How Important is the Customer? A Question worth Pondering

Instead of the mindset of – The Customer is Always Right

Let’s do a thought exercise and ask ourselves –

How Important is the Customer?

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In a world with 7.3 billion people, and a wide variety of customer cohorts and segments, it is worth thinking deeply about

1. Who is the Ideal Customer for your Business?
2. How Important are your Existing Customers?
3. How Important are your Existing Customers of Good Intent?
4. How can you find more Customers of Good Intent?
5. Can you fire your Bad Customers (Customers of Bad Intent)? Should you?
6. Should you adapt your business to focus exclusively on your Customers of Good Intent?
7. Who are your most important customers in terms of revenue? Are they the same as your Customers of Good Intent?
8. Who are your most profitable customers? Are they the same as your Customers of Good Intent?

Most businesses will find that a small section of ‘Customers of Bad Intent’ are responsible for 90% of their headaches, 90% of their pain points, and 90% of their support costs.

In many cases, they will find that these customers are also responsible for massively cutting into their profits

Firing these ‘Customers of Bad Intent’ will take your Profits from Good to Great. Deliciously, many of these ‘Customers of Bad Intent’ will migrate to your rival companies when you fire them – driving their profits down, and causing them numerous headaches. If your rival companies are not good at ‘Firing Customers of Bad Intent’ then you have created a permanent profit sinkhole for them.

So, let us ask your again – How Important is the Customer?

1. Is the Customer more important than your Business?
2. Is the Customer more important than your Team?
3. Is the Customer more important than your Profits?
4. Is the Customer more important than your Company’s Mission?
5. Is the Customer more important than your Company’s Growth and Revenue Growth?

Customers of Good Intent will help you grow, while benefitting themselves

Customers of Bad Intent will try to exploit your consideration for customers’ well-being to the point of driving your company to an early death

Perhaps the most important decisions a company can make are all focused on picking the right customers to focus on