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Taking Your Customers for Granted

As a business owner it is our natural tendency to focus the majority of our efforts on sales. No matter how well things are going it is our tendency to always wonder, “Where am I going to find the next customer?”

First, let me reassure you, “That is OK!” I understand that you are in the business of selling and that if you aren’t selling the business stops. However, I do want to address a challenge facing most business owners. The problem is that you take your current customers for granted and justify it by saying that you need to continue growing the business.

It’s easy to slide a current customer a few rings down the priority ladder and let a hot new prospect take their place. We’ve all done it. So, let me take this opportunity to remind you why you need to pay special attention to your current customers:

  • They pay you money! Don’t forget who writes the checks that help you keep the doors open and pay your staff.
  • There is a much greater chance that a current customer will buy more of your product and services than there is of a prospect deciding to buy from you.
  • Your current customer base is typically by far your best source for referrals.

Now that I have your attention, to determine if you are taking your customers for granted ask yourself these three questions:

  1. Do you even know who your best customers are? Before you say “yes” how do you characterize a great customer?
  2. When is that last time you had a meaningful conversation with these customers?
  3. Do you have systems in place to ensure that your delivery of a product or service is in predictable and always exceeds their expectations? If you aren’t comfortable with your answers your not alone. Most business owners don’t pay enough attention to their customers. The reason they don’t is that unlike sales growth, it is hard to measure how well you take care of your customers. Unfortunately, if it’s hard to measure something chances are that you won’t work very hard to improve it.

So, first measure it and then put simple practices in place to improve it.

  • Do you stop selling to your customers once the P.O. arrives?
  • Does your competition?
  • How much more business would these customers send you if you took better care of them?