There are always two groups of customers in your market.
There are, first of all, those customers who know you and like
The Principle of Security—Cover All Your Bases
you.
They have bought from you in the past and are happy with
the way you have taken care of them. These are the customers
who buy from you again and are the best sources of references
and referrals. These are the lowest-cost, lowest-maintenance,
highest-profit customers you have. They are the mainstays of
your business.
The second category of customers is those people who
have never heard of you and have no idea or knowledge of
what you do or why they should buy from you. The mistake
that many companies make is that they focus most of their
advertising and sales efforts on those customers who couldn’t
care less about them rather than aiming their efforts at those
customers who already know and like them.
Secure Your Main Customers
When you ask yourself “What is the worst possible thing that
could happen in my business?,” think in terms of your customers.
What would happen if you were to lose one or more of
your main customers? What kind of impact would it have on
your sales, your income, and your cash flow? If the loss of one
of your major customers represents a serious danger to you,
what steps could you take immediately to assure that you do
not lose that customer in the first place? Be aware of any
potential weaknesses in your marketing strategy. Often you
lose a customer because your basic assumptions are wrong.
In 1759, France and the French armies were in control of Quebec,
their position of superiority protected by the fortress of
Quebec on a promontory overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
The fort was virtually unassailable by land. As long as the French
held the position with its huge cannons, the British could not
move up the river to achieve their desired domination of Canada.
The only approach to the fort that was undefended was the
high cliff overlooking the river. It was so steep that it was considered
to be unclimbable. This assumption turned out to be
their downfall.
An Indian scout with the British army came to the commanding
general, James Wolfe, and told him of a little-known
path that led up the cliff to the plain before the fort. That night,
the entire British army, one man at a time, climbed the narrow
path and emerged on the plain in front of the fort. When the sun
arose the next morning, the British army was arrayed in full battle
formation on the Plains of Abraham and ready to give battle.
The French General, Montcalm, who had placed no sentries
on the cliff, assumed that this was merely a small skirmishing
party. He led his soldiers out of the fort to give battle
and drive them off. On that day, September 13, 1759, there
were some preliminary skirmishes, and then suddenly both
forces were fully engaged. A fierce ten-minute battle took place
during which Generals Wolfe and Montcalm were both killed,
and the French army was defeated.
This battle and the British victory, made possible by a single
breach in the security of the French position, brought to an end
the dreams of a French empire in the New World and canceled
out 150 years of time and investment by France in North America.
Business is similar to warfare in that the stakes can be very
high. Victory and defeat are always possible. Your competition
is determined to win your customers and gain the revenues
The Principle of Security—Cover All Your Bases
and profits that go along with them. Your competition never
sleeps.
Your counterparts at competing organizations are continually
thinking about how they can outmaneuver you and get
at your customers. They plan and strategize to take them away
and to keep them indefinitely. They want to seize and hold
your markets. You must think the same way—and better.
In business, the only real security you can ever have is your
ability to serve your customers better than your competitors
do. Your security comes from your ability to determine exactly
what it is that your customers want and are willing to pay for
and then to give it to them faster and better than your competitors
possibly could.