When losing customers isn’t a bad thing

17 Oct

It’s time to dish out some straight-up truths. When we talk business, we often get starry-eyed, imagining growth charts that only point upwards, sales that never stop rolling in, and customers circling your business like seagulls on a chip. But hold up hot stuff – there’s an elephant in the room that often gets overlooked: attrition.

And if you’re thinking, wtf is attrition, and why should I care? Both good questions and may I suggest you take a minute to go back and read this article for context and then come back (I’ll wait).

In a (Coco)nut shell, it’s the sneaky slide of customers that naturally occurs as you grow. Think of it like a seesaw: on one side, you're expanding, maybe adding team members, perhaps introducing new offers. And on the other, there's a subtle decrease in that all important customer relationship which then leads to losing them as a customer altogether.

Don't get me wrong. I’m all for dreaming big but gunning for a 100% customer retention rate is just not realistic.

So while keeping customers is the dream, slowly losing them is going to be your reality, particularly if you don’t start putting strategies in place now.

In my business ventures, I’ve always accounted for a 10-15% attrition, and surprise, surprise – this number tends to shoot up as your turnover does.

Take my Rent a CEO container, for instance. My aim? To make myself redundant for clients in about 6-12 months. But switch gears to the cleaning business, and the game totally changes.

The competition in that industry is fierce because the barriers to entry are low, but what truly matters is not just how well you treat your customers, but the value and point of difference you can bring to the table.

Why do we need to talk about attrition?

Because as business owners, we sometimes get blindsided. We forget that as time ticks on, customer values and needs shift. And suddenly, they're looking elsewhere.

The kicker? Most business owners don’t even see it coming.

So, while we’re all here looking to create loyal, lifelong customers, it’s absolutely vital to recognise and plan for attrition.

Wanna learn more about attrition and all things business planning, building and investing? Dive into the Female Financial Literacy Library to get up to speed.

In the end, it's not about pessimism, but pragmatism. Being prepared for attrition doesn't mean you're expecting failure. It just means you're smart, and ready to juggle whatever curve balls come your way.

While we're all gunning for a tribe of forever-loyal customers, at some point we need to pull our head out of our asses and get prepared. Recognising and planning for attrition doesn’t mean you're being a Nego Nancy. It just means you’re switched on and ready to roll with the punches.

Coco xO