The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

Chapter 19

Customer Satisfaction Is the Wrong Target

The topic of criticism provides an appropriate segue into a discussion about the overused and abused concept of customer satisfaction. One of the first protests I hear from people to whom I promote the idea of 10X actions is their concern that customer satisfaction will be damaged. They worry that if they and their company push too much or become overly aggressive, they'll somehow hurt their brand's reputation in the marketplace. Although I suppose that's possible, it's much more likely—due to the overabundance of products and organizations available today—that no one will even know about you or your company or notice your brand in the first place. The board of trustees of a national cable channel I was working with became concerned that a new show that the executives were very excited about did not fit the network's brand. I told them, “If you don't start bringing TV to people's homes that is current and relevant and that people have to tune in to, you ain't going to have a brand to defend.” When you fail to find supporters, establish customers, secure investors, and close the deal because you fail to do whatever it takes to get the job done and then you hide under the excuse of protecting brand and customer satisfaction, you'd just as soon have a shovel in your hand and dig your own grave.

Customer service is the wrong target; increasing customers is the right target. This doesn't mean customer satisfaction isn't important. ...