Companies aren’t allowed to fire customers - customers are only allowed to fire companies. Wrong!

When companies are first getting started they tend to accept just about any customer who is willing to pay them.  However, established companies need to be more strategic in their customer selection in order to maximize profitability as well as employee and owner morale.  

Is “selecting” your customers a novel concept for you? Were you under the impression that only customers had “selection” power?

When you’re beyond the immediate worries of entrepreneurial cash flow, you can start to focus on profitability, enjoying the work you do, and enjoying the customers you work with – luckily these three things happen together when you have the right customers. 

So who are your “right” customers?  You know them – they are the ones who are easy to work with, value what you do, tell others positive things about you, and seem to fit with your company. 

Who are the “wrong” customers?  You know them also – they are the ones that drain you, make you question why you are doing this, who always seem to have issues, and who fight you for every nickel and dime. 

Obviously the ones you may want to consider “firing” are the “wrong” customers but should you just go out today and tell them to go find another vendor?  Probably not. 

The strategic way to address this problem is to get more of the “right” customers on the books so you can afford to get rid of those that detract from your business.

Putting the extra effort in to get more of the “right” customers in order to give you some flexibility is definitely worth it in terms of both profitability (which will increase!) and the morale of both you and your employees.  Please see Increase Profits by Targeting Markets for more details on how to find your “right” customers. 

So do you have to “fire” a “wrong” customer in order to make things better?  Not necessarily.  Sometimes just recognizing that they are “wrong” and hurting your business gives you the perspective necessary to make them “right”. 

When you’ve decided that losing a particular customer might be what’s best for your business, it opens up options that you may not have previously considered.  For example you could:

1. Increase their price – if they were more profitable would that make them “right”?
2. Switch them to time and materials billing – maybe if they have to pay for each of their requests they will fix themselves
3. Discuss with them a redefined service package (based on your “new business model” – e.g. this one!) and allow them to make the choice to work with you on your terms or find another vendor who fits them better (service packages include all the ways you work with them – from the products/services you deliver to customer phone calls to special billing requests to payment terms)
4. Just say “thanks but no thanks” – if you are just totally fed up with them and don’t want to deal with them anymore

Sound like something that would significantly benefit your business?  The faster you get started, the sooner you get to the increased profitability and morale you want.  For more information / help, please:

1. Review the Target Market Articles offered by B2B Marketing Consultants
2. Check out the Know Your Customer Workshop offered by Aileron
3. Call me to schedule your Free Consultation to discuss what may work best for your company and your specific situation
4. Do any combination of the above!