If I asked you why your customers leave, could you tell me?  Don’t worry, most business owners only speculate as to why their customers leave – and they are usually wrong about it.  Look at this list of the four reasons customers leave and see if you can determine which is the reason your customers leave:

1. They die, or are no longer buying your type of product.
2. They are unhappy with your price.
3. They are unhappy with the product.
4. They are unhappy with the way they were treated.

     Most owners and managers mistakenly think that their customers leave primarily because of reason #2.  “If we just cut our prices below our competitor's price and let everyone know, our customers will never leave,” they reason.  In reality however, focus groups and surveys have proven time and time again that most customers leave for reason #4 – they are unhappy with the way they were treated.

     What binds customers to your business is not price alone.  It is the totality of their expectations and their experiences regarding your business and your products.  Instead of looking at price to solve the problem of customer churn, look to the other aspects that make up your customers’ expectations and their experiences with your business and your products.  Here is a list of things, other than price, that you have control over:

• Customer recognition;
• Service;
• Information;
• Helpfulness;
• Friendly employees;
• Brand identity; and
• Product quality.

     Loyal customers know that they can shop around and save a buck here and a buck there, but they find the process wastes too much of their time and emotional energy.  Loyal customers are seeking friendly businesses with reliable products.  They are looking for businesses whose employees recognize them, remember them, do favors for them, and are serious about building a relationship with them.  Once customers find these kinds of organizations, they tend to give them all their business.