5 Tips to Lower Your B2B Buyer Churn Rate

What's your B2B company's average buyer churn rate? Research shows that it costs roughly five times as much money to sell a product or service to a new buyer than an existing buyer. Churn rate, of course, is a measurement of how much buyers part ways with your B2B company. With a high churn rate, you'll have to exhaust more time and resources selling to new buyers. Fortunately, you can achieve a lower buyer churn rate by following these five simple tips.

#1) Reward Loyalty

Rewarding buyers for loyalty can encourage them to stay with your B2B company and, therefore, lower your churn rate. Countless companies -- including those in both the B2C and B2B industries -- use loyalty rewards. They reward their audience with some type of incentive for continuing to buy their products or services. You can use a similar approach to lower your B2B buyer churn rate. By giving buyers something of value, such as discounts or free products, buyers are more likely to stay with your B2B company.

#2) Find Out Why Buyers Leave

To lower your B2B buyer churn rate, you must understand why buyers part ways with your B2B company. Maybe a buyer feels unappreciated, or perhaps a buyer found a better deal offered by a competitor. Regardless, you should contact buyers who've stopped buying your B2B company's products or services to determine the reason. You can then use this information to improve your B2B company's sales process and encourage more buyers to stay.

#3) Respond to Inquiries Quickly

When an existing buyer reaches out for assistance, respond to him or her as quickly as possible. The sooner you respond, the better. Buyers want to know that they can get help when needed. If you wait too long to respond, the buyer may leave and partner with a competitor, instead.

#4) Touch Base Periodically

Another way to lower your B2B buyer churn rate is to touch base periodically with buyers. In other words, if you haven't spoken to an existing buyer in a while, give the buyer a call. You don't have to pitch any additional products or services during this call. Rather, you can simply touch base with the buyer to ensure that he or she is satisfied and doesn't need assistance.

#5) Offer a Solution

Buyers typically leave because they encounter a problem. When a buyer chooses to part ways with your B2B company, contact him or her to identify the reason and then offer a solution. If the buyer believes a product or service is too expensive, consider lowering the price. Regardless of the problem, there's probably a solution for it.