Don’t Treat Everyone the Same

December 21st, 2010 — 6:00am

This applies to both managing employees, and marketing to customers. People are not all the same, they break down into groups that are very different in important ways.

One employee is motivated by money, another by recognition. One needs close supervision, one is most effective when given a lot of freedom. One wants consistency, another wants a new challenge every day.

One customer is all about price, another doesn’t even check the price. One customer uses your product in a business setting, another just for fun. One customer is a technical expert, another a newbie.

It’s a lot easier to lump everyone together and rationalize to ourselves that one size fits all, but it almost never does.

  1. Learn to see and serve the differences between people.
  2. Decide who you’re trying to please (“everyone” is not a valid option), and expect indifference or displeasure from the rest.