Why Your Customers Are Going Elsewhere

I do not have secret knowledge of your business so I cannot tell you all of the reasons your customers might be going elsewhere. What I can tell you is one reason I have found to be true in our family business that may also be true for yours. This is the critical truth: Good is not good enough.

Being Good

Let me explain a little further. As you might know by now, I grew up in the auto business. The older I got, the more I realized that our industry has a bad name. Granted, it is well earned by those dealers that operate outside of the bounds of what most consider ethical or moral behavior. Even though our family business was different, the industry stigma bothered me.

As I began to see how we could leverage our business as a platform for ministry, I knew something had to change about the way people perceived our business. While we could not change the industry, I felt we could certainly change perception of our own business. So we set out to do just that!

In one swift change, we overhauled our selling philosophy. Based on our understanding of Scripture (Proverbs 20:10), we did away with the commission-based negotiation process and went to a simplified, above-board pricing system. The change was so drastic and, I thought, clearly favored the customer. I was more than excited to launch this new system!

They Did Not Come

My expectation was that people would see the principle behind the change and would embrace it! I fully expected those I knew best (especially from church) to flock to us in their support of this noble idea. I was wrong.

Not only did they not come in droves, many of the ones that did come were skeptical or indifferent. Sure there were a few that purchased simply because they appreciated the change, but the vast majority were not impacted at all by the changes we made. In fact, many turned away for various reasons.

What is the learning here? Why is this a critical truth that should be important to you?

Not Good Enough

I will say it again. Good is not good enough.

If you are going to build a business model based on expectations of garnering support of potential customers simply because your model is “good” or “Biblical” or “noble”, then you are due to fail. If you expect people to spend their money on your product or service because your business principles are good, then you are doomed to disappointment.

What Is Best For Them

The bottom line is that the vast majority of people are going to invest their hard-earned money where they feel the return is best for them. They will support the businesses they perceive do the best overall for them (whether its true or not) because they are looking out for their own interests. Unless your organization is a charity, they will not support your “cause” unless it is backed by more than “good” principles.

Our potential customers were not going elsewhere because they disliked our principles. They were not going elsewhere because they were opposed to our new philosophy. They were going elsewhere because they felt they were making a wiser investment. Even when that was not actually true, the burden was on us because we were not able to convince them otherwise.

Chick-Fil-A’s Success

Why is Chick-Fil-A so successful? Certainly, their principles are good, right? Their business model is absolutely based on Biblical truths and they champion causes based on their faith. So aren’t they an example that contradicts my argument?

Not so. They are successful because their business model is excellent. Their product is excellent. They hire great employees and make them better with exceptional training and processes. Chick-Fil-A never expects you to buy their product simply because you support their Christian values. They expect you to support their business because it is among the best in the industry.

Lesson Learned

I will say that in my own experience, I was sorely disappointed. But the lesson learned is that we must become the best around at what we do. We must be relentless in our pursuit of excellence in all areas of our business. If we are to be a successful company that represents well our Christian faith and cause, then we cannot rely on “good” principles. We must be the best.

Take a hard look around your business and compare it to your competition. Dig into your processes and people. Are they the best in your market area? Are you relentlessly pursuing excellence in all areas of your business? If not, get to work correcting the gaps. Quit settling for less. Stop expecting people to support your good principles alone.

Are you relying on “good” too heavily?

Where do you need to make changes first?

Are you ready to improve on “good enough”?

Photo by Michelle D. Milliman/Shutterstock