WHY ARE YOU IN BUSINESS?

This week, I had the chance to speak to SCORE, a group of
retired business people who volunteer their time to mentor
new entrepreneurs. We talked about the need for business
skills, about the power of mentoring and the fact that we
all learn from those who have gone before us.
But the most important thing we talked about was the need
to "make a real and lasting difference."
Many entrepreneur’s see their bottom line as the ultimate
gauge of their success, and every business must make a
profit! But successful businesses know that money is only
one measure of success. To grow your business and make the
bottom line look even better, you need a more fundamental
measure: Are you serving satisfied customers?
The most important measure for any business is how well
they satisfy their customers. If you’re customers love the
work you do, you can find a way to make money. You can cut
costs, raise prices, change markets, or leverage your
products in a new way. But, it all begins with a satisfied
customer.
Successful businesses have raving fans! Successful
businesses thrive on repeat business, on referrals and
positive word-of-mouth. Successful entrepreneurs know that
keeping a customer is far easier, cheaper and more
satisfying than advertising to attract a new customer.
How satisfied are your customers? Are you giving them what
they need and (more importantly) are you giving them what
they want? Do they come back? Do they send their friends,
colleagues and neighbors? If they do, you’ll succeed, but
if not, you’ll need to make changes.