IDEA: Ask lost or dropping customers what you did wrong and tell him how you are improved

Schedule a meeting with your purchasing agent who issues you orders and ask what your firm did to lose business. You did something for them to leave so address it.  Buyers come and go. Your old buyer may not even be there, or now does not remember the reason why he chose another vendor.  Find out.

Contact  your lost customer and tell him new things they may not know:

• Tell them about your new equipment,
• Tell them about your new facilities,
• Tell them about your new laboratory,
• Tell them about your new warehouses, one located near their facilities,
• Offer a different salesperson if they did not like the last one,
• Maybe they received bad service, substandard product or too many late shipments? Talk about your new QC program and high quality systems now in place,
• Give them a higher credit limit,
• Tell them that previously lousy customer service has improved tremendously with a new manager in place,
• Tell them they will have direct access to customer service 15 hours a day (offer them their own telephone number and assigned representative’s direct number),
• Tell them how they can log in and see their orders.

All these things can be repaired if your firm wishes to do so, but you must know what is the primary problem is to address and correct it. Schedule a meeting and go talk to them.