We are starting to see signs of something I have not witnessed in my working career. Do to the short-fall of people with employable talents, companies are starting to have problems keeping up their production schedules and therefore have to decide which customers get left behind.
I have been promoting the concept of being and “Employer of Choice” in this tight labor market. I see signs of the employment dilemma creating a second wave of concern; needing to be a “Customer of Choice”. If companies need to define their “core” accounts to ensure they maintain great service to the chosen few, then we need to strive to be in that core group.
A former boss of mine used to say, “All customers are equal, but some are just more equal”. That statement has never been truer than it is today. I was setting with a corporate buyer and his supplier a few days ago and watch the supplier draw concentric rings describing how they decide pricing and promised lead time. The thought was the outer ring would either go away naturally or they will make huge profits when and if they produce their product.
Think for a minute about your key suppliers. If they did that exercise, which concentric ring do you think you will fall into? Is your team easy to work with? As an organization do you think win/ win? Would you like to work with your staff as a customer? These are questions we must know the answer to before we are relegated to the “outer rings”.
Christian Life Coach 