Why Customers Leave (And How to Win Them Back)

Long on overconfident bluster and short on new ideas, this clarion call for better customer service from Avrin (It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You!), a speaker on marketing, aims to light a fire under business owners. “You are not going to like everything I have to say in this book, but it’s important that you listen,” he declares at the start, adding that “this book is a rant.” And boy, is it. Taking on the role of the unsatisfied customer, Avrin examines common business behaviors and how readers can avoid the worst pitfalls. He accurately points out that the biggest revenue drain is the loss of potential customers who rejected businesses out of hand, and suggests various strategies so readers can foresee and correct these errors. He goes on to provide the same hoary advice readers can easily find elsewhere: focus on one’s strong points, engage with the customers, treat them with trust, and be trustworthy in return. For each directive, he discusses why businesses take certain tactics, why customers hate them, and how it can be done better. Meandering and skimpy, this is a slapdash approach to an overexposed subject. (Apr.)