chats with customers. Sometimes, she says,
companies end up pleasantly surprised that
their long-term plans match customers’
future requirements.
“It’s really your job,” says Zimmerman, a
Costco member, “to maintain a good dialogue with customers and mine them for
future opportunities.”
But if it appears that customers aren’t a
strategic fit, don’t fire them before asking
yourself critical questions. Can you afford to
dump a particular customer? Will you lose
prestige? Does the client still owe you heaps of
money? And, very important, what is the likelihood that a canned customer will bad-mouth your business?
“You don’t want to burn bridges,” says Jil
Wyland, president of Litigation Presentation, a
10-employee Atlanta firm that produces visuals to support courtroom presentations.
“When something bad happens, the [business]
community becomes very small. Bad word of
mouth travels much faster than good.”
After carefully weighing the risks and determining that pruning a customer is the next best
move, consider the following measures.
Face them. If feasible, meet the client in
person. Explain your company’s position
and listen respectfully. Keep the termination
discussion on point and professional. Do not
personalize matters or criticize these customers in any way, which might anger them
and fuel combustible word of mouth,
advises Zimmerman.
Ease the pain. As a goodwill gesture to
an exiting customer, consider offering a discounted product or service or complimentary
tickets or coupons. Wyland actually paid for
dinner when she pink-slipped a client.
Offer alternatives. Graciously suggest
another reputable company (or two) that
could offer the client services/products. For
example, an accountant moving into a busi-ness-tax expertise could refer family clients
to a general practitioner. In some cases,
another business would be a better fit for a
client anyway.
Leave the door open. Underscore how
much you have appreciated the customer’s
business, and how agonizing the decision was
to part ways. And, assuming everything else is
acceptable, tell them you’re open to renewing
the relationship down the road should their
needs mesh with your strategic plans.
In the end, it’s a difficult choice, even
counterintuitive, to fire customers. But if
maturing companies don’t occasionally do
this, they might contribute to terminating
themselves. C
Harvey Meyer is a St. Louis Park, Minnesota,
freelancer who writes for a variety of business,
consumer and general-interest magazines.
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