Taking the Long View – Are You In Business?

One of my ecommerce sites was contacted by a major television network today for an overnight order. They need it there by tomorrow – and they are on the other side of the country.

Overnight orders are stressful, somewhat complicated, and expensive if mistakes are made. For a while, I didn’t offer “overnight” for those exact reasons.

Then, I decided to take the long view, and focus on what’s best for the customer instead of what’s most convenient for me.

If I weren’t offering overnight / expedited shipping, I would miss out on many first time orders, and any potential repeat orders from customers who needed or wanted their merchandise quickly. And, more important to the subject at hand, today’s order would not have happened at all.

It’s worth it to trade a little convenience on my part for the sake of my customers (and ultimately my business). The long view in action.

To take it a step further – I shipped two complete orders to them, via two different carriers, at my own expense. (My experience with overnight shipping reliability is somewhat spotty – enough so that I don’t have 100% confidence in it). I’m hedging my bets, spending out of my own pocket so that I don’t miss this golden opportunity.

To what end?

I want to make sure that this major TV show gets my merchandise in time so they can use it on their show as intended… and then I can say “As seen on [major TV show]” on my site. That level of credibility and publicity is worth far more than the extra product and shipping costs.

The short-term view would be that the extra money has been wasted, and that it’s impossible to know whether it ever directly results in future sales. (This inclination is a close relative of the sensation I experience whenever my alarm clock goes off).

The long view recognizes this “expense” as an investment for the future. That if the first package doesn’t make it in time – and there is no backup plan — it will cost far more in lost sales than it costs to send two packages.

The difference really comes down to why I’m doing ecommerce in the first place. The short view would be fine if this were just a hobby. But I’m in business - therefore, the long view must prevail.

What do you think?