Page 52 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

22 LOST CUSTOMERS ARE
NOT ALWAYS LOST

There is a tendency to regard a lost customer as a lost cause. After
all, they have walked away from your service, so they don’t like
you, right?

This turns out not to be the case. Lost customers probably liked some
of what you did, even if they didn’t like all of it: they already know
you, and probably you already know them. So why not try to win them
back? Obviously you will need to have a very clear understanding of
why they defected in the first place, and (ideally) you should have a
different win-back plan for each type of defection.

The idea

BellSouth Mobility is a major cellphone operator in southern
America. The cellphone business has a high churn rate, but
BellSouth Mobility recognized that its rate was exceptionally high—
so it set about revitalizing lost customers. After one or two failed
attempts, the company hit on a winning formula: it identified
the key reasons for defection, which were (1) BellSouth did
something to upset me, (2) BellSouth wouldn’t issue a credit for a
failed call, (3) BellSouth gave free phones to new subscribers, but
not to people renewing their contracts, (4) BellSouth would not give
current promotions (e.g., free calls) to existing customers.

Contracts for cellphones are renewed annually: BellSouth’s first
attempt was to mail 3,500 defected customers to tell them they
could have a free phone and free calls if they switched back: the
response was disappointing, with an average cost of $800 for every
customer won back. The company revised its approach, this time

100 GREAT MARKETING IDEAS • 43