THE 10 T’S OF CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND RETENTION (20)

But one small thing did go wrong. The cup holder, which was very important to me, my wife, and my son, broke twice. It broke, I got it fixed, it broke again, I got it fixed again, and then I sold the car.

This new GS 300 Lexus is superior in every way to my first one. It’s faster, it gets better gas mileage, and it’s more comfortable. The thing that really impressed me, however, was the cup holder. It is totally redesigned, in a way that makes more sense. I can’t imagine how it could break. I am now not only satisfied but also thrilled enough to be telling everyone about this car. And what pushed me over the top was a part that probably costs less than $10.

But the people who designed this car did it right. They kept striving for improvement. They listened to their customers and watched their customers react to the car. The European automakers, at that time, turned their noses up at even putting cup holders in cars and concentrated on engineering and handling. (“Those stupid Americans—they shouldn’t be drinking coffee in their car anyway. Don’t they realize this is a work of art?”) The American car companies cut corners wherever they could and continued to underperform on the price/value proposition they offered. Meanwhile, a Japanese car company personally showed me why they always come out on top with
both critics and customers. One tiny thing went wrong with my old model, and they fixed it in the next model.

Think of how easy it would have been for this behemoth of a company to rest on their recent laurels. They’re tenacious, and they refuse to be satisfied with just being the best. There has been no bigger success story in the automotive industry than Toyota, owner of the Lexus brand. When I bought my first Lexus, Toyota was the fifth-largest auto manufacturer in the world. Now they are the second largest.

Strive for continual improvement and refinement in the areas that customers care about most, even if those seem insignificant to you.

Taken From:The 7 Irrefutable rules of Small Businnes Growth