Who is your audience? Who are the people that are going to be responsible for your success? Your customers, of course. They are the people who buy your products and services. Some people look at this audience like it is here to serve them and their needs, but the opposite is true. You serve your audience. You find out what they want and what they need and then provide it to them. No matter if you are providing a product or service if you want to be successful, get ready to serve your audience. The most successful people in the world do not have people in service to them; they are in service to other people. Think about Domino’s Pizza. a few years ago, this pizza chain had reduced profits with low sales all over the United States. So they changed their tactic. Instead of making pizzas according to their recipes, they asked their customers what they would prefer. It turned out, their customers wanted a better-tasting pizza, so Domino’s went to work creating one. Now, profits are back up and the company is doing fine. Another contemporary example: the fast-food chain McDonald’s just announced that they are providing breakfast all day long. For decades, people have been held hostage to McDonald’s breakfast hours; other restaurants have taken advantage of this and enticed those customers by having a breakfast menu that was available longer or even all day. McDonald’s finally decided that they were here to serve their customers and not dictate the time that they should be eating breakfast, and expanded their breakfast menu hours to the entire day. Needless to say, the move was quite popular. Who is your audience? Who are the people that are going to be responsible for your success? Your customers, of course. They are the people who buy your products and services. Some people look at this audience like it is here to serve them and their needs, but the opposite is true. You serve your audience. You find out what they want and what they need and then provide it to them. No matter if you are providing a product or service if you want to be successful, get ready to serve your audience. Take Time off for Mentoring Your customers aren’t the only people that you should be serving. Helping people after you have already become successful is important but you don’t have to wait until you’ve reached your goals to start helping other people. Many advantages come with helping people with some of the areas that they’re struggling with, that you’re able to assist in. First, you’re going to feel great because you’re helping someone change their life which is one of the biggest rewards and the most fulfilling things that we can do as human beings. Also, you’re going to be teaching yourself at the same time you are teaching others. They say that that is the best way you learn – by teaching it to someone else. You’ll be helping someone and you’ll both be learning something valuable as you strive for success. You’re also going to get some major motivation from helping others, especially if you can help them succeed. Your enthusiasm and motivation will increase. Your excitement will be high and your successes can be greater than they have been before. You might not have thought about it, but those same people you’re helping now could end up being more successful than you and some areas and that could be a valuable relationship down the road. Most people will remember that you helped them for many years to come. Not only would they be willing to do a favor if they’re in a position to do so, but they might also even seek you out and offer. Seek out Ways That You Can Help Others Whether you are helping mentor other people trying to be successful in the same industry that you’re in or you’re helping your customers find exactly what they’re looking for and making sure that you provide them with the best service possible, you’re going to have to go out and seek ways to help people; they may not come to you. So, what are some of the ways that you can find people that you can help? How do you know that they need help? Most importantly, what do you have to offer that is valuable enough to teach others? This last question is important, not because there’s something that qualifies you to be a great teacher above all other things, but because you’re going to want to know the answer to that question so that you have the confidence to teach. As for finding people to help, your customers will probably come to you but make it clear that if they’re looking for something specific, even if you don’t necessarily deal with it in your store or business, that they should ask you about it anyway because you might be able to help. Make sure that you post this on your website somewhere and go to social media to offer help. As far as mentoring goes, there are forums all over the Internet with people seeking advice, some of them better than others. Try to find persons who are serious about being successful, like-minded with your values and goals, and willing to accept your help. There’s no sense in helping someone who isn’t going to put in the work because this will not give you any of the benefits that come from helping people. Become Known As Someone Who Will Go above and beyond for Your Customers You want your customers to be happy. This means providing good customer service, but if you want to shine, go above and beyond for every customer. Do absolutely everything you can do to solve the problem and make them happy and you will reap the rewards. They will talk about you to their friends, their colleagues, and their family members and when they need a product or service that you sell they’ll be back to buy from you again and again. This is how Amazon has become so successful, by cultivating a reputation for customer service that is unmatched.