We all know those 'pain in the arse' customers. But do you know the true cost to your business?
Make Sure You Have A Clear Customer Strategy
Most business owners say they want better customers. Fewer headaches. Better margins. Stronger relationships. More growth.
Yet very few actually review their customer base properly. And by that we mean digging into the true cost to serve them, not just looking at cost of sales or gross margin.
At Speare, we can work with your team to review customers, identify their true cost and then do something about it .
Your top 10 customers typically are:
Profitable (not just high turnover)
Growing year on year
Commercially sensible
Aligned with your values and standards
Successful in their own right
They respect your process. They pay on time. They don’t create unnecessary drama. They make your business stronger.
Now Look at Your Bottom 10, who are often:
Marginal or completely unprofitable
Constant late payers
High maintenance and emotionally draining
Frequent complainers
Regularly force you outside your normal processes
Many of these customers are costing you more than you realise.
Revenue Is Vanity. Profit Is Sanity.
Most owners only look at turnover. But turnover hides inefficiency. You need to understand both direct and indirect cost to serve.
Direct Costs:
Discounting and price concessions
Extra service time
Rework and corrections
Excessive credit control
Indirect Costs:
Management headspace
Team morale damage
Operational disruption
Process workarounds
Lost opportunity elsewhere
Some customers don’t just reduce profit. They destroy momentum. They create noise — and noise kills focus.
A Simple Annual Discipline
1. Rank customers by profitability (not turnover).
2. Review payment behaviour.
3. Assess cultural and strategic alignment.
4. Identify where you are bending your own rules.
5. Calculate the real time cost to serve.
Then ask one powerful question:
If this customer approached me today, would I take them on?
If the answer is no, you already know what needs to happen.
Letting go of the wrong customers creates capacity for the right ones. Capacity is oxygen for growth.
Strong businesses are not built by saying yes to everyone. They are built by being deliberate about who they serve.
Sharpen your customer base, protect your margins, and create space for growth.
Sometimes the fastest way to grow is to let go.
If you want to review your customer base properly, understand what it’s really telling you, and look at how you can move the focus, that’s a conversation worth having with us.
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