Should You "Fire" Some Customers & How!

Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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It's time to answer a question, I realize until now, I didn't fully answer it: "Since you wrote about reading 'The Innovator's Dilemma', you know how dangerous it is to 'fire' customers. Why do you still say we should?"

I advocate "firing" individual customers who cost you more than their patronage is worth to you. When they complain too much about things you can't afford to change or consume too much of your time &/or other resources, it's time to let them go. When you or your staff are stressed & tired because of somebody's unjustified demands, it interferes with your ability to serve other customers as they deserve to be served. When a customer consumes too much of your time, then other customers are inconvenienced.

If you don't fire low-profit, high-hassle customers, they'll keep interfering with your ability to serve others well. Then other customers may fire you & buy from competitors. Then you'll have fewer good customers, so your profit will be lower & you'll be out of business & all of your customers will end up finding somebody else to buy from.

How to fire them depends on your business & their social influence. You can ask them not to return. You can stop calling them. Don't accept their calls. Refer them to a business that may serve them better. If they visit you, you can be too busy to help them. If you have a store room customers aren't allowed to enter, you can say you didn't find what they want. (You don't have to look, just go through the motions. Since you didn't look, you honestly didn't find what they want.) If you have time, you can call competitors to ask if they have what the unprofitable customer wants. If a competitor has it, then you served the unprofitable customer--hopefully for the last time.

You're unlikely to please everybody, so you shouldn't try. You should serve those who are satisfied with your best efforts.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2008 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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