‘Former’ Clients Don’t Have to Be ‘Former’ Forever

When a client leaves you for a competitor, do they come back? In many – if not most – cases, the answer is ‘no.’ But why is that?

For most of us, when we lose a client, our mindset becomes, “Well, it was a good run – time for us to move on.” In some cases, we get busy with other clients and other projects and just forget about them. Occasionally, we get pissed at them, “How dare they? We did good work for them… why are they leaving?” But the fact is, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Gone doesn’t have to mean gone forever. Here’s an example of a client experience that happened to us recently…

We had a marketing services client that we worked with for several years. They were a good client to work with and we did good work together. But they made the decision to move on. It happens. We were appreciative of the years together and wished them well.

But we made sure we always stayed on their mind. They continued to receive our monthly email newsletter, which linked to our online articles, webinars and other resources. We were connected on LinkedIn so they saw our daily posts. We ran into each other frequently at conferences… and our conversations were warm and friendly. No burnt bridges here.

And last month, they came back! This time as a consulting client. And I couldn’t be happier.

So maybe there are a couple of lessons here…

1. Frequent and consistent marketing is critical. It provides a subtle reminder that you’re still around. So, be active on social media, network at conferences and send email newsletters to every contact you’ve ever had. Remember, if you’re out of sight out, you’re out of mind.
2. Keep creating content. Content that helps a former client learn something new or solve a problem. And not a sales pitch, but a constant reminder of your expertise and thought leadership. Because you don’t just want to be remembered… you want to be remembered for something.
3. Don’t be afraid to proactively reach out directly to former clients. At one point, your former client was a current client. You had a good, productive working relationship. If you were to reach out to them now, out of the blue, there’s a 95% chance that they’ll respond with “It’s good to hear from you!” And the door has been opened for a new conversation. By the way, with the other 5%… they hang up or hit the ‘delete’ button. In which case, you’ll be no worse off than you are right now.
4. Make sure former clients are aware of all that you do. A real issue among research agencies is that they get ‘pigeonholed.’ A client knows you for and uses you for only one thing. And if the client takes that business elsewhere, your entire relationship goes away. But if they’re aware of all that you do, while you might lose the business from one service line, they very well may stay with you or come back to you for something else entirely (like my client did).
5. Don’t burn any bridges. Clients come… clients go. It is simply the nature of business. And while we don’t like to lose a client, there are more than enough opportunities out in the marketplace to replace the lost revenue. In addition, if you do burn that bridge, not only will that client never come back, they’re likely to tell other buyers… and then your reputation is shot!

Bottom Line

There is absolutely no reason not to stay in touch with former clients both passively (like with emails and social media) and proactively (like reaching out by phone or connecting at conferences). Do it, if for no other reason than to keep your industry network alive. Heck, I even have former clients who are willing to serve as references for us. But more importantly, there’s also the possibility of reconnecting and re-engaging for a second time.

Good luck and good selling… and remember, “Gone doesn’t mean gone forever!”