Endangered Species – The Customer

In one of my sales training presentations, I end with a thought-provoking statement and a bold warning.   It is meant to spark attention and cause concern.  

Above all, it is to remind us how fragile business can be and the importance of customers for our survival. We must insure that there will always be customers for us.

In animal conservation, we consistently emphasize the seriousness of endangered animal species.  Many animals are classified as endangered and unless we, humans, make an effort to save them, they could be extinct very soon.   Consider the Giant Panda,  Tiger,  Orca,  and Polar Bear, just to name a few.   We are helping these species to survive so that they will be around for many more generations to come. 

I just came back from a tour of Yellowstone National Park.  In the park, we saw herds of bison, a couple of black bears, and several elk.  Unfortunately, we did not see wolves, which is a sighting that we all anticipated.  The bison was hunted to near extinction in the late 1800s and with conservation, has now recovered.   The bears and wolves are also making a slow but positive comeback because of conservation efforts. 

In the year 2000 when I joined Ocean Park Hong Kong, I learned about the plight of the giant panda.   With the much-needed conservation action, the giant panda is showing signs of recovery with growing numbers, slowly but with much encouragement.   Conservation has been successful.

In the business world, no animal is more endangered than the customer.   

If we do not act to preserve them, they will become extinct and without customers, we too will head towards extinction.  The story of customers as an endangered species is very similar to that of the animals and they need conservation efforts.

We plan and strategize every day about growing income, revenues, and profits, but what strategies have we developed to retain customers and avoid their extinction?  

What strategy do we have to build this base and maintain a strong network of customers for the future?  This is a necessity that should not be neglected.        

Every year, we budget for business growth.  We should also budget for growth in our customer base.   We must ensure that there will always be customers for us and that customers do not head towards extinction.