I would love to say that I have never lost a customer.  However, with hundreds of customers over the years, we have obviously lost some.  Usually it is just a matter of wanting to try something new.  In one case recently, we were generating leads for a company but when the sales person that was getting the leads left, the company decided not to continue because they were “changing strategy”.

I perfectly understand and I keep in touch with past companies in most cases, because often we can get them back or they provide referrals to others in the future.

Here are reasons people might come back or refer people to you in the future:

1. Grass is not always greener.  Sometimes they find out the hard way and want to work with you again.
2. Timing – Sometimes they will be ready to use your product or service again in the future when some other factors change.
3. Cost – maybe if you offer a sale later on, they may want to work with you again at the sale price.
4. Loved your work but forced to move in another direction – still happy to refer you.
5. Outgrew your product or service – or decided to do it in house.  You could still end up with future consulting, opportunities or referrals.

It is usually not fun to find out you lost a client, but assess the future possibilities and keep a friendly relationship with them and you might find future work with them.