I hope you have done everything you can to protect you and your businesses so far.
For some of you it is a complete shut-down and for some of you business has never been better.
What is certain is that you cannot be a business without clients, but why do you lose clients? It’s probably not what you think, so let’s take a look at the statistical evidence:
4% of your clients will be lost due to attrition - they close down, they move or there is a death
5% will be lost because a competitor has an inside track - probably a friendship
9% will be lost owing to price - that they can buy cheaper elsewhere
14% of your clients will leave owing to a bad experience or a bad or wrong product
68% will leave because they no longer feel valued - you don’t seem to care about them any more
It doesn’t matter what sector you are in, by and large these statistics still stand. If you stop taking care of your clients and customers you will lose them. If you have a good relationship with your client they are far less likely to leave you because of an inside track or for somewhere cheaper. If you are really looking after them you won’t lose a client owing to a bad experience.
Make them feel important to you, but do it from a position of care. Don’t just contact them when you want some work or when something has gone wrong. When was the last time you rang or dropped by your top 10 clients just for a chat and to see how they are?
So stay in touch with them during the current crisis. They are just people with their own worries and concerns - show that you care for them and are interested in them. This is a great opportunity to strengthen and build your relations with your clients. Just because things have changed it doesn’t mean your relationships have.