The ABC's of Choosing Your Customers

Choosing your customers can mean the difference between success and failure...seriously, really!  For most of us this sounds pretty crazy and I would agree with you at first, but then if you really think about it, our customers are the ones who define our destiny in the long run.  So, if we have the opportunity to choose the right customers, then our destiny becomes our choice rather than a random act. 

First, let's take a look at what we like to call the ABC's of customer types:

• A is for Awesome Customers:  These are the customers that we all adore and talk about every chance we get.  Awesome customers bring joy and excitement into our business...they engage with us, share their feedback in a positive way and collaborate with us to improve what we do.  They appreciate what we do for them and they recommend us to others without any incentives.
• B is for Basic Customers:  These are customers who make a transaction with us and that's about it.  We fulfill their need at the time and they are satisfied although they may or may not come back in the future.
• C is for Complaining Customers:  These customers are the ones who are rarely satisfied.  Although everyone believes that the customer is always right, sometimes it may not be true.  The fewer of this kind we have the better off we are...the time spent versus the benefit is always hard to justify.

Okay, so now that we know the ABC's of customer types, it's a little easier to understand who our customers are and how we can attract the right type.  Seth Godin shares great insights in Choose your customers, choose your future where he comes to the conclusion that all businesses reflect the type of customers they serve so make sure you choose the Awesome ones!

So how do you identify who's who?  Great question...here are 4 simple steps that you can use to identify, nurture and build the types of customers that you want for your business:

1. Analyze: Periodically, let’s say every three months or so, set some time to analyze your customer base and see who's who.
2. Organize: Identify and organize the types of customers you have had in the past period using the ABC method.
3. Define your Goals: Define your goals for attracting new customers and possibly saying no to the bad ones for the next period.  For example if you had 20 "A" customers, 60 "B" customers and 10 "C" customers...you can set a goal to convert some of the "B's" to "A's" and minimize the "C" types. 
4. Communicate and Collaborate: Identify the customers with whom you can communicate and collaborate so you can build stronger relationships to attract many more "A" type customers.

Now, let's make a conscious decision to keep this in mind and work with our customers to make them Awesome customers and take a pass on the customers who don't help us reach our desired destiny.  And, let’s make a conscious decision to become Awesome customers ourselves to someone else.

It will be great to get your thoughts and experiences on this topic so everyone can benefit from your knowledge.  Here are some related resources on this topic:

• The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema
• The importance of choosing your customers by Mitch Solway
• Want Higher Profits? Choose Your Customers Wisely by Lynn Daniel