Recently, while having to do a re-installation of Microsoft’s Windows Operating system, I had time to do some thinking. I read an article that said two things about Linux. Firstly, that we have to improve Linux before it will be accepted for everyday use by the general public. The second thing is that Microsoft can help Linux by intensifying the anti-piracy measures that it has been putting into place. This lead me back to some older thoughts that I had.

On a mailing list, I happened to mention that some store had changed its primary focus to another group of customers and, as a result, had lost me as a client. I do know that I am far from unique and this is a basic property of free markets. Give me a choice and I will go to the retailer who best meets my needs. This should come as a surprise to exactly nobody.

However, it did come as a surprise to somebody. There really are people out there who have not realized that you have to sacrifice part of your current market share when you shift your focus to attract different clients. People actually believe that shifting your focus to attract different customers only adds clients to your lists. To quote the characters of C. S. Lewis, “What do they teach in schools these days?”

Part of running a business is knowing your business. You must know that some people will respond to a certain slant in the way that you advertise for customers and the way in which you address your customers. I have stopped watching all but a few television programs because the focus of the programming is geared toward people who have nothing in common with me. I stood still while the suppliers walked away from the product that I was seeking. That’s business.

In a free market, there is no problem with alienating a segment of your potential client base. This is a natural effect of pursuing clients. Some people will be turned off by what you are doing as others will be interested. You hope that the new client base that you generate is larger than the client base that you sacrifice in the process.

The Coca Cola Company is just an example of this business truism that is no longer part of the socialist inspired education system of the free world. One other thing that you can learn from New Coke is that the market is heavy on perception. Look at the ingredients on Classic Coke. Notice the sweetener that could not have actually been in the original formula because it had not yet come into being. Is there really a difference between New and Classic Coke?

Back in line with my original point, you cannot please everybody. You can only get 100% market share by being the only possible supplier. Becoming the only possible supplier produces a market force that will fund the replacement of whatever product you produce. All in all, the goal of sales is appealing to the largest group of clients that you can. And that is my time for the day as a stand up philosopher.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 12:01 am and is filed under Eightballs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.