, but inspire them to return.
The most important and subtly important tools to use with an unsatisfied client are your conversations and phrasing.
1. “Please explain what happened, and I will be able to help you.”
If a client is unhappy, the most important thing you can do is listen to them. This shows them that you care, and gives them a platform to voice their concerns.
Remember that the customer is upset about the service or product, not you. They are just venting their frustrations, which can easily be resolved.
Once they’ve finished explaining their issue, you can address it and move forward with them. A helpful tip is to not personalize the issue by referring to it as “your problem”.
Remember that they are of the mindset that the issue lies with the company.
2. “It’s our fault.”
This powerful statement can work wonders with irate customers. By admitting that you made a mistake, you could potentially diffuse the entire situation and avoid an argument.
An angry customer wants to feel like they are in control of the situation. By taking responsibility for their anger, you give them a sense of control.
3. “Here’s what I can do for you…”
This sentence hits on the core of what customers want to know when they are upset about something. They want to know how you will better their situation, and convince them to stay.
If at all possible, you go above and beyond for your customers. You provide them with every alternative, return, and replacement, as well as a cheaper solution.
You might not be able to save their current situation, but you can definitely satisfy them with your excellent customer service so that they come back again.
4. “We can provide you with a more efficient/upgraded product if you don’t cancel.”
If your customer does want to cancel their order, you can try to interest them in alternate products or services. Their reason for canceling could be the reason they need your other products.
These cheaper products may have better warranties, or they may be more competitively priced.
5. “Please, let me show you this other product related to your needs.”
Similar to the example above, this is used to help customers find additional products that your business offers. For the most effective use of this sentence, it is important to fully understand the needs of your customers.
With this new knowledge you can show your prospects why they should invest in your alternative products.
They are cancelling or returning a version of your product or service, so it will take a little bit of finesse to get them to consider buying a different version.
Conclusion
If you follow these five tips on how to stop a customer from cancelling, you’ll be well on your way to keeping an unhappy customer and saving the sale. Just remember to address their concerns right away, offer a discount or coupon, give them something extra, and always show that you value their business.
