Do make sure that you drill into your advertising sales people the fact that they need to ask your existing customers why they do not want to renew – and I mean really ask. If you can get to the bottom of the problem, then you may be able to offer alternatives. If the reason is solely down to poor response from your media, then you have to ask yourself why the response was poor and come up with some answers.
What is the advert or the message?
Was it the timing of the advert?
Was it down to your media?
By asking questions, you’ll be able to see a pattern, which means you can implement changes and add functionality to dramatically help your business.
Remember, the reason why a lot of media companies lose advertisers is either down to poor communication or by offering products in a way that the customer perceives them as offering little value.
A lot of the time, losing customers can come down to the client thinking there is no support. If you sell the ad and then don’t call, or even bother to see them at an exhibition for 10 minutes, they will eventually adopt the ‘TDC’ rule instead of the TLC rule – don’t let them think, I am not going to give them any more business because “they don’t care.”
Finally, if it all comes down to them saying that they are getting better response elsewhere, find out where they are getting good response and value. Ask them why they see it as value and then see if your product could offer a valuable angle on something they hadn’t thought of. You may be able to give them something positive after all.
Remember, some of the time it has nothing to do with you. The person you are speaking to (who makes the ultimate decision) may have heard a negative comment about your media from someone who didn’t have the facts or who was badly prepared for a marketing assessment or meeting. Try to have it out with the person who makes the main decision whenever you can. It could make a huge difference to the number of people you keep as customers.