Competitive pressure action

When a customer chooses a competitor, try to find out why. You can frame your inquiry like this:

"Thank you for the business you've given us so far, and we appreciated the opportunity to be considered for your project. In the spirit of constantly improving our business, it would be greatly appreciated if you would explain why we didn't get this order."

Always remember that sometimes decisions made turn out to be bad ones, resulting in buyer's remorse. So after your customer gives you the answer to the above question, leave them with a comment such as, "Rest assured that we intend to do business with you again and look forward to the next opportunity to do so. Please let us know when."