[3] Why Customers Vanish:

There are basically only three reasons why "regular" customers disappear:

• They die, or move out of your area ...
  And there's nothing you can do about the loss of those customers.
• They become unhappy with your prices, service, selection, or quality ...
  And it's not always possible to satisfy every customer. And most people WON'T even bother to tell you if they're unhappy about something ... usually they just never come back.
• They visit your competitor, find something they like better, and just don't come back.
  Maybe they're bored with your store. Or maybe they're curious about the other guys and want to try something new. Or maybe the other guys have something you don't. And maybe you can win back their business. And maybe you can't.

It's very unlikely that your former customers will ever bother to tell you why they're not doing business with you anymore.

So the only way to survive is to try to keep your existing customers as happy as you can, and constantly prospect for new customers.

Consequently, most successful retail businesses budget and spend 15% or more of their gross annual sales revenues on advertising and marketing, both to attract new customers - and to keep their old customers coming in the door.

Yet, certain important factors can negate the benefits of every penny you spend on advertising ... and then some!

The big question is: What can you do constructively to KEEP THAT BUSINESS?