Are Companies Serious About Winning Back Lost Customers?

Which customer contact “trends” are organizations pursuing?  Which, if any, are being dismissed as empty hype?

These questions are the centerpiece of the new “Heat Map” methodology we’re introducing at CCW Digital.  In conjunction with our executive research reports, we’ll explore whether organizations see popular buzzwords and trends as “important.”  We’ll then reveal whether they’re actually pursuing the important initiatives.

You can access the heat map -- and many other exclusive findings, analyses and case studies -- in our CCW Fall Executive Report.  It's free to download!

An excerpt of our section on “following up with lost customers” follows:

CCW Digital’s Executive Report on the Customer Experience reveals that 62% of customers will consider switching to a competitor after one or two bad experiences.

What happens to these lost customers?

Many believe an opportunity exists to win them back.  Many see value in seizing that opportunity.

Fewer than 4% of businesses believe “following up with lost customers” is unimportant, and fewer than 4% are planning to reduce their winback efforts.

A healthy 43%, meanwhile, are planning to maintain or increase their winback efforts.  An additional 24% will start following up with lost customers, while 26% believe it is important but are not yet taking action.

Heat Meter: Today’s organizations definitely see the merit of following up with lost customers, and 67% are actively executing that winback opportunity.

There is, however, a glass half-empty approach.  More than one-quarter of organizations believe following up is valuable but opt not to do it.  Why?  What prevents them from actively courting lost customers – and the potential revenue and advocacy that come with the effort?

The line of questioning is not simply relevant for the customer service team; it also has stakes for sales and marketing.  Are their efforts to pursue new customers necessarily more fruitful than efforts to win back previous ones?