Are Your Customers a Good Fit for Your Business?

The value of a good customer is obvious. However, a common occurrence for sales people and the companies they work for in difficult times is to take on customers who are not a good fit. This is a poor choice made under pressure, as it usually costs money, rather than makes money. In order to address this, it’s essential to recognise a bad fit for your business when you see it.

Many business people work out the lifetime value of a customer when they are starting their business; unfortunately, very few of the same people take the time to understand the cost to their business when taking on customers who are not a good fit.

It is important to identify traits or circumstances of potential customers who won’t be profitable, although  it is more important to start with examining your business first. By defining certain things about you business you will understand what business isn't profitable.

Define such things as:

• What your business does well.
• What delivers the bulk of your profit. 

Focusing on the profitable parts of your business, and ejecting the low-profit, or no-profit, parts of your business is one of the simplest, yet smartest activities a business can do.

Another key area is identifying what level of service you’re prepared to deliver. Finding customers whose expectations fit the service you deliver is crucial. The repercussions of not meeting your customers expectations are costly. If your business does this, you’ll generally find they cost you more than you make. This can happen because you may find that you’re constantly going outside your own processes to keep them happy. Or the customer will become unhappy, and leave after a short period, making the expensive process of acquiring that customer a financial loss. This can also have a negative effect on the reputation of your business.

With some thought and planning, these principles of taking on customers who are a good fit for your business can improve your profitability, but they can make your life easier while you’re at work.

About the Author : Richard Norris. Richard  is the CEO of SiteZero , an Australian based Digital Marketing Services organization. Richard loves technology and is the Ecommerce evangelist at SiteZero. You can connect with Richard on Google + , Linkedin  or at the SiteZero Facebook Page Richard Started his first Business in 1985 and entered the online world in 1998. He’s a bit like “The old man and the sea” of digital Marketing

Richard Norris  |    |    |

Comments

Joshua Browne

May 19, 2011 at 1:19 PM

An insight into great business. A great read for every sales person and business owner.

Jonathan Browne

May 19, 2011 at 1:15 PM

Hi Paul thanks for your kind words, it has taken a while and hopefully have more to share for others to gain from

Paul Hassing

May 17, 2011 at 5:35 PM

Dang, Jonathan! I heard this was your first post, but you write like a pro! I agree with everything you said. Jolly nice work; keep 'em coming! Best regards, P. :)