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Every business has goals. No business is done without an end, and this end affects every transaction and action. These goals are important, as they inform and influence every activity concerning that business. These goals become for the firm, enterprise, or company the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) with which they evaluate success.
Business goals are so important that they significantly impact the business. For example, goals based on misplaced priority or information obtained from faulty analyses could temporarily or permanently jeopardize a business.
A good business goal must include the satisfaction of its customers. Customer satisfaction guarantees more transactions, and more transactions lead to more income and popularity, which in turn generates more customers. A genuine business has as one of its core principles the solving of a particular need, which is the satisfaction of individuals in need of whatever service they deem fit to render.
But aside from satisfying its customers, a company aims to grow, expand, and extend this service to other areas and individuals. And there can not be expansion without profit. Then comes the tricky and tempting situation in which every business owner finds himself and must make a decision. Should the business owner emphasise more profit, with a focus on expansion? or should he prioritise the satisfaction of the customers? Prioritising either of the above would be very harmful to the business.
Humans are insatiable, and so the desire to satisfy the customer at all costs could be detrimental to the business when it involves cutting down the price of the service to a very low cost and low profit, and also rendering a high-quality service at a very low cost, without considering the cost of creating such services.
Secondly, there is always the urge to make more money if possible, even at the dissatisfaction of customers. Every business has its ethics, since it involves interaction and relationships between two entities at any given point in time. Just like considering customer satisfaction alone can jeopardise a business, so is prioritising of profit. Any business that contradicts business ethics is in great danger of directly losing its customers and facing the consequences of this contradiction. It may seem palatable initially, but the presence and customer power of that business gradually decrease.
Having seen the potential harm of both sides of the coin, we can then go further to conclude that the presence of both is a necessity that must be present for a healthy business. Customers can not be dissociated from profit-making, because they buy your services and must be treated well. Profit-making can not be sacrificed for customer satisfaction, because a business must grow. What must be done? A balance has to be struck. As a UX designer who designs for a better user and customer experience, such a better experience must not be at the expense of the business goal and budget of the business owner. A business owner must always satisfy customers and be transparent with them, while earning a genuine and considerate amount of profit. One important business strategy is leveraging customer strength and customer service. In addition to leveraging customer strength, there is the power of quick turnover. Quick turnover is a system of selling goods and services with little profit, and at a fast pace. But it is applied when there is customer strength. To strike a balance, a business owner must focus on growing their customer base and leveraging it. With this, there will be business growth, customer satisfaction, and retention. No side gets to lose.
