Set your sales traffic lights on green

Loyal customers are the best basis for a solid growth. But nothing is fixed: any customer loyalty 'lifecycle' can go from solid and stable via shaky to terminated. You need to pro-actively face the challenge and keep their loyalty. Start by classifying your customers - following a traffic light analysis system - into 'green', 'yellow' and 'red' customers.

'Green' customers are unproblematic: they are completely satisfied and pay back their satisfaction with loyalty. They constantly spend their money with you plus they are friendly, praise and recommend you. Still, you need to consequently nourish and foster these customers in order to keep them 'green'.

'Red' customers are fatal: they have informally or formally left you for the competition. But not everything is lost yet. There is a reason for each defection. And you need to find it out: contact your customer and ask what went wrong and seriously try to solve the issue. Also try to resolve any personal challenges to emotionally charge the retrieval, for example with the following words: 'What has happened? We used to get along so well - i miss you as a client and contact person.' Even if your efforts do not win the customer back immediately, it creates a good ground to later start again.

'Yellow' customers are critical: they are unhappy and on the verge of leaving, but they often don't explicitly tell you about their state of mind. You need to detect the concerning early warning signals: maybe the turnover or profit has gone down gradually for the last year(s), maybe the contact frequency has changed dramatically (up or down), maybe the emotional 'tie-in' is fading plus concerns and complaints are more and more common. And you need to ask yourself what are the reasons for this unhappiness: is your offer not competitive any more? Is your sales team competent enough for the demanding clients? Were there any strategic or organizational disruptions e.g. after a possible merger or reorganisation? Once you have identified the warning signals and problems, you should focus on the most profitable 'yellow' customers: call them or meet them, talk to them about the current situation and develop joint perspectives and a positive outlook. You will then be able to switch your 'yellow' customers to 'green'.