“Dear John (insert your company name here),
We are terminating our contract with you … ”
And so begins the “Dear John” letter of client relationships. Every now and then we need a reminder that our clients are not a company or a brand; they are a collection of individuals. They are people, just like you and me, who are held accountable to results in their role. People who are looking for a greater number of positive experiences than negative experiences in their relationships. People who choose to do business with us because we promised to help them get better outcomes.
Unfortunately, the “Dear John” rate in many companies is alarming. Their clients are at risk and they don’t have a process to measure their client relationships. They don’t have the insights to take action to ensure their client relationships are strong and continually advancing. As a result, they are forced to sell more and more new clients just to avoid revenue decline.
Here are the four most common (yet completely avoidable) reasons that clients will leave you.