I have a client, let’s call him Bob, which had a nightmare of a
customer. Bob’s customer was always late
on payment, was high maintenance, and was never wrong. I suggested Bob fire this bad customer. The problem?
This customer was 25% of Bob’s revenue. Ouch!
After Bob had finally had enough, he bit the bullet and let his
customer know they would be no longer be working together. Bob was professional, gave them a 60 day
notice, and even offered some names of competitors (Bob thought that was
funny).
Bob’s business took an initial hit financially, however, over the
course of only 6 months, he replaced the income. And Bob was happier than ever.
There are certain customers you have, that are like Bob’s
customer. Let’s take a look at five of
them.
·
Whining customers – I’ll bet
you that there is one particular customer that you absolutely hate taking a
call or email from, because you know that they are going to find something to
whine about. They don’t think they
should have to pay a certain price, they want something for nothing, or they just
plain ole whine about life. This
customer is not only a drain on your bottom line, but they can be a drain on
your mental well-being.
·
No profit customers –Take a look at your customer list and examine it carefully, Odds are you
will find customers that do not make you a profit. In fact, a few may cost you money, just to do
business with them. Unless they lead to
larger customers or referrals, they need to be sent away.
·
Frustrating customers - Customers that make poor use of their time create emergencies for
you. If they are always running late or
canceling meetings, not prepared to take product or service, or don’t respond
in a timely manner, you may need to reconsider this customer.
·
Late paying customers – This customer always has an excuse, but in
reality, they are either disorganized or not respectful of your business. Either way, they may not be a good long-term
customer.
·
Know-it-all customers – If you are a graphic designer
and your customer insists on using Comic Sans, because “it looks so cool”, you
may need to move them to a competitor.
Firing the customer is never easy
and may not always be right for you. The
thing to remember is that you are running your business to make a profit and to
provide a product or service that helps others, and that product or service may
not be right for everyone.
