In a sales meeting a while back, someone said something that stuck with me: The way business was done in the past is not how business is done today. That one sentence echoed for weeks – the more I looked around, the more I realized how true it is.
The cliche in business is “adapt or die.” Or is it a cliche? A report from Yahoo Finance claimed that 52% of Fortune 500 businesses have disappeared over the last 25 years. According to Fortune, only 49 companies have been on the 500 since 1955.
According to Ernst & Young, the life expectancy of an S&P 500 company 80 years ago was 67 years. Today it’s 15 years. They reference the poet Heraclitus, who said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.”
So, how has the business environment changed over the last few decades?
In the ’70s and ’80s, brands led with identity. Levi’s didn’t just sell jeans – they sold rebellion. It was Nike’s connection with Michael Jordan and other sports superstars on the back of “Just Do It” that made them a cultural phenomenon. My wife became loyal to Nike in the ’80s, and that is still the shoe she goes to first today.
The ’90s started putting the focus on products and services, which allowed companies like Dyson to win the decade. According to whitelabel-loyalty, “By solving a problem consumers didn’t even know they had (inefficient vacuums), Dyson delivered a product that was both practical and stylish, turning customers into brand advocates.”
In the 2000s, business offerings became more customer-centric. The Business Relationship Management Institute says that businesses today focus on trust over transactions because doing so “ensures that organizations don’t just execute strategies but build relationships that drive sustainable business value.” In other words, stop focusing on one-off transactions by shifting your focus on your stakeholders, employees, and customers.
Here’s what I don’t see enough: companies that invest in their people the way they invest in their customers. I’ll say it plainly: when people feel heard, appreciated, and empowered, they don’t just stay; they lead. They bring ideas forward. They innovate faster. They care about the outcomes.
Change never happens alone. Everyone must buy into what is happening for success to follow.
If you ignore them – if you keep giving them outdated tools, bad information, or no support – don’t be surprised when they walk across the street to a place where their voice matters. A place that doesn’t just chase change but builds it from the inside out.
Bottom Line: If you want your customers to be loyal to your company, you need to be loyal to the person who is selling to and interacting with the customers.
