Cultivate Great Customers, Fire Your Failures
I hate advice to Fire your bad customers. I think that it misses the true point: Cultivate great customers, fire your failures. Because concentrating on failure can often stand in the way of success. And failure is often your fault as well as your customers.
Venky Ganesan writes approvingly of an Amazon venture to [suck] "profitable" customers away from Netflix by placing a cap on monthly rentals. I'm a bit sceptical myself:
- Never underestimate the lure of unlimited. We thought we could watch 8+ DVDs a month when we joined Netflix. The reality has become more like 5 or 6. How many customers are lured by the unprofitable and then settle into a profitable steady state?
- What's your identity? Netflix has laid claim to all the DVDs you want - No late fees. What will Amazon be?
- Your abusers are apt to also be your evangelists. How many good customers has your so-called bad customer steered towards your service?
Cultivate great customers, Fire your failures. Some customers will never be great, but you won't know until you try. And if you focus on firing your bad customers, you may never find your great ones.
Not in Time Inventory
I understand that excess inventory is wasted money. But it still torques me when I need a staple product and the store is out.
I made my standard run to the local pet store conglomerate today. They receive shipments on Saturday and Wednesday, so I try to shop on either Monday or Thursday to insure adequate supplies. Today, I needed some house brand unscented clay litter. And they were out.
How can a pet store run out of kitty litter? I resent needing to know my store’s delivery schedule. I really resent needing to make a second visit this week to pick up more. And trust me, as a CSI: Connecticut, kitty litter is not fungible.
15 Jan: Litter Crisis Averted