The customer is NOT King

The world of business is full of inapt metaphors, most of  which are associated with war: "We're going to capture market share."   "Our sales force is our competitive weapon."  "The front line people; the ones in the trenches."  And so forth.  "The customer is King" is another one.

Has the power shifted from the producer to the consumer? Absolutely.  But that doesn't mean that you should kowtow to your customers.  Hell no.  Instead, you should stand for something, and relentlessly tantalize and satisfice them with unique and valuable products, services and experiences. 

When they asked con man extraordinaire and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange Bernie Madoff for the reason why he did what he did, do you know how he replied?  He said something like, "I was simply trying to satisfy my clients at any cost."   Satisfy them at any cost.  Yup, other than the court jester, that's exactly how people would treat a King.

Be like Chick-fil-A. If the customers were truly Kings at Chick-fil-A, the following would never end on such a sour note:  :)

Posted March 12, 2009
Email this post   Bookmark and Share   

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c684b53ef0112796439dc28a4

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The customer is NOT King:

Comments

Kim Brater

How true. Organizations must find their core distinction - their true DNA - and then build that into all areas of the organization (not just marketing). They must live the brand and deliver on it every time. Great post.

Posted by: Kim Brater | March 17, 2009 at 12:51 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.