what to do when customers just aren’t that into you

she’s not returning your calls. a friendly email goes unanswered and her relationship status on facebook now reads, “single.” it’s official. she’s just not that into you. it happens to everyone, even business owners.

while customers might not change their facebook status over your failed relationship, you’ll still see signs when a customer is about to leave. promotions will go unclaimed, emails go unanswered and even a witty meme on facebook isn’t charming enough to elicit a response.

what should businesses do when customers just aren’t that into you? don’t worry; we’ve got the cure to your relationship illness. here are three things businesses should do to bring not-so-interested customers back to their store:

page doctor phil and get feedback

there’s always a reason why relationships go south. psychologist and talk show host dr. phil would tell you to “get real” and find the root of the problem so you can fix it. how do you diagnose customer relationship problems? conduct a survey; asking customers what “pain points” they encounter with your business.

use tools like surveymonkey to create and email a survey to your customers, or ask customers to fill one out while visiting your store.

when creating a survey like this, it’s important to keep it focused on the task at hand. ask specific questions that will garner information that you can use to make changes.

while the point of the survey is to collect information, you don’t want to go overboard. keep the survey short. the average customer is willing to spend 5-7 minutes answering a survey; any longer and completion rates start to drop anywhere from 5-20 percent.

use the results to improve your business and keep customers around long-term.

download our free customer loyalty success guide to learn how to drive customers back 2x more.

get personal & win them back

one sure-fire way to kill a relationship is to treat every person you know the same way. think about your personal life. you don’t treat your child’s teacher the same way you treat your mom or dad, right? no. every relationship requires a personal touch, and it’s the same for customer relationships.

you don’t want to blast the same message to every customer you communicate with. seventy-four percent of customers get frustrated when promotions they receive have nothing to do with their interests. in other words, you need to create specific messages for specific customers. how?

for starters, you need to collect information about your customers. one of the best ways to do that is through a digital loyalty program, which helps you gather phone numbers and/or email addresses, and build your customer database. now it’s time to take advantage your program’s tools and valuable data. with your loyalty program in place, you should segment your customers by their purchase habits or visit behavior and send specific promotions.

for example, you’ll be able to identify customers that are “on the fence.” you know, the customers that are only coming around once in awhile, or are on the verge of leaving. create a specific campaign that targets that group and brings them back into your sales fold.

in january of this year, businesses who sent a promotion via fivestars to their “at risk” customers – those who hadn’t visited in some time – saw an 18% spike in visits from those customers alone. without that promotion, those customers may have never come back.

send a text message promotion that says, “we miss you” and offer 35-50% percent off their next purchase. it’s a targeted campaign that brings customers back.

if you’re using an email service provider like mailchimp, verticalresponse, or constant contact, you can also include personalization in your email marketing. if you’ve gathered customer information, like a first name, use a customer’s first name in the subject line, and use customer data to send targeted promotions just like we described above.

personalizing emails can increase clickthrough rates by 14% and conversions by 10 percent. here’s a great example of a personalized birthday email. notice the first name used in the subject line and in the body of the email. birthday promotions or offers are also a great way to show customers you care.

spice up your relationship

if you’re sending customers the same old message, and offering the same promotions year after year, things may get a little stale.

keep the customer romance alive by spicing things up. randomly send out a “thanks for being our customer” promotion with a discount code. consider hosting a giveaway on social media. statistics show three out of four consumers are more likely to recommend a brand that offers giveaways.

if promotions and social giveaways are old hat for your business, grab some chalk and get creative. chalk marketing is all the rage right now. grab a bucket of $5 sidewalk chalk from a local department store and create an eye-catching image outside of your shop. here’s an example: