Mistakes that affect your customers will happen, but most customers will give you a chance to earn back their favor.

Write a Great Last Chapter

Put some effort and creativity into your response, and the customer will be forced to focus on how well you responded to the mistake, instead of on the mistake itself.

People love to share stories of adversity. It’s almost always worth bearing a higher short-term cost to resolve a problem in a way that leaves the customer unable to tell the story of the mistake without mentioning the last chapter.
– The Startup Daily

Don’t get seduced by smart pricing tactics such as pushing inappropriate products, locking customers into contracts, and collecting hidden surcharges. These bad profits undermine your customer’s trust in you.

Good Profits Are What You Earn when You Create Value for Your Customers, Bad Profits Are Created by Extracting Value from Your Customers

Building your business on bad profits will alienate your customers and demoralize your employees. They will become your detractors and actively work to limit your growth.

Good profits are the only way to build a sustainable, successful business.
– The Startup Daily

If your company is committed to a specific product or solution then you are in danger of being made obsolete by newer and better solutions. Companies believe they are in the product development business, when they are actually in the business of solving problems for their customers.

Specialize in the Problem You Solve for Your Customers

Build expertise around that problem and your customer’s relationship to it, and you will be in the best position to take advantage of better solutions as they emerge.
– The Startup Daily