How & Why Small Business Owners Must Stop Thinking Short-Term
If you think food and drinks are expensive at airports or movie theaters, how about this…
On a recent trip to San Francisco, our hotel supplied us with a couple of thirst-quenching water bottles.
Ours for the bargain price of $9 each.
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While $9 for water might not seem out of place in a luxury hotel, this is about more than pricey water.
It’s really about the pitfalls of short-term thinking in business.
Just about every week I see businesses trying to make a fast buck at the expense of longer-term gain they could have otherwise realized.
Here are a few more examples…
The Discount Trap
Picture this: a store slashing prices left and right.
Customers flood in, but wait — what happens when the sale ends?
Crickets.
The customers have left, and the brand is now associated with bargain-bin deals, not quality or value.
It’s a short-term sugar rush followed by a long-term brand identity crisis.
The Feedback Ignorance Fiasco
Imagine collecting feedback forms from customers and then using them as coasters.
It sounds absurd, but that’s essentially what businesses do when they ignore customer feedback.
When businesses take the time to demonstrate interest in how customers feel…
And then take no follow-up action, customers feel unheard, and the business misses out on deepening their customer relationships.
The Quality Compromise
In a rush to get products out, a company decides to cut some corners.
The result is often products that break faster than a New Year’s resolution.
This strategy is about as effective as a chocolate teapot.
It might look sweet initially, but it quickly melts into a mess.
The Planned Obsolescence Pitfall
Finally, consider companies that design their products to have a conveniently short lifespan.
This happens all the time so buyers will have to replace what they purchased sooner rather than later.
At first glance, it seems like a clever tactic to boost sales, but here’s the twist — customers are smarter than that.
They catch on, and when they do, they’re not just disappointed; they’re irritated.
These examples highlight the risks of short-term thinking.
And in the end it can cost more than it’s worth.
Instead, aim for sustainable strategies that build long-term value and trust.
Your business should be more like a sturdy oak tree, not a flash-in-the-pan fireworks display.
It’s time to turn to AI
Here’s a prompt to help you avoid undermining your long-term potential gains:
Act as a Business Strategy Expert. Your task is to help me avoid focusing on short-term gain and instead make choices that favor long-term strategic thinking.
Begin by asking me to answer these questions, one at a time:
Describe your primary products or services and your target market.
What are your current sales and marketing strategies?
How is your financial performance, especially regarding revenue and profit margins?
What are your long-term business goals?
Once you have all these questions answered, suggest actionable steps towards a sustainable, long-term focused business model.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to grow fast; it’s to grow smart.
Be the business that understands the true value of what it offers and builds lasting relationships with its customers.
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