Satisfying customers is the name of the game in business, right?

And, as so many corporate posters proclaim, If you dont satisfy your customers, someone else will!

But sometimes, satisfying customers is the worst thing you can do if you want to build add-on sales and repeat business.

What did I just say?

Im the President of Customersatisfaction.com and I said satisfying customers may not be a good idea. Am I out of my mind?

Possibly, but Im still right, at least according to industrial psychologist Frederick Herzberg, who famously pointed out: A satisfied need is NOT a motivator!

Let me give you an example.

Youve heard the expression that you should never do your shopping for groceries on an empty stomach because youll end up buying nearly everything in the store, right? Your need, your hunger is motivating you to buy, right now.

But if your belly is full, youll be less impulsive and more thoughtful about your purchases.

Heres an illustration thats closer to home.

I conduct seminars, and a major part of my business is doing them publicly, and then having participants feel motivated to invite me to their organizations to do them there.

If attendees in my public sessions actually leave believing that they heard everything, or that the outline I supplied is definitive and exhausting, why bring me to their sites?

Theyll only be motivated if they believe that they didnt capture everything; that I have so much to offer that the only way it will be translated into action at their firms is through my direct efforts.

So, should I impart the idea that theyve received all of my wisdom? No way, if I want add-on business, or to develop an after-market for my products and services.

This is known as the Scheherazade Principle. You remember her. She is the fictional character that saves her life by telling the sultan stories that never conclude, that always have to be continued.

Well, I could say a lot more about this principle, and oh so many others, and if youd like to hear about these ideas, Ill be happy to share them with you on a consulting basis.

Just give me a holler!