Starbucks’ recent release of their fourth-quarter sales decline should be a wake-up call for all businesses and professionals. It is a prime example of what happens when you lose genuine engagement with your customer base. Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol, explained the decline without pulling any punches. He said, “We’ve stopped communicating with our customers.”
And they are not the only ones. Hundreds of companies have stopped communicating in meaningful and genuine ways with their customers/clients. Further, sales and marketing professionals are so pressured to bring in new business they reduce communication with existing customers/clients. And that results in less cross sales, business being moved to another provider and the loss of the Lifetime Value (LTV) of those relationships.
The data supports and predicts the future for companies and professionals who don’t improve their communication with clients and customers. In 2023, Project Co Research reported that 68% of affluent consumers changed where they do business due to poor communication skills by the provider.
As 2025 looms large, have a CAM (Crack Avoidance Meeting) with your team and ask yourselves: what else can we do to improve our genuine communications with clients and customers? For more ideas use 100 Proven Ways To Acquire And Keep Clients For Life as a resource.
Every single touch point matters.