If it weren't for the customers.

A few years ago I went to a technical conference where there were various vendors in booths showing off their products. On the last morning of the event, it was a little quiet in the show and as I walked to one vendor’s booth, I commented, “Pretty quiet this morning, isn’t it?”

The response from the vendor was, “Nice, isn’t it?”

My first thought was, How can you pay the money for the booth, your hotel and other expenses and be happy that it is quiet? It makes me think of the hotel manager that says the best hotel room is an empty one. You don’t have to deal with the problems that are associated with the people. You don’t have to worry about complaints. You don’t have to worry about messy rooms. You don’t have to worry about towels being stolen.

You don’t have to worry about the revenue those people bring.

Isn’t it interesting how often we forget that the very people that frustrate us are the people that make it possible for us to make a living? How often does your phone ring and you complain? How often does a customer complain and you simply don’t want to do anything about it.

It is about the customer experience… not the company’s experience.

You should be far more concerned about people not wanting to be around you than the extra time you get because it is a little slow. So, foster an experience that will cause your customers to want to be around you. Better yet, foster an experience that will cause your customers to want to spread the word for you. Isn’t that at the heart of word of mouth marketing?