Employee turnover is a common phenomenon in most businesses or companies. There was a company I once worked with last year. When I was there it was so common to have employees quitting. Even now still, I hear that employees tend to leave from time to time. I am not only talking of low-level employees but even high-level employees. When it becomes a trend like that it becomes expedient to probe into what is causing all that. There could be reasons behind it all that you may not know. The same goes for losing customers – if it becomes a trend you must look into it. Let me discuss some of the reasons why you may be losing customers without knowing it.
Poor Employee Treatment
When employees are not treated well they rarely can function optimally. They end up projecting their frustrations onto the customers. This is almost always the case. I have noticed in most of the times when customers complain of rude staff, it stems from somewhere. Of course, at times employees behave that way due to personal issues. However, studies have shown that most of the time it stems from how they are treated at the workplace. It could be how they are treated e.g. being overlooked. It could also be how they are poorly remunerated. As an employer, you must actively and objectively ascertain whether or not you are treating employees well. It has a huge bearing on how well or poorly you retain customers.
Not Giving Back
These days more and more customers consider certain things before settling for a brand. The rising trend nowadays is that customers prefer brands making a positive impact on society. If you are not actively involved in corporate social responsibility customers might distance themselves from you. Customers increasingly want to know and see that they are directly or indirectly making an impact in society. If you are a brand that is far removed from giving back, customers might leave you.
Hygiene
There are so many businesses that are guilty of this. This is even more of an issue when the business in question is in the food industry. Hygiene is important – it should be seen concerning the premises and the staff as well. Imagine getting into business premises and there is dust all over the surfaces. Imagine being served by a staff member with unkempt hair, dirty nails, or bad breath. These and many more are such huge turnoffs. It is also important to ensure there are no lingering bad odours at your premises. You can lose customers simply because of poor hygiene, something you can easily put in order.
Poor Communication
Product management involves lots of communication on so many levels. Every interaction with a customer entails communication. This means you must be familiar with the tenets of effective communication. Mind your use of language, mind your tone, and mind the content of what you say, and so on. When there are changes to prior communications made advise in good time. Do not lie but rather be honest – do not mislead. When customers reach out, respond in good time plus do not ignore. These are some of the many issues regarding communication which if compromised lead to customer exoduses.
Poor Products Or Service
When a customer comes to your business they have a pain point or problem. By coming to you they are hoping you have the solution for them. To have a perfect solution for them you must provide products or services that do the job. If you have a poor product or service, then surely they would rather consider other businesses. Often time this is can be the sole reason why customers could be leaving you.
Lack Of Or Poor Customer Support
The need for customer support cannot be overemphasized. Once a customer buys something there can emerge scenarios where they need your assistance. This assistance can be sought online or on-site. This assistance can be even be needed pre-purchase as well. A customer would a situation where any time and from anywhere they can contact your business for assistance. Landing a customer is like giving birth – after that, you must nurture and support. If you neglect that then it will inevitable that customers can go to other businesses.
Poor Stocking
I have witnessed this in most businesses; I have been subject to this myself. Imagine going to a particular business and not finding what you are looking for. This is particularly annoying if the product you are looking for is their signature product. Imagine going there on say, 3 separate occasions and still being told they are still out of stock. Trust me; the next thing will be for me to explore other options. You can lose customers simply because you are always out of stock.
One of the biggest ironies of losing customers is that you might not see it. This is because you might be regularly experiencing new customers. This will give you an illusion that all is well. Yet you will typically have customers who come once and never return. Moreover, if your record-keeping is poor you cannot easily notice that you are losing customers. Thus it is pertinent that you collect and manage data that helps you identify any issues. For instance, consider 3 months. Take note of new customer sign-ups and track their buying habits. By the end of the 3-month calculate the customer retention rate. I am just provoking to start being empirical about all this. Loss of customers is always on you and the responsibility lies on you to address that.
