Sales & Customer Growth
Winning a new customer costs several times what keeping one does
Most small businesses spend everything on acquisition and nothing on retention, then wonder why revenue is flat despite constant selling. This session covers onboarding, why customers leave without complaining, and how referrals actually get generated.
Customers rarely leave in an argument. They leave quietly.
Almost nobody tells a supplier they are unhappy before they stop buying. They simply place the next order somewhere else, and the business discovers it a quarter later while wondering why the numbers are soft.
The corollary is that retention is mostly about attention paid before anything goes wrong — and that referrals, which are the cheapest revenue available, come from the same place.
How to keep them
32 topics across 6 areas. Six things.
OnboardingThe first thirty days set the relationship.5
- What they were promised, delivered
- Who they contact and how
- What to expect and when
- Early check-in before problems form
- Confirming they got what they expected
Why Customers LeaveAnd why you will not be told.6
- A problem that was handled badly once
- Slow response that became a pattern
- A cheaper alternative appeared
- The person who liked you left their company
- Nobody contacted them for a year
- They outgrew what you offer
Handling a ComplaintThe best retention opportunity you will get.6
A complaint handled well produces more loyalty than an experience with no problem at all — because the customer has now seen what happens when something goes wrong.
- Respond quickly, even before you have the answer
- Establish the facts before defending
- Say what you will do and by when
- Do it
- Follow up afterwards
- Fix the cause, not just the instance
Staying in ContactWithout becoming a nuisance.5
- A reason to be in touch that is not a sale
- Reviewing what they bought and how it is working
- Telling them about something genuinely relevant
- Regular rhythm rather than only at renewal
- Knowing when the buyer at their end changes
Creating Repeat BusinessMaking the second purchase easy.5
- What naturally follows what they bought
- Reordering without friction
- Reminding at the right moment
- Terms that reward continuing
- Knowing their cycle better than they do
ReferralsRarely offered, frequently available.5
Most satisfied customers would refer somebody and never think to. Asking directly, once, at the right moment, converts surprisingly well.
- When to ask — just after something went well
- How to ask specifically rather than generally
- Making it easy to pass on
- Thanking them properly
- Whether to incentivise, and the risks
Numbers worth tracking
- What share of revenue is from existing customers
- How many customers bought again this year
- Which customers have gone quiet
- Average time between orders
- How many new customers came from referrals
- What a customer is worth over their lifetime, not one sale
Cheap habits with high returns
- A call to every new customer thirty days in
- A quarterly note to customers who have gone quiet
- Asking for one referral after every job that went well
- Reviewing lost customers once a quarter and asking why
- Fixing the cause of any complaint that has happened twice
How the session runs
Participants list customers who stopped buying in the last two years and work out, honestly, why — which is usually the most uncomfortable and most useful part. An owner then describes their own retention habits, and each participant leaves with three customers to contact that week.
What your students leave with
- An honest account of why their own customers left
- An onboarding habit for the first thirty days
- A method for handling complaints that builds loyalty
- A reason and a rhythm for staying in contact
- A way of asking for referrals that works
- Three customers to contact this week
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Customers rarely leave in an argument. They leave quietly.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.