There is an old saying in business: “It doesn’t matter if you like
it. It only matters if the customer does.” Get to know custom-ers
intimately. Understand what they want, how they want it and
what works for them; and then design accordingly.
2. THE QUALITY MUST BE THE BEST
In order to create a thriving and successful business, focus on qual-ity
before quantity. Make sure everything is up to exact standards.
Don’t settle for anything less.
No one forgets a bad order or bad quality. No one. In order to
have a consistent, reputable business brand, the quality of a prod-uct
or service has to be impeccable.
3. THE DELIVERY MUST BE ON TIME
Delivery dates are not optional. Deadlines are not negotiable.
Excuses are useless. To be successful in business, deliver exactly
what was said was going to be delivered, on the dates and man-ner
promised.
If, for some reason, the delivery will be late, don’t offer excuses;
instead, offer only an apology and assurance that it will never
happen again. Shifting blame – on someone in the organization,
especially – makes the entire company look bad. Be willing to
accept responsibility.
Here’s the thing: when delivering the goods consistently and on
time, the same expectation of others will be held as well. The more
one holds tight to boundaries and deadlines, the more likely every-one
inside and outside (vendors, etc.) the organization will too.
4. AND THE FIT MUST BE GREAT
A product has to fit the market. Every product and service should
fill a need that the customers have. Make sure the product or
service is where it belongs, where it will get noticed and where cus-tomers
can find it.
So many businesses make the mistake of thinking that “everyone”
will want their services or products. They don’t do market research
or get to know their customer base. With the variety of platforms
that are now available to advertise and market products and services,
there is no “one size fits all” approach. Look at what successful com-petitors
are doing. What are they doing well? What are they doing
differently? Having a strategy in place to get your goods and ser-vices
to the right customers is key. This requires a bit of inquiry and
research. In the rush to get goods and services to market, it’s best to
make sure the market is there in the first place. n
Tom Murry is the retired CEO of Calvin Klein and author of A
Great Fit, to be published in 2019.
hr career path
NO MATTER WHAT THE PRODUCT OR
SERVICE, IT IS CREATED WITH AN
END-USER OR CONSUMER IN MIND.
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44 ❚ FEBRUARY 2019 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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