Reward & Reprimand

Over the weekend I went down the rabbit hole on You Tube and ended up watching a Jerry Seinfeld interview with Charlie Rose from 1993 [ watch here ]. It is from the midpoint of the Seinfeld series and what caught my attention was when Jerry was talking about stand up and why he loves it.

" The audience rewards and reprimands you ... moment by moment, it keeps you honest " Jerry Seinfeld. Let's turn this on it's head slightly and talk about customers and business.

The audience [customers] rewards you by buying your goods and services. They reprimand you by ditching you and switching to an alternative supplier.

The comedian on stage gets instant feedback on their work, moment by moment. If you are doing your job properly they will laugh and clap [ reward ]. If you are not living up to your part of the deal, they go silent,boo and even heckle [ reprimand ].

Are you being rewarded by your customers becoming repeat customers ? Are they reprimanding you, by spending their hard earned cash elsewhere ? Are people recommending your brand on social media ? Or are they complaining about your brand  failing to deliver up to your promise ?

Imagine you and your business being on stage and moment by moment you are getting instant feedback. Here is the question you need to answer truthfully. Would they be rewarding or reprimanding you ?

You know the answer already. Look at your sales growth. Look at your customer churn. Either you are delivering on your promise or not.

Now what can you do to improve your customers [ audience ] perception of your business today ?

Stay honest

Colin Myles
Author

P.S.
My book G.R.I.T
Spirit of an Entrepreneur
is available for free
in the Smashwords summer/winter sale, running until the 31 July 2016
Grab your copy here