Customers care about feeling seen, feeling good, feeling progress, and feeling cared for.

Perhaps your list is different.

That’s fine. The point isn’t to have that list, but to have a list.

Bezos says think about "what's not going to change."

Guy’s got a point.

If you don’t have a list yet,

Here’s mine:

Invest in their narrative

There are two stories. The story you tell yourself, and the story they tell themselves. Yours is great. But they like theirs better. So you should know theirs as well as they do.

Invest in things they’ll love and look forward to

We skip most ads. They get in the way of what we love. So make what they love, not what they skip. Run that as ads. Do you not think that’s precisely what they want? Don’t ask, "What do I want people to hear from me?" Ask, "What kind of experience would my chosen few love today?" and make that your advertising.

Invest in a deplatformed experience worth sharing with others

We bounce on most pages. They don’t live up to the promise made when we clicked. They give us nothing of value, only more promises. Don’t ask, "What can I put on this page that will make people convert?" Instead ask, "What amazing experience can I give people with the full power of the open web at my disposal?" then work out how to make it into a page.

Invest in delightful onboarding

So you made a great introduction to your work. You made a great invitation with your page. Now people need to take their first steps with you. Most businesses leave their 'onboarding'entirely to chance. Don’t ask, "Great they’ve bought, what’s next?" Ask, "They’ve just taken the first step, how can I make the next couple of days absolutely amazing for them?" then make that your onboarding.

Invest in fantastic service

This is normally an afterthought. You’d be surprised of often it is. Normally, when a business makes a sale, they’re just thinking about making the next one. 'Service is just a necessary evil.' It’s not. Fantastic service is one of your best sales tools. Don’t ask, "How can I keep them around while I go sell more stuff?" Instead ask, "How can I blow their minds so much they can’t help but shout from the rooftops?"

Invest in great communication

Problems arise. Customer gets mad. Maybe they request a refund. Maybe they request changes. Maybe the business thinks they’re a brat. Maybe they are. Normally, it was just bad communication. Few problems can’t be resolved with an investment in better communication. Ever had an unhappy customer? There’s your cue.

Invest in growing in your craft

You’re good. Really good. So are others. But your customers chose you. You’re the horse they backed. Now it’s down to you to run well. So between each race, train. For you and for your customers. Become the best version of you that you can be. Make them proud they chose you. Make yourself proud of how far you’ve come.

Seems like a good list to me.

Maybe it seems like a good list to you.

Take it.

Question for the week: Which of these items do YOU want to get better at?

Reply to this email with: Your answer! I’d love to learn about what you’d like to improve. I’ll reply with my thoughts.

Happy growing,