4 reasons clients leave your business (and how to prevent it)

Churn–when clients leave your business–is an inevitable part of any class-based business. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do, like when a client moves away. But often there are actions you can take to bring back a client who’s about to churn, or ideally to prevent them from wanting to in the first place.

The first step is to identify why your clients churn. Clients are deeply invested in their own success and happiness. If your business doesn’t meet their standards, they’ll have no problem leaving. These are some of the top reasons that clients churn, and what you can do to prevent it.

Unexpected charges or high fees

Nobody likes being charged more than they were expecting to pay. And when your clients are surprised by hidden fees they almost always react badly (can you blame them?).

Unexpected–or unexpectedly high–fees degrade trust in your business. Clients don’t want to feel like they’re being tricked. Loyal, long-term clients might find it in their hearts to forgive you once, but they aren’t going to stand for it happening again and again. And new clients who aren’t yet loyal to your business won’t hesitate to take their patronage elsewhere after being surprised just one time.

How to prevent it: Be transparent about what you charge your clients for, and charge them a fair price. Clients just want to feel like they are getting the value that they pay for. Also do some competitive research to make sure you aren’t over or under charging clients compared to your competitors. Remember, if a competitor offers a comparable experience at a lower price, clients will opt to pay less.   

Lack of perceived value

I know your business rocks. YOU know your business rocks. But your clients need to know it too. In your marketing efforts, make sure you tell people why your business is the best available option. Lackluster advertising can cost you a lot of new clients.

Aesthetics come into play here, too. If your equipment is old and run down, or if your facilities are dirty and messy, your clients may take that to mean that you don’t take your business seriously. But of course you do, so make sure that’s reflected in your space.

How to prevent it: Help your clients see how awesome your business is! Thoughtful marketing and clean facilities signal value to your clients. This, combined with a superior client experience, makes your business a place where your clients want to spend their time.

Poor client experience

Up to 82% of clients who have a bad experience with customer service will choose to not to business there again. So if you aren’t offering a good experience, you’re putting your business at great risk of churn.

If something about client experience is off, it can be tricky to figure out where the issue is. That’s because “client experience” is a broad and encompassing thing. It includes staff interactions, online interactions, the “vibe” at your business, the fun of your classes and more. But all together, the client experience is the number one thing that can pull a client into your business, or push them away.

How to prevent it: You need to understand each part of the client experience before diagnosing and fixing problems. Gaining understanding involves talking to your customers and gaining feedback through surveys. You might create personas or journey maps to help you understand each stage of how your client interacts with your business. Do what you need to do to know how your clients think and feel about your business. Once you understand your clients, you can identify problems in your business and take steps to fix them.

Competition

Remember all those clients who left your business because of hidden fees or a negative experience with a staff member? They’re headed to your competitor down the street. They were already interested because of savvy marketing efforts by your competitor, and you’ve just given them the excuse they need to go.

Other businesses in your industry are constantly competing for your clients. Every day your clients are exposed to tempting promotions, fancy advertisements, and aggressive referral campaigns. That’s why you need to work so hard to keep your clients happy where they are. It’s just too easy for them to go somewhere else.

How to prevent it: Competition will always be out there. The way to combat it is with smart business decisions. You can’t eliminate competition, but you can stay on top of it. Regularly conduct competitive research so you know who and where your competitors are, and what they’re doing. The more you know about your competitors, the more you can position your own business to stand out from the crowd.

Always listen to your clients

If you actively listen to your clients, they’ll be more than happy to tell you what they like and don’t like about your business. Listening to them helps you make smart business decisions that ultimately make a better experience for your clients. And when the experience is great, your clients won’t have any reason to leave.

What do you do at your business to keep your clients coming back for more? Let us know in the comments!