“There is only one boss,” said Walton. “The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
From the day he opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962, Walton has always maintained that his number one priority are his customers, the people who choose to shop at his stores. From cutting his prices far below his competition to ensuring customer satisfaction, Walton understood the importance of valuing his customers. “The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’,” said Walton. “They're still up there, and they have made all the difference.”
During a trip to Crowley, Louisiana in 1980, Walton went into a store and noticed that an employee was welcoming its customers as they walked in. He decided to implement this practice in his own stores as a way of making the shopping experience for his customers more personal and warm. He also thought it would be a nice way of thanking those who decided to shop at Wal-Mart by giving them a smile and a hello from a Wal-Mart greeter. And so, today, there are over 30,000 Wal-Mart greeters across the U.S.
In a similar visit to a tennis ball factory in Korea, Walton observed the workers performing a company cheer together each morning. While it was done primarily to boost their energy and enthusiasm, Walton decided to implement a company cheer in his Wal-Mart stores, but with a twist. Instead of simply creating energy and company pride, Walton took the opportunity to use the cheer as a reminder of why they were all there in the first place – their customers. This is why the final line of their cheer reads, “Who’s number one? The Customer! Always!”
In addition to valuing his customer, Walton extended this philosophy to include the wider society. He believed that Wal-Mart had a responsibility to contribute to the surrounding community in which it found itself. “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community,” he said. To this end, Wal-Mart has contributed over $170 million in support of local community initiatives, making it one of the largest givers in the U.S. It was also recognized on the Fortune 500 List as the ‘Most Admired Company in America’.
“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want,” Walton wrote in his autobiography. “And really, if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.”
Wal-Mart was able to distinguish itself from its competitors by seeing the customer as the boss. Walton wanted his stores to act as the buyer for the customers, instead of selling to them. He wanted to provide the best possible deal for his customers at bargain prices. And, despite having expanded to become the largest retailer in the U.S., Walton managed to maintain within his stores a sense of community and warmth, reminding customers that there was nothing more important to the company than their shopping experience.
Lesson #2: Prioritize Your Customer
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