The Customer

When I was a younger man there was a concept called ‘the sovereignty of the customer’. Essentially it pointed out that the most important person in any business is the customer. No customer, no business.

It is strange to relate that all too often too many businesses lose sight of the customer, his needs and his centrality.

When a business is small it is likely that almost everyone will interact with the customer. One of the challenges of growth is that fewer and fewer people will actually interact with the customer. A greater and greater proportion of people will have internal functions and therefore focus.

It is entirely possible that the customer loses his centrality. Our meetings are filled with discussions about internal matters and conflicts and not about serving the customer better. Each and every business only exists because of the value that it provides for the customer, we lose that focus at our peril.

I believe that every Amazon meeting has an empty chair, meant to represent the customer, so that every decision is made with the customer in mind.

So the questions for today are:

• What are you doing to keep the sovereignty of the customer at the forefront of every decision?
• Do you know (i.e.measure) the level to which you are serving the customer well?
• How much time do you spend face to face with actiual or potential customers each week? What about your people?
• Is that a K.P.I.? (key performance indicator)

If you need any help, reach out

Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.

To check whether I can help you on that journey https://calendly.com/iankinnery/canweworktogether