4 Steps to Win Back Lost Customers

In a B2B environment, it is estimated that companies lose an average of 15 to 20% of their customer base each year. Much effort is now being devoted to converting new incoming leads. However, implementing a strategy to win back the most profitable lost customers is also a crucial issue: achieving economies of scale by leveraging existing, albeit diminished, customer capital.

On the other hand, the dynamic of taking a critical step back from your offering and maintaining a relationship with your customer is also a source of innovation and continuous improvement. Here are some techniques that will help you best manage your win-back strategy.

More than identifying: “Isolating” the problem

To begin with, there can be many causes for customer churn. Truly understanding why a customer left for a competitor is a difficult task. Are these causes inherent to your product or relationship, or are they personal motivations linked to the decision-maker(s)? Price arguments or dissatisfaction with the product or service often mask a much more subjective reality: 60% of customer departures are generally linked to relational causes. One of the first steps in your win-back will be to implement a “funnel” analysis of the probable causes of this break. Start with the objective causes and then refine your analysis by taking into account relational components. The more detailed the analysis, the more you will be able to identify the problem causing your customer’s departure.

Metrics…for greater responsiveness

Furthermore, a win-back strategy means not letting too much time pass before reactivating a lost customer. The digital transformation of the sales function now allows—thanks in particular to well-configured CRM software—to increase responsiveness and anticipate customer departures. Define the metrics that best identify customer disengagement: (elapsed time and open rate of your emails, recurrence of telephone exchanges, change of contact, or movements in the decision-making chain). Set alerts to be notified as quickly as possible of these changes.

Reassess your strengths before repositioning yourself

Then, once the decision to delist you has been made with your lost customers, few of them are willing to reconsider their position at your first sign-off. This is why it is necessary to carefully prepare your win-back strategy. Few companies take the time to put together a systematic end-of-engagement report. The idea is to provide a complete overview of the lost customer relationship. You will then be able to determine whether it is both feasible and profitable to win back this customer. Don’t hesitate to ask for as much feedback as possible from your customer. Combine this with your own evaluation data on your customer relationship over time. Then, ask yourself the following questions:

• How has the situation evolved since the end of the relationship? Are there any new products? A new approach to service?
• What elements have contributed to customer satisfaction so far? What commitments would they be willing to make?
• What mistakes have we made? How have we corrected them in other circumstances?
• What was the basis for this customer’s trust and loyalty? What levers are available to regain it, and through what channels?

Create new scenarios for your lost customers

Finally, you need to build a tailor-made offer capable of leveraging the information gathered using the techniques mentioned in the previous steps. A good win-back strategy will lead you to build several personalized scenarios that highlight:

• Your (main) good reason to come back to this customer – make it obvious.
• Your new markers of trust and satisfaction. (Make them unique.)
• The tone, messages and channels of communication that you will put in place.
• Your offer, positioned to admit the mistakes you have made in the past.
• The challenge is to make this offer exclusive, even if it means focusing on the most profitable part of your product or service.

Let’s take the example of a company that installs industrial heating systems. It has been delisted due to the lack of adaptability of its products to the new ergonomics of its client’s factories and is looking to win them back. One scenario could lead it to focus its win-back offer on a maintenance contract (often more profitable) that is exclusive and more competitive, capitalizing on its past experience in maintenance for this client.

And you? Share your experience and tell us about your strengths in re-engaging your lost customers. Which levers were the most decisive? How do you manage to anticipate a customer’s departure?

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