What You Should Focus On To Make The Best Of Your Business

You’re running a small jazz club in Tokyo…

In the corner, piano, drum and saxophone perform a version of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five.

Locals prop up the bar, their toes tapping to the rhythm of the band. Couples litter the tables on the small dance floor.

Another regular enters and as he crosses the bar, you smile and pour him a drink.

People like your place.

It’s got a good feel about it.

It’s busy but casual, and ever since you opened it you haven’t seen a spot of trouble.

You’ve developed a good customer base of people who keep coming back.

But it wasn’t always like this.

When you originally opened there used to be a lot more people coming in. In the short term, you seemed to be doing a lot more business.

But people complained about the music. They didn’t like the beer. They weren’t too bothered about the décor.

You tried to cater for them too, but then you peeved off the more regular customers.

You couldn’t win.

And it really started to stress you out.

Until you realised a very simple truth in business and one it is always worth remembering…

How to take a huge weight off your shoulders

On the way to work this morning, I’ve been reading a book by the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami.

It’s a strange little book. Part marathon diary, part memoir, called ‘What I Talk about When I Talk about Running’.

But it is interesting.

And what particularly piqued my interest this morning was Murakami talking about his time in Tokyo when he ran a small jazz club…

“A lot of customers came to the bar. If one out of ten enjoyed the place and said he’d come again, that was enough. If one out of ten was a repeat customer, then the business would survive.

“To put it another way, it didn’t matter if nine out of ten didn’t like my bar.”

Murakami explains how this realisation “lifted a weight off my shoulders.”

And I’m not surprised.

You see, this realisation that Murakami underwent is an important one.

People fob off that old cliché – ‘you can’t please everyone’ – but perhaps they shouldn’t.

Because when you truly understand that you really can’t, you’re able to focus your attention much more efficiently.

As Murakami goes on to say…

“I had to make sure that the one person who did like the place really liked it.”

Murakami understood that he needed to focus solely on the people who enjoyed his club, enjoyed the features of the club that were defined by Murakami.

In his own words, Murakami had to, “make my philosophy and stance clear-cut, and patiently maintain that stance no matter what.”

If you want to make the best of your business, this is something you must do to.

Whether it’s a multi-billion operation like Apple computers, or a tiny website you’ve got selling handmade t-shirts…

It’s essential to focus in the on the customers that you have got, the ones who like what you’re doing.

Concentrate on pleasing them.

By doing so, others will see a business providing the best service they can to its customers.

At the same time, in all marketing and advertising for your business, show the same core message, the same central philosophy that you run your business by…

The message and philosophy that has so endeared your loyal, repeat customers.

Do that and naturally, potential customers looking at your business will see good things and want to become one of those loyal, ‘focused-on’ customers.

Plus, you’ll save a lot of time and stress concentrating on people who were never going to be happy.

As with Murakami, a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders.

Category: Marketing