Whenever a customer cancels an appointment, it’s hard to not take it personally. Before you get too down on yourself or become defensive, take a minute to think about the individual, and what you can do to reconnect and keep them as a customer.
When a customer makes an appointment, they have a lot of choices out there to choose from — with your company being one of them. When a customer cancels, remember that you are the one that they initially chose to reach out to for an appointment or to provide the services in the first place.
How you react AND more importantly how you respond is the key to turning a cancellation into a positive experience. Here are three ways for you to seize the opportunity when a customer cancels:

Turn That Frown Upside Down

Get rid of any negative thought immediately. Think about the about the situation in a positive way. We’ve all had to cancel an appointment before, and the majority of cancellations were for a good reason – simply life getting in the way. Oftentimes, a cancelled appointment may mean that the customer would not have been a good fit for your product or service, and this can be used as a learning experience for defining your ideal customer!

Respond Nicely

If you receive a cancellation via phone, make sure you ask them if there is a reason for the cancellation. Most customers won’t mind telling you. If the customer cancels with an e-mail or text, be sure to confirm that you have received the cancellation. All response e-mails must be written in a positive tone. How you respond to “a no sale” is just as and possibly more important than your follow-up response to a successful sale.

TurnThis Into An Opportunity

Once you discover why the customer cancelled, determine if they are a good prospect for future contact. If the customer tells you that he is not ready to buy right now, consider opportunities down the road. You want them to call your company first! Be sure to follow-up but don’t be too pushy. The goal is simply to keep your name in front of them. This approach, combined with sincere well-wishes upon their cancellation, will leave your name and company in a positive light.

In this day and age where the pressure to make a sale is high, and great customer service is rare, it really doesn’t take much to elevate your business above the rest. Remember, this is the best time to learn from a customer’s cancellation. Call the team at R2R Marketing today at 757-482-3492 for help in finding solutions to all of your marketing needs.