TO GET RICH, SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS

This week I heard a cute story about a golf instructor who

asked a student what the basic, fundamental purpose of the
game was. The student replied, "To enjoy a great sport?"
No. "To enjoy the company of friends and play well?" No,
no, no!
The instructor replied, "The point is to get the little
white ball in the hole as efficiently as possible!"
Sometimes in business we forget the most basic
fundamentals. I've heard business people argue about the
basic purpose of being in business. Some say it's to make
a profit, because unless there is a profit, the business
will eventually cease to function. Others say the point is
to provide a valuable service or a great product.
In my opinion there is only ONE reason for any business to
exist, and that is to serve the needs of it's customers.
Of course, as a practical matter, you must make a profit,
you must operate legally and ethically, and provide value.
But in the end, the only real measure of a business is
whether or not it serves it's customers well.
If you serve the needs and desires of your customers, they
will do business with you, and that will allow all those
other things, like profits, to happen. If you fail to
serve your customers well, in the long run nothing else
matters.
In the end, the customer IS always right. The customer is
the boss. The customer is the final inspector, the final
supervisor, the absolute "owner" and manager of the
business and their opinions come first. Successful
businesses from Walmart to Home Depot to Amazon, to your local
hair dresser all understand this.
Know your customer. Understand their needs, their desires,
even their preferences, and serve your customer. It's the
key to success.