IDEA: Ask ex-customers,”Why did you leave us? What was the reason you now buy elsewhere?”

Assign a few employees to call ex-customers to ask some brief short questions as to why they left and no longer purchase anything from your company.  Be polite and nonconfrontational.  Tell them you want to know what you are doing wrong so your company can fix it. Call customers with no activity to see why they have not bought anything recently.  Remember that the real reason customers go elsewhere is not always price so find out why they left your firm!  Never argue with their answers and thank them for the valuable feedback. If the callers get any request for someone in sales to followup, contact sales immediately.