Of the many issues that can lead businesses astray, perhaps the most common is the inability (or refusal) to change course. It’s understandable, admittedly: once you get into a habit that’s produced results, it’s most comfortable to keep going. But that doesn’t make it any less damaging. Think about all the companies that didn’t adapt when the first pandemic lockdowns arrived. They kept trying to operate as usual, and their competitors vaulted past them.
This is relevant here because of the tendency of companies to fixate on earning new customers. It’s a focus that starts as an absolute necessity. When you’re launching a startup, you have no clients whatsoever and must figure out how to position your value proposition to win people over. But as you build a customer case, the relative value of bringing in new customers starts to drop, surpassed by the relative value of simply making more money from existing customers.
Even the broadest business can’t count upon indefinitely finding new customers. Sooner or later that well will run dry, or another business will prove better at marketing. If your company has been around for a while, your best option for making more mo… Read More