The goal of any business is to make a profit, but sometimes the focus on customer satisfaction is overlooked in the pursuit of increased revenue. It is crucial for business owners to strike a balance between generating profit and keeping customers happy, as dissatisfied customers can lead to lost sales.
Companies that prioritize customer satisfaction tend to have a more loyal customer base, which can translate into long-term profitability. To this end, the members of ukbusinessupdates.com Business Council provide 15 essential considerations business owners should keep in mind to balance profit and customer satisfaction.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Focus on people
The ultimate goal of a company that turns a profit is to generate long-term value. Losing sight of customers and what their needs are is an indication of “value leakage”. An opportunity to build optimal value is lost when one aspect of the business (profits) is chosen at the expense of another (customer and customer needs). For many companies, value leakage is currently the result of a loss of focus on employees. Tejal Shah, Congruent Consulting Services LLC
2. Improve the experience and then the price
When it comes down to it, profit and the customer experience are inseparable. Consistently deliver a better quality experience than your competitors can. It is in that rarity of quality where profit is safest. Increase and stabilize the quality of the experience, raise the price and repeat. – Eric Waller, Total Roofing Systems LLC
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3. Listen to customer feedback
Profit and customer satisfaction can coexist. Prioritize customer needs to ensure long-term business success. Listen to feedback, address issues, and improve customer experience. Satisfied customers lead to loyalty and trust, creating long-term value for companies. – Alexander Westgarth, Wine Cap Ltd
4. Prioritize company culture
A company is like a three-legged stool. The three legs are cash, culture and customers. When each of these legs becomes weak, the entire company becomes weak. While focusing on profit and customers, business owners should not forget about corporate culture as the third and most important leg of the crutch. – Arnav Dalmia, Cubii
5. Focus on customer acquisition
Remember that without customers there is no profit. When companies are trying to generate profit, they should focus more on acquiring customers than on making more profit per customer. By never forgetting how hard it was to get the first 100 customers, you always keep an eye on the success of the existing customers. – Adam Rumanek, Aux mode
6. Be valuable to customers
Being valuable to customers helps to ensure a company’s long-term success. By offering valuable products, you can differentiate your company from competitors, making your company more attractive to customers. In addition, companies that are valuable to customers are more resilient during economic downturns because customers are more likely to continue to support them. – Mila Smart Semeshkina, Lectera
7. Start with the end in mind
Entrepreneurs should start with the end in mind. Higher levels of customer satisfaction lead to higher levels of customer loyalty, which in turn leads to higher profits. Profit is the result of a relentless focus on delivering products that are valuable to buyers. – Jason Murray, Zoom
8. Provide quality products and services
Focus on providing quality products and services that meet customer expectations to maintain loyalty. Listening carefully to customer feedback and implementing ways to improve operations based on their suggestions is also essential to maintaining good customer relationships. Ultimately, putting the customer first leads to better financial results for any company. – Preston Byrd, Horizon Companies
9. Increase customer lifetime value
Striking a balance between profit and customer satisfaction is a challenge for entrepreneurs. To strike this balance, the customer must always come first, with companies prioritizing their needs and satisfaction. If you focus on keeping customers happy, profits will come. Learn about the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and try to maximize retention and long-term value rather than short-term profit. – Aaron Poynton, Omnipoynt Solutions
10. Understand reasons for loyalty
Know why your customers are loyal and don’t let the pursuit of profit threaten the top reasons they shop with you. For example, currently many e-commerce sellers are introducing restocking fees on returns. If you sell an original price guaranteed DBC product, your customers may tolerate such a fee. But if you are one of many resellers, your customers will simply find a competitor willing to undercut you. – David Wagener, P3 media
11. Define the business goal
As Peter Drucker once said, the main reason for a company’s existence should be the betterment of society. One of the best ways to keep a company healthy is to ensure that the company’s purpose is clearly defined and focused on society (customers) and the longevity of the company (profits). From this point of view, defining balanced strategic goals is the right choice. – Nikhil Maini, Synergogy
12. Build a partnership with customers
There is a virtual circle that happens in business when your customer is very satisfied. I always feel like it’s my job to promote my sponsor. If I make my clients successful, they will appreciate our partnership and we can grow with them. A profitable but dissatisfied customer is a time bomb and the profit will be transient; without partnership it’s just a future regret. – Dominic Dinardo, Aforza
13. Stay Focused on Your “Why”
Stay focused on your core business goal. Why do you provide that product or service? What value does it bring to customers? By staying true to your core mission, you can not only meet the changing needs of your customers, but also grow your business and revenue. – Kermit S. Randa
14. Think about sustainable profits
Sustainable profits are based on lifetime customer value. Being short-sighted today can have drastic consequences tomorrow. The key is controlling overhead and other costs to enable a long-term profit strategy. Retaining and growing customers is less costly than adding new customers, and these customers are your best source of profit. Put customers first; the rest will follow. – Ryan Weissmueller, Fintrepid Solutions
15. Keep your integrity
While it’s important to keep customers happy, it’s also important to maintain the integrity of your business by staying true to your original mission and values rather than just making decisions based on what customers want or expect. Quality customer service and listening to feedback can help you build trust with customers while maintaining profitability. – Ashley Saye, Daily Rays Inc.
