“What you win them with is what you win them to.” – Ravi Zacharias, Christian Apologist, Author, and Evangelist
Recently, I heard this quote from Ravi Zacharias and was struck by how he cautions fellow Christians against altering their message in an effort to make it more appealing. He understands that if you water down your message, you end up with people deciding to believe in something that’s not completely true. Ravi’s quote is related to a religious message, but isn’t the same concept true in the business world?
Consider this scenario: You are great at baking, specifically baking cakes. You launch your new business, and you start making cakes for your friends, and their friends, and before you know it, your business is off the ground. Cake-making is something you enjoy, and it’s the offering you want to build your business around.
One day, someone calls, and they ask you to make a large order of sandwiches to cater an upcoming event. Sure, you know how, but it’s not really what you do. Beyond that, it’s not what your business is about. You decide to do it with the hope of earning this customer’s business, thinking that the next time, they’ll ask you to bake a cake.
Instead, the next week, that customer calls back and wants more sandwiches. Then they’ve referred you to their friends. What do their friends want? You guessed it, more sandwiches.
There’s no problem with making sandwiches, but now, the offering you’ve won their business with is the offering that they keep coming back to.
Or how about this situation? You own a painting company. That’s your expertise and your passion. A large business calls you, but instead of asking you to paint, they ask you to clean their office space. It’s out of the scope of what you do, but you decide that just this once you’ll do it, hoping to earn their painting business down the road. However, every few months they call you back, not asking you to paint, just asking you to clean again. You’ve made a strategic mistake—the thing you’ve won their business with is unfortunately all they want you to do.
As a business owner, I’ve felt this temptation to alter our offerings to gain an exciting new customer. As my imagination runs wild with all the possible ways this client could help grow our business, I realize how easy it is to stray from the core of who we are and what we do well.
I’m not suggesting we be unaccommodating to our clients and customers, but I am cautioning against getting the wrong business. When you alter what you do to attract a customer, they will often expect you to continue doing more things that are not central to who you are as a company. If you continue shifting from the core of your business, your identity as an organization is at stake.
This can take on many different forms. It could mean changing your offerings to appease someone. It could be drastically discounting the rates you charge to get a customer to say yes. It’s easy to rationalize when you’re just trying to attract new business, but it can often be a dangerous practice. When you’re willing to say or do anything to get a sale, you cheapen your offering, discount your ability, and sell yourself short.
This week, consider your message personally and professionally and ask yourself the following questions.
Are you ever tempted to alter your offerings to gain a new customer or client?
What do you do best as a company? Do you feel like this is being presented clearly to your customers?
How can you work to maintain the identity and core message of your business?
*You may not be in the business world, but this principle applies to churches and charities, as well. No matter the type of organization, mission drift is always dangerous.
