Whose Fault Is This?

If you know that a customer is not the right fit for your business, whose responsibility is that?  The customer, who may know themselves really well, but do not know everything about your products or your business?  Or are you accountable? 

It’s you who is responsible. 

You may not know the customer much at all, but you do know your products.  You do have the ability to explain things with clarity.  You do have a responsibility to be honest and transparent.  The customer will be able to tell from what you explain to them if they are the right customer for you.  But if you try to convince them that your product will work for everyone, or even if you believe that every customer is the right customer for you, well then, you’re in for a shock. 

No product is right for everyone.  No business is right for everyone – either as a customer or as an employee.  If you act as if that’s not true, the customers (and employees) may eventually realize it on their own.  In that case, they will feel swindled or manipulated.  Or maybe they don’t realize it until you get angry with them for not being a perfect customer (or employee).  But you were the one who told them it’d be a good fit!  How would they know that it wasn’t?  The only way that they would know is if you were honest with them about the product, then they could make the decision on their own if it was the right thing for them.

A small business was so upset with a customer for not being their ideal customer that they took actions that could potentially cause a lawsuit.  The customer entered into the relationship in good faith and truly thought it was the right place for them to be.  However, events took a turn for the worst and tempers flared.  The customer was unhappy and felt abused, and the organization wasn’t happy either.  It caused them extra work and aggravation.  All of this could have been avoided if the business had just been honest from the beginning rather than counting dollar signs.

Getting a customer to pay you does not mean to get them at any cost.  The cost may be higher than you think.