The Customer is NOT Always Right

You know how everyone tells you that the customer is always right?

Well, they’re wrong.

But that doesn’t mean that you should dismiss what they have to say. In fact, what they are telling you could be critical to the future of your business.

Let me explain.

Always right is an absolute.

I’ve never subscribed to the “your customer is always right” mantra. Your customer might  be right. Your customer could be right. But it’s unlikely that they are always right.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”

— Bill Gates

This is closer to what I believe. Even when you feel that your customer’s complaints are utterly unjustified you still need to be actively listening, taking notes and reflecting on what has been said.

What they say isn’t necessarily what they mean

What they say: “You are too expensive”

What you hear: “Lower your prices, others are less expensive than you”

What they mean: “I don’t trust that what you have presented to me is worth what you are charging for it.”

So what should you do?

Reflect. Is what they are saying true? Are you too expensive? Expensive compared to what? Note, they didn’t say “I wish that was in my budget” to which you could offer to reduce scope of services to meet their budget. They said “too expensive”. So ask them, what are you comparing that too?”

What they say: “Why would I need that?”

What you hear: “What I am offering isn’t needed by them”

What they mean: “I don’t understand how this will add value to what I do.”

Again, reflect. Do you believe that you can add value to this person with your product or service? If yes, then where is the disconnect between what you have told them and what they have understood. 

What they say: "This isn't what I wanted"

What you hear: "I have failed my customer"

What they mean: "What I understood I would be receiving is not what I have recieved"

There are so many reasons this could have happened but the majority of time either the client has misunderstood what the end result would or could be. Or, you have not delivered on what they have expected. Because sometimes the client is right. 

What should you listen to?

Firstly, listen to the message inside the message. What are they really telling you?

Don’t fill in the blanks with your own insecurities.

Try to meet your customer’s needs by taking note of both what they are saying and what they are not saying.

Most importantly, you should listen to your gut.

If your gut tells you that this is not the right client for your business listen to it, and listen hard. The way someone speaks to you before they become a client is the best indicator you will get of how they will be to work with in the future.

If your gut says no, tell them "thank you and goodbye". You will not regret it.

This is not your Free Pass

To be clear, this is not your excuse to blame your customer. I advocate delighting your customers at all opportunities. Wherever possible you should be going over and above what you promised to deliver (and if you have already over-promised, at a minimum, meet the promise that you made). 

It is more a gentle reminder to keep listening to what is being said, make sure that you are effectively communicating your value and also, make sure you screen your clients carefully. The right client will thank you for it.

The One Thing

I’m speaking to you.

The lost and the hopeless.

The scared and the frightened.

The people who have pursued their dream of starting a business, because not pursuing it was crushing their soul a little bit more each day. You started with such a fire in your belly, only now you feel as though your business is consuming you.

You who wake at 4 in the morning because even in your dreams your fears are chasing you.

“What should I do?”

“Where can I get more clients, more money”

“I’m working so hard and don’t know how I can do more.”

“Should I go and get a ‘real’ job?”

You, who are working every hour you can to serve the people you want to serve but who just can’t see the way forward.

You, who are so close to giving up.

I know you. I see you. You are not alone.

You are so scared of the “what ifs”, especially the “what if I fail?” that you don’t know how to take the next step forward.

And every day it gets a little bit harder to put on your game face, a little bit harder to smile.

What I want you to know… what I need you to know, is this…

“You. Are. Enough.”

Every single day, you are enough. You think you are lost, but you’re not, you just can’t see your destination yet.

You think you’re alone, but you’re not, there are others out there just as scared as you if only you could acknowledge that to each other.

You think that failing means the end when really it could just be the new beginning.

You were brave to start your own business. You are still brave because even in the face of adversity you continue to move forward, no matter how small those movements may seem.

You will get to exactly where you need to be, even if you don’t know yet where that may be.

Hold on. You are enough.

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You have permission. Now go and do it.

Let’s make a deal. 

I’m going to give you a permission slip, a bit like the ones we used to get in school but “virtual” because things have moved on since then. 

With your new virtual permission slip clutched in your sweaty palm, you are going to stop doing the things which you think everyone else is doing to be successful, and start doing the things that you do really well.

Right now. This instant.

Do we have a deal?

Somewhere, somehow we’ve lost our way a little bit, us entrepreneurs (or whatever we are calling ourselves these days). 

It begins like a twisted game of Chinese Whispers, played out on social media; 

“If you do this, then you’ll be successful.” 

“If you do that then the money will start rolling in.”

“Join this program, guaranteed success.”

And then we begin to question and doubt ourselves, 

“What do I have to do to be successful? This? All of it?”

“Is what I know I can do enough anymore?”

“Everyone else is doing it, shouldn’t I be doing it too?”

“I’m going to stop you right there.”

No. You should not be doing it, whatever "it" is. Just because it works for someone you know or someone you’ve read about online, does not in any way mean that you should be doing it. 

Unless, of course, you are utterly brilliant at it and it is the very thing that your business has been missing. In which case, smack your forehead that you didn’t do it sooner and off you go. Success awaits you.

Whatever your “it” is:

Do it because you are inspired to do it.

Do it because you are exceptional at it. 

Do it because you do it better than anyone else does it. 

But don’t do it, please don't do it, because everyone else is doing it. 

Every time you do that a fairy dies. 

I’m kidding, a fairy doesn’t die, but part of your business does. Every time you flagrantly copy someone else out of fear. Every time you slavishly follow someone else’s “golden formula”, you take a step further away from your business, from your skills, from your dream. You step back from the very reason that people want to work with you in the first place, because you do what they need, in the way that they need it.

Of course, it’s scary to walk your own path. It’s much, much easier to walk in someone else’s footsteps, but what’s the point in that? You didn’t start your business to feel safe, you started it to make a difference, to you and to them.

And that means it’s time for you to step up and do it.  Do it your way. Do it the way they need you to do it. 

You have your permission slip.

Now go and do it.