Startups: Consistency is a risky proposition:
How to manage this risk when delivering benefits to your customer.
I have been writing blogs based on a chapter on my recent book The 'Benefit' Blueprint for Startup Success . It is regarding 25 questions every entrepreneur must ask themselves.
This blog brings me to the 10th question. If you would like a deep dive to other questions please subscribe to my blog. I would also invite you to buy my book that is NOW
The question is :
Have I assessed risks in my ability to deliver consistent benefits to customers? Markets are ever changing. You can get customers with immense value and often do so by enticing them with marketing, or giving offers that they simply can’t deny. After a point in time the benefit you offer to them must be compelling enough to sustain their ongoing interest.
Let’s take a deep dive to the question :
For startups, the challenge begins with attracting customers and keeping them engaged and satisfied over time. Offering immense value through marketing or compelling offers may bring customers in, but what happens next? Have you assessed the risks in your ability to deliver consistent customer benefits? The sustainability of your business depends on your ability to keep providing those benefits, even as the market evolves and customer expectations change. ( a reference you may like on consistency - Consistency Selling: Powerful Sales Results. Every Lead. Every Time. - Weldon Long)
The best way to predict the future is to create it - Peter Drucker
To create a sustainable future for your business, you must identify and minimise, mitigate, or migrate the risks that could hinder your ability to deliver on your promises to customers.
Consistency Matters
When a customer first engages with your product or service, it’s often because of an initial offer or marketing that grabs their attention or it is sheer word of mouth from another happy consumer.
Over time, it’s the consistency of the benefits they experience that determines whether they stick around. Customers need to feel that what they’re receiving is valuable and reliable. If you fail to consistently deliver on your promises, their interest will wane, and they may look elsewhere. You may also encourage the competition to pounce on every slither of opportunity.
This is where many businesses falter—especially in competitive markets. Customers are quick to switch if they perceive that the quality of benefits is declining or if they feel they’re no longer receiving the value they initially expected. The challenge is to keep the promise, over the long term.
Identifying Risks to Consistent Delivery
To maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty, it’s essential to regularly assess the risks that could undermine your ability to provide ongoing benefits. These risks can arise from various factors—both internal and external—and must be actively managed to ensure your business remains resilient and customer-focused.
Let’s explore some of the common risks and how to mitigate them:
1. Market Shifts and Changing Customer Expectations
Markets are dynamic. What customers value today may not be what they value tomorrow. As trends, technologies, and customer preferences evolve, your ability to deliver benefits must adapt accordingly. Failing to keep pace with these changes can result in your product becoming irrelevant or losing its appeal. Kodak lost its charm to digital, Nokia to iPhone.
Risk: The benefits you currently offer may not be compelling enough in the future as new competitors enter the market or as customer needs change.
Actionable Step: Regularly conduct market research and engage with your customers to understand how their needs and preferences are evolving. Adapt your offerings to ensure you continue delivering benefits that are relevant and valuable to them. Stay agile, and be prepared to pivot your strategy if necessary.
2. Operational Challenges and Scaling
You cannot avoid growing pains as your business grows. The operational challenges of delivering consistent benefits grow as well. Scaling your operations while maintaining the same level of quality is challenging, and it’s easy to slip into providing a diminished customer experience. Processes that work well with a small customer base may become inefficient or ineffective as your business expands. Recalling a Melbourne based startup had to make significant investment in hardware and software so that they could provide same level of data latency when they linearly grew their customers while the data scaled exponentially.
Risk: Inconsistent service delivery, delays, or quality issues may arise as your business scales, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Actionable Step: Invest in scalable processes and systems that can grow with your business. Ensure you have the infrastructure and team in place to maintain quality as your customer base expands. Automate where possible but keep a close eye on customer feedback to catch potential issues before they escalate.
3. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Many businesses rely on external suppliers or partners to deliver their products or services. If any part of your supply chain is disrupted—whether due to supplier issues, logistical challenges, or global events—it can impact your ability to deliver benefits consistently to your customers.
Risk: Supply chain disruptions may result in delays, reduced product quality, or the inability to fulfil customer expectations.
Actionable Step: Assess your supply chain for vulnerabilities. Develop contingency plans, such as diversifying your suppliers or building up inventory, to mitigate potential disruptions. Consider bringing critical processes in-house where feasible to maintain greater control over quality and delivery. Do you have a plan B?
4. Competition and Price Pressure
As new competitors enter the market, they may offer lower prices or improved features in an attempt to lure your customers away. Price pressure and competition can make it difficult to continue offering the same level of benefits while maintaining profitability.
Risk: You may be forced to cut corners or reduce the quality of benefits to remain competitive on price, which can erode customer trust and satisfaction.
Actionable Step: Focus on differentiating your product or service based on the unique benefits you provide, rather than solely competing on price. Consider offering premium features or exceptional customer service that competitors can’t easily replicate. Build a loyal customer base that values the quality of your benefits, even if your prices are higher. Competing on price is usually short lived and if you don’t have staying in the game superpower you will lose anyway. So it is safer to think long term.
5. Internal Organisational Issues
Internal challenges—such as leadership changes, staff turnover, or misaligned priorities—can also impact your ability to deliver consistent benefits. If your team isn’t aligned with your customer-focused mission, service quality and product innovation can suffer.
Risk: Organisational misalignment may result in inconsistent customer experiences, reduced innovation, or a loss of focus on delivering benefits.
Actionable Step: Foster a strong organisational culture centred around customer benefits. Ensure that all team members, from leadership to frontline staff, understand the importance of delivering consistent value to customers. Encourage open communication and collaboration to address potential issues early. There should be ownership and pride associated with benefit driven outcomes to succeed.
Resilience by Continuous Improvement
The key to mitigating risks is resilience. You will need to continuously assess and improve your processes, stay informed about market trends, and maintain a strong customer focus, to safeguard your ability to deliver benefits consistently. This proactive approach helps to avoid disruptions and builds customer relationships over time.
Long-Term Thinking for Customer Satisfaction
Building a business that consistently delivers value requires long-term thinking. Quick fixes mostly work in the short term, and won’t create the kind of sustainable success that comes from a loyal customer base.
Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. -Henry Ford
It is a must to regularly assessing the risks to your ability to deliver consistent benefits, in the face of an ever-changing market.
Consistency as an anchor
Attracting customers is only the first step. Keeping them engaged, satisfied, and loyal is where the real challenge is. Consistency in delivering benefits is essential for maintaining customer trust and driving long-term success. By identifying and mitigating the risks that could disrupt your ability to provide consistent value, you’re building a foundation for sustained growth and customer loyalty.
This topic is an expanded article from my book THE ‘BENEFIT’ BLUEPRINT FOR STARTUP SUCCESS Chapter 3, Question 10.
© Sameer Babbar
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Disclaimer: This is for information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. The author, his company, his associates, his directors, his staff, his consultants, and his advisors do not accept liability for any loss or damage, including, without limitation, any loss that may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on the information provided