Don't Be Afraid To Be Picky
•Posted on January 27 2021
Way to often I see small shop owners deal with shit they should NEVER have to deal with because they want to please people who can't be pleased & are stuck in the mindset "the customer is always right".
I think as business owners we are conditioned to bend over backwards for customers to make sales. But sometimes a $20 order, or a $30 order, or even a $100+ order isn't worth the issues that come along with some customers. This isn't me saying "don't put the customer first".... you should always do that.... it's me saying to be picky about WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE.
Identify what are "hard no's" for you. What would a customer have to do to make you not want to do business with them? For me, it's disrespect & rudeness. If a customer doesn't respect my turnaround times, is disrespectful or rude in any interactions (regardless if it's publicly or privately), then I have no issue telling them, "I truly appreciate your support, but I think your needs are going to be better met by another company..."
I am picky about who my customers are because I don't want to loathe interactions with my customers. I don't want negative energy in my group. I don't want pessimistic attitudes about my brand to be shared by cranky ass customers that are never going to be happy no matter what. I'd rather them find someone else that provides something similar to what I do and be THEIR headache instead of mine. I'd rather spend that time & energy on my ideal customer base.... because I know those are the people that I can have real connections with.
REMEMBER YOUR VALUE! Remember who you are, what you bring to your industry, why your customers choose YOU over everyone else, and who YOUR ideal customer base is.
Not every customer is going to be "worth it".... because our sanity, our self-worth, and our principles need to stay in tact.
Our customers don't dictate our businesses. WE DO. We can always make business decisions and pivot based on customer feedback, BUT DO NOT LET ONE PERSON DICTATE HOW YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS... you will NEVER make everyone happy and you will run yourself into the ground trying to make everyone happy.