Company Blog

But I don’t like it…

by Adam Zack — March 29, 2017

Personal preferences, not business reasons…

I was talking to this guy who is a grocery manager today and I told him that I found a distributor who would supply him with these tortilla chips that I thought would really sell. He said “But I thought you didn’t like those chips. They changed the type of tortilla they use for them.” I said “Hey guy, it’s true that I don’t like them.” (and I really used to until they changed recipes), “But it’s not about what I like, it’s what the customer wants.” Sounds pretty damn wise and insightful, doesn’t it? Nothing to make you feel old like being wise. Anyway, it struck me that so many of our business decisions are based on what we like, and not what might best suit the needs of the customer. Wine guys are notorious for it. “I don’t like buttery chardonnays.” So no displays are built around buttery Chardonnays, even though it’s the most popular style, and most consumers are not into the “no-oak, minerally” chardonnays. They want something that is like the profile of their Kendall Jackson or Rombauer. It’s good business. But “Those wines are terrible!” whines the wine clerk snob. “I want to educate them on something better!” Well, buddy boy, they just want something that is comfortable and familiar. It happens in all aspects of business. A new ad director is hired, and pretty soon he’s switching to a new design company. Not because they are better, but because he’s worked with them and likes them. A new produce buyer is hired, and pretty soon he’s pushing to switch to a new supplier because he likes them better. Personal preferences, not business reasons, affect decision making every day, there’s no way around it. But awareness that selling is NOT about you, it’s about what the customer wants is the first step in that 12 step program about not having to be right all the time. P.S. That new formulation on the tortilla chips really is terrible!