Financial stability is one of the reasons why many people embrace entrepreneurship in the world today, which makes "profit" our biggest goal and motivation. Without profit, the enthusiasm and dedication of any entrepreneur to go through the challenges of maintaining a business will fade away in the blink of an eye.
You will agree with me that running a business can be very challenging, especially with the inflation happening globally, but knowing there is a reward for the challenges has kept many of us in business. We really don't mind taking risks and challenges as long as there will be something to show for it.
Despite the need to make profit, I believe it shouldn't be the main priority of any entrepreneur because when we have our eyes fixed only on profit, we tend to lose our focus and grip on things that really matter, forgetting that when those things are practically in order, making profit becomes the easiest of things for us.
I had an experience last week and felt it would be good to share this simple knowledge with other entrepreneurs, most especially beginners, even though there are oldies who still make that mistake.
We had production last week and had to go to the market. It's not surprising anymore that the price of the materials we use increases almost every week, but the difference in last week's price was too much. While expressing my concern after calculating the things I need, another lady who came to purchase some materials for production said that regardless the price of things, she must make her projected profit, and it's whatever she produces her customers will accept.
Her words echoed in my head repeatedly for some seconds, and I wished she knew what danger she was putting her business in with the mindset she had. I am not disputing the fact that she must make profit, but expecting her customers to stick around after the reduction in quality is a big mistake.
Making profit is very important, like I mentioned earlier, but it should never be at the expense of customer satisfaction, especially with the quality of your product.
In the last few weeks, my profit on every production has slightly reduced, but going back on my product quality will never be an option because that's the easiest way to discourage people from patronizing you. At the moment, I am content with the profit, and instead of going down on quality, I will rather look for other means to ensure I still make something.
You can choose to reduce the quality of your product, which might help you get your regular profit just at that time, but it wouldn't be long before your customers realize the difference and choose other products over yours. A lot of entrepreneurs are struggling today because they make this simple mistake, and it would be more challenging for them to win people's hearts again.
Customer satisfaction is quite important, and as entrepreneurs, we must deliver. There will definitely be those who demand more than they are paying for; that shouldn't be an issue as long as we are giving the best we can, but for no reason should we reduce the quality we won the people's hearts with.
It's a simple logic that when your customers are satisfied, they don't have any reason to dump your product or service. In my case, I am trying to make my customers understand in a polite way that the economy is also affecting my production, and as time passes, I can increase my price.
They will complain which is normal, but as long as they aren't deprived of the quality they are enjoying, the complaints will fade slowly, and things will return to business as usual.
What am I driving at? As entrepreneurs, it's very important that we know how to strike a balance between making profit and customers satisfaction. It is a wise thing to prioritize customers need while we also think of how much will return to us at the end of the day.
The earlier we realise that "profit" is beyond the regular definition we learned in school the better for us because on the field, it isn't just about numbers.
Profit has to do with having a strong relationships with your customers through customer satisfaction, it's only that you can build reputation and trust that wull drive your business forward. In a nutshell, profit will always pour in when your customers have developed unwavering trust in your product or services. That way, you can be sure of a long-term profit as an entrepreneur.
