Top 10 Reasons Clients Leave and the Best 3 Ways to Win Them Back

Client retention is a cornerstone of business success. However, despite best efforts, clients sometimes leave. Understanding why they leave is crucial for developing effective strategies to win them back. Here’s what research identifies as the top reasons clients leave and the best ways to win them back.

Customer churn…it feels like two steps forward and three steps back.

It feels like you are on an escalator and can’t reach the top.

Why do customers stop buying from you?

What are the common reasons customers leave?

What can we do to reduce our customer churn rate?

How can we win back lost accounts?

All of the above questions come up at some point when we write plans to help a company experience explosive growth.

Below are the top reasons customers leave.( some may surprise you)

Top 10 Reasons Clients Leave

1. Poor Customer Service

Clients who experience slow, unhelpful, or unfriendly service are likely to look for alternatives. Consistently high-quality customer service is essential for retaining clients.

How easy is it to do business with your company? Have you tried?

I often encourage clients to have friends, family, and even themselves try to engage with their companies.

Most are shocked by what they find.

How you sell and service your customers is more important than what you sell today.

2. High Prices

Clients may feel that the cost of your product or service is not justified by the value they receive, especially if competitors offer lower prices.

When we ask salespeople why they lost an account, we often hear price as the reason.

When we ask decision-makers why they defected to another supplier, they share that they did not feel the value they were receiving warranted the price they were paying.

We often find that when salespeople have yet to be trained in selling skills, the customer experience is transactional. If all you do is quote the price, you will lose accounts based on the price.

As I shared above, how we sell today is as important as what we sell. When salespeople conduct good discovery, qualify, and follow a consultative sales approach, decision-makers understand your value over less expensive alternatives.

3. Lack of Personalization

Clients expect personalized experiences. Generic interactions can make them feel undervalued and prompt them to seek out companies that better understand their needs.

How much do your salespeople know about your customers?

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being a strategic trusted advisor and 1 being another supplier…rate your relationships with your customers.

Do your customers feel you understand their business and want to share ways to improve their bottom line, or do they feel like just another account number with a supplier that is trying to hit their numbers?

When we conduct voice of customer research, decision-makers often share in frustration…” I wish the salesperson understood our business and how we make money and not just try to sell me more.”

4. Product or Service Quality Issues

Frequent problems with the quality or reliability of products and services can lead clients to lose trust and seek more reliable alternatives.

Decision makers buy for two reasons: competence and trust.

Quality is more than just your product it is also how they experience the entire buying process.

Is it easy to contact your company and converse with a human being, or do customers get frustrated in automated phone system loops?

If a customer has a quality problem, does your team seek first to understand the root cause and help the customer quickly, or is it a slow, long process to get resolutions?

Are your invoices correct?

Are your salespeople trained, or do your customers feel they need to train your people?

If customers receive the total quality experience they were promised, they will stay.

5. Better Offers from Competitors

Competitors may lure clients away with better deals, enhanced features, or superior services.

We always have someone trying to take the business we fought so hard to win. ( particularly if you are a market leader)

What are you doing to make buying from you easier and harder to be one of your competitors?

Can your salespeople clearly say the value you deliver to your customers so buyers think twice when the competitor makes a low quote to get their foot in the door?

Have your salespeople received negotiation skills training?

Do your salespeople know how to handle objections, or do they try to overcome them?

Can your salespeople tell you what value you deliver to customers?

Is the customer's experience with your team transactional, leaving you vulnerable to better offers or a relationship built on trust and delivering value?

6. Lack of Communication

Clients may feel neglected if they don’t receive regular updates, feedback opportunities, or follow-ups, leading to a sense of disconnection.

This was particularly true during the pandemic. Salespeople and customer service grew so tired of telling customers ( bad news) that their product would not ship or arrive on the day promised they stopped communicating.

Customers grew furious!

To grow any relationship requires communication.

Is the only time your customers hear from your company when you want an order, can’t ship on time, or a payment is late?

(don’t be too quick to say no unless you have interviewed your customers recently)

7. Changes in Needs

Clients’ needs evolve. If your offerings no longer align with their requirements, they might look for a provider who does.

Think about how much your business has changed since the pandemic. Why would we assume our customers have stayed the same?

What are your customer's biggest challenge(s) over the last 60 days?

What constraint is holding your customers back from meeting their growth objectives?

When was the last time you ran voice of customer research ?

Is it time for a value proposition audit ?

8. Perceived Indifference

Clients who feel that their business isn’t appreciated or valued or that their feedback is ignored are more likely to leave.

We see this often with large brand-named products. They feel their brand has much more value than their clients feel.

We all want to be treated fairly and feel valued.

If a supplier treats their customers like a number, you are vulnerable to the client leaving when a salesperson takes the time to understand the customer and their unique circumstances.

9. Inconvenience

Complex purchasing processes, poor user interfaces, and inconvenient service options can frustrate and push clients toward competitors.

This is particularly true for customers who want to engage with your website.

How easy is it to navigate your website?

Can you find what you are looking for in two clicks?

How easy is speaking with someone knowledgeable about your product, service, and industry?

If you are not easy to work with, others are.

Have you run a digital footprint audit in the last six months? Here, we audit your website and give you an unbiased report on just how useful your website is today.

10. Negative Experiences

A single negative experience, such as a significant service failure or a rude interaction, can outweigh many positive ones, prompting clients to leave.

Have you audited your customer journey?

Do you happen to ask customers to rate your customer experience frequently?

One of my clients sells large industrial machines over $1.5 million each. We call each customer after installation, and we call them each month for the first 90 days to ensure they are having a positive experience, and if they are not, we can resolve it quickly.

Do you act on negative customer experience feedback or blame the customer?

Best 3 Ways to Win Back Lost Clients

1. Personalized Outreach and Apology

Tailored Communication:

Reach out to lost clients with personalized messages. Acknowledge their specific reasons for leaving and express genuine regret. I want you to know that personalized communication shows that you value their business and have taken the time to understand their concerns.

Apology and Accountability:

Sincerely apologize for any negative experiences and take responsibility. Outline the steps you’ve taken to address the issues they encountered. This demonstrates your commitment to improvement and reassures them that the same problems won’t recur.

Do your salespeople know how to authentically and humbly apologize to customers?

Example:

“Dear [Client’s Name], we are deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused by our previous service issues. We’ve taken significant steps to improve our processes, including [specific changes]. We value your feedback and would love the opportunity to serve you better.”

2. Offer Value-Added Incentives

Special Discounts and Promotions:

Entice lost clients back with special discounts or promotions tailored to their needs. Limited-time offers create a sense of urgency and show you’re willing to make amends. Brand promises also help win clients back to working with you again.

We lost your business due to our inability to ship on time. One of my clients offered the below aggressive offer.

We have made all the improvements I shared and are willing to put our money where our promise is…

If we don’t ship your order on the agreed ship date, we confirm we will take 30% off your order.

Exclusive Offers:

Provide exclusive deals that are not available to other customers. This makes the lost client feel valued and appreciated. These customized programs are designed to deliver value to your customers and start rebuilding trust.

Bundled Packages and Kitting:

Create bundled packages that offer more value for their money. This can make your offering more attractive compared to what they left for.

Example:

“As a valued previous customer, we’d like to offer you an exclusive 20% discount on your next purchase. We’ve also introduced new features to our product that we believe you’ll find very beneficial. We want to rebuild your trust in your service and qualify.”

3. Enhance Customer Experience

Improved Customer Service:

You can invest in training your customer service team to make sure they provide exceptional, personalized service. Quick, friendly, and effective responses can make a significant difference in retaining clients.

Regular Check-ins:

I want you to please maintain regular, proactive communication with clients to ensure they are satisfied and to address any emerging issues promptly. Regular touchpoints help build a stronger relationship and show that you care about their experience.

Feedback Mechanisms:

Implement robust feedback mechanisms to gather client insights continuously. Act on this feedback to improve your products, services, and processes.

Example:

“We’ve enhanced our customer service to ensure quicker and more personalized responses. We’d love to invite you back to experience these improvements firsthand and offer a dedicated account manager to address your needs directly.”

Understanding why clients leave is the first step towards preventing attrition and developing effective win-back strategies. Poor customer service, high prices, lack of personalization, and other factors contribute to client loss. Sales teams and others often assume business is lost due to price. When we conduct win-loss customer calls, the price is on the list but rarely in the top two reasons.

Personalized outreach, value-added incentives, and enhanced customer experiences are key strategies to win them back.

Businesses can rebuild trust and loyalty with their clients by addressing the root causes of dissatisfaction and demonstrating a commitment to improvement.

Would you happen to know why you win customers?

Do you know why you lose customers?

Are your customers aware of your current capabilities or still judging you based on how they were treated during the pandemic?

Would you like to develop a strategy to reduce customer churn and win new customers?

Let’s schedule a call if you would like to discuss this topic.

This post first appeared on my sales blog for fixing sales problems at https://www.nosmokeandmirrors.com/blog/ .