Do you know what’s really ironic? Businesses spend thousands of dollars, manpower, head space and creative energy trying to get the attention of potential customers, and when they get it they waste it. The question for all of us, (not just in business but also in life) is how can we expect what we’re not prepared to give?

You can test out this theory anywhere you do business today, in the cafe, grocery store, cinema and on and on. Everywhere you go people will be multitasking. Having their morning tea break while they fill orders at their desks. Answering the phone while they delete email. Serving a customer while they talk to their colleague at the next checkout.

We work hard to get people over the line, then we don’t even bother to give them eye contact. There’s no excuse for this, even if your business is online you have to find a way to give people virtual eye contact. Zappos built a billion dollar business on that single difference.

It seems that hardly anyone takes the time to properly pay attention anymore, to do just one thing. Your customers want to be that one thing. They want to feel like they matter. If you don’t make them feel that way when they walk through the door, what’s the point of opening the door in the first place.

All the marketing tactics in the world, won’t save us from our own indifference.

Image by Ed Yourdon.