Owning the customer

There is a line between owning the customer and taking them for granted. In fact, its not a fine line at all. Its a chasm, Too often I have seen customer focused enthusiasm turn into an acceptance of the business as time passes.

We cannot ever be allowed to become comfortable with the business that our customers give us. We must earn it every day and remain as hungry on day 1,000 as we were on day 1.

Never assume that the customer does not have a choice.

Never assume that the customer is not constantly assessing options.

Never assume that the customer is not seeing your metrics slip a little bit.

Make it part of your process to value your customers anew every day, to look for new ways to delight them, to add new value. Not only will you have less risk of losing them, but you will grow with them.

I remember one customer telling me after we won the business: "The competitor that had our business had it for over ten years. It felt to us like they thought they were entitled to it. We knew we were right when we told them the business was going elsewhere. They told us 'How dare you move this business. You are our account. We deserve this business' ".

Talk about losing touch. Talk about not winning the business anew every day!