https://completemarkets.com/company/CompleteMarkets/Articles/content-package/IMMS-Library/TabCategory/article-post/372/Sweat-The-Small-Stuff-Succeeding-By-Serving-The-Customer/
... Sweat The Small Stuff gave me pause to think. Many businesses today aren't sweating the small stuff, concentrating instead on the big picture, ' including automation, advertising media, Web sites, and mergers and acquisitions. Unfortunately, these same businesses may have relegated their customers to the status of small stuff. Last year, I witnessed an example of this situation when I spoke with customers of a regional movie theater chain during four major consumer focus sessions. Over dinner and a three-hour fact-finding session, we discussed the entire theater experience, and I exposed them to some innovative ideas that everyone at the corporate office felt would be significant in building and maintaining customer loyalty. Although the customers appreciated most of the ideas, they expressed a different mindset regarding what was really important to their theater-going experience. Their ... concern was clean bathrooms, followed by clean lobbies and clean screening room floors. More recently, stock values for Crown Books plunged 39% upon the announcement that the company may seek bankruptcy protection. Its lowest price' strategy of the 1970s hasn't been working in today's marketplace. Consumer expectations have expanded with the mega-store capabilities of Borders and Barnes & Noble-not to mention the ease of amazon.com. Although a lowest-price strategy can work, the real problem is that Crown lost touch with the needs, wants, and desires of its customers, who want more than just low price. In a recent technology conference for the insurance industry, attendees admitted that their automation investments far exceeded market research and product development. They seemed to be more focused on processing the business they have than on developing future business. ...