When my wife told me we were watching a horror movie on Monday night, my first instinct was:
“Nar, I’ll pass.”
So while “The Menu” had a decent cast, including the gal from Queen’s Gambit whose name momentarily escapes me… the idea of committing to a gory movie (on a weeknight) that reminded me of the boardgame Cluedo, set inside a restaurant on a private island…
…Didn’t get me jumping out of my seat.
But in the interest of a happy marriage, I conceded, bought the movie, and pressed play.
And oh my gosh…
It didn’t take me long to realise I’d be eating humble pie for dessert…
Because my wife had chosen an absolute banger.
Now, if my situation were different and I was an employee, I probably would have been indifferent about it.
But, because I am a business owner, it was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon.
The Menu is the perfect allegory for what goes HORRIBLY wrong when you start loving your product more than your customer.
In the interests of not spoiling the story for you since you’ll definitely want to watch it, I’ll say this instead:
Products come and go. They go in and out of fashion. Everything we do has a lifespan and at some point, even a ‘cash cow ‘ becomes a dog.
Nothing you can do in your business will rain money forever.
Take AA as an example.
Right now, our fixed-fee rehab and performance programs are a ‘cash cow’.
The athletes see it as incredible value for money (so it sells well); it’s got a healthy margin since it’s decoupled from labour, grows monthly almost on autopilot (thanks to our marketing), and most importantly, it sets out and achieves what it promises to the customers.
However, because I know that all good things must come to an end, I know that I can’t fall in love with the product, as good as it may be right now.
At any point, I must be willing to completely abandon it if something that better serves my customers comes into my field of view.
And while I don’t know what that is yet, I am always looking for it.
And you should too.
So why do I say this?
As I enter the stage of business where the gym side of the business reaches “maturity” (like a mature adult, AA can function independently of my counsel in the same way that a mature adult doesn’t take basic directions from his/her parents anymore)…
I’ve realised that now, the primary contribution I can make to AA is defining its philosophies…
The things that will never go in and out of fashion.
Here’s one such philosophy I’m sure of:
Love your customer more than your product. That way, you’ll always do right by them.
You can take from that what you will, but I’m almost certain it will serve you.
Oh… while we’re on the topic of “all good things come to an end…”
You have precisely 24 hours to subscribe to this month’s edition of the Alley-Oop, which will teach you how to grow a powerful email machine that creates deep bonds with your prospects and customers, increasing their connection with your brand and improving their bottom line.
It’s 50+ (A4) pages of pure brilliance.
And, it promises to help you harness the power of email to grow your business, even if you don’t have a creative writing bone in your body and are perpetually stunned by writer’s block.
And considering what you have to invest to get your hands on it ($3.23 a day), I don’t know of any other way you could spend three bucks daily to get even one-tenth of the result you’ll get from being a subscriber. It’s like being able to think like me for pocket change.
Anyway, you can subscribe here:
Otherwise, for the Aussies, Happy Australia day. For everyone else, hope you have a bloody ripper!
– Karl Goodman
