You Must Recognize Your Most Valuable Future Customers Today

A new customer gives us the largest order in the history of our company. The order has to be complete in eight weeks. It is a grueling task. Down to the wire, the customer's trucks are being loaded at the last possible minute. It is a blistering July night, and at dark, the two owners stick it out as the crew leaves. Using a manual pallet jack, they complete the order onto eleven trucks in the wee hours of the morning. Why is this order so important? Of course, it is important because it is the largest we had ever received, but we knew it was a test of our future ability. Because of their future potential, this was a new customer who could not be disappointed. Lesson: Businesses get stuck when they don't recognize their most valuable present and future customers. Entrepreneurs get stuck when they get in the routine of filling orders and miss serving the customers with the most significant future potential. We might have missed serving this client because of their need to fill a big order in a short time. But, recognizing their future potential, we prioritized serving them. We can get stuck prioritizing older customers and miss the new customers who will thrive in the future. Lesson: Maintaining your competitive advantage hinges on recognizing customers' present and future potential. These valuable customers of the future are not always new but are often already a client. Understanding who your most valuable customers will be in your future and maintaining the fundamentals of completing and delivering orders on time and in excellent condition becomes the recipe for success. You must maintain this corporate discipline with an eye to those customers with both present and future potential. Lesson: Daily focus on the things your company must do well, and having an eye to the most valuable future customers is necessary to succeed. In response to my question, "Why do you buy from us?" Our largest customer replies, "The goods move off the shelf." Too often, we complicate matters. The niches in both customers and products are likely right in front of us. Do you face the same struggles in your business? Can you relate to my story? Connect with me by email, harryt@cultivatingimpact.biz or on LinkedIn and let me know. Harry T. Jones P.S. Maybe someone forwarded this post to you but you can receive my latest ideas in your inbox by signing up here: HERE.