Understanding lost customers

Prevention rather than cure:
Many companies know why customers say they are leaving, but few truly understand how to prevent them from doing so. This requires a deeper knowledge of where the customer relationship went wrong, long before he or she left. Companies seeking a deeper knowledge of lost customers come to Epley for a clear understanding of which customers are at risk and how they got to that point. Our clients learn to “manage for retention” to promote long-term customer growth and retention.

The Epley difference:
Utilizing the Epley Lost Customer Model, highly trained interviewers help recently lost customers “walk through” the relationship, beginning to end:

• Coming into the relationship—why did the customer buy in the first place?
• Performance in relation to needs—how did the company measure up against expectations?
• The disengagement process—what prompted the search for alternatives, and what steps did the customer take?
• The loss—where did the customer go, and why?
• Potential for win-back—would they be willing to return to your company? What conditions do they put on the possible return?

One client, in commenting on the difference between our work and that of other firms, described our offering as “a diagnosis, rather than an autopsy.” For him, the critical difference had to do with the prevention of lost customers.