Marriage, a concept so universal that any child, teen or adult is exceedingly familiar with it…but, until you have experienced marriage, it may be hard for you to grasp what I’m about to say. You may be thinking “There’s no such thing as a marriage misconception!” And if you’re thinking this, then I’m afraid you’re wrong.
To most people marriage is considered something that you have, but in reality, marriage is something that you do, marriage is business, …it’s a “business arrangement,” and the quicker you arrive to this conclusion, the happier your marriage will be.
When you first get married, you may think it’s about “being in love,” but this is far from the truth, marriage is about running a business. All successful marriages are about business first! That’s not to say that you shouldn’t marry someone that you love, because you should. However, if you don’t understand that marriage is a business arrangement first, the love that you have won’t last.
Marriage is a business in which your spouse is your customer, and your marriage will fall apart if you don’t treat the marriage like the business that it is. You see, there are several things that you need to do if you want to run a successful marriage or business, and today I want to discuss those things.
So without further ado, let’s discuss the “9 steps of running marriage like a business. If you follow these keys, your marriage will succeed.
1. Know Your Customer’s Expectations The number one reason marriages fail is because of a failure to meet expectations. Every customer has expectations! Your chief concern is to discover those expectations, and to meet them. Don’t wait for your spouse to tell you what their expectations are. Ask them because they have them. Then work to meet those expectations. Everyone’s expectations are different, one person may expect you to work, one person may expect you to split the household chores, one person may expect you to wax your eyebrows. The point is that your customer has expectations, and in order to succeed in marriage, you must discover those expectations and you must meet them.
2. Exceed Your Customer’s Expectations
Although it’s critical that you meet your partner’s expectations, that only gets you in the game. To succeed you must exceed your partner’s expectations. This is where you begin to make progress. They may expect you to make #12,000, but you bring home #17,000. They may expect to go on a date once a week, but you take them out twice a week. They may expect you to get yourself ready for the next day, but you get yourself and them ready for the next day. They may expect sex twice a week, but you give it to them five times a week (that’s what I call good customer service). Anybody can meet their partner’s expectations; it takes a special person to exceed their partner’s expectation.
3. Know That Your Customer is Always Right.
They say, “The Customer is Always Right,” this is as true in marriage as it is in business. What does this mean? It means the customer always has a voice, it means the customer will always be heard out; it means the customer’s needs are the priority and they are to well-considered. An example: Let’s say your spouse is upset or frustrated. Who’s right in this situation? Is it you, because you’re not frustrated. No, it’s the customer – the customer is always right. And if you don’t know why the customer is right, you can just ask them. They’re usually happy to tell you why they’re right. Always remember that the customer comes first, take care of the customer, and the customer will take of you.
4. Take Care of Your Responsibilities Regarding Your Customer.
Just as in business, marriage comes with responsibilities. There are clothes to be washed, dishes to be cleaned, garbage that needs to be put out, grass that needs to be cut, repairs to be handled, money to be made, and bills to be paid. These are some very basic responsibilities within most marriages, and if these responsibilities aren’t met, there’s bound to be big trouble in paradise. I love the quote that says, “A marriage may be made in heaven, but the maintenance has to be done here on Earth.” There are responsibilities that must be handled; love won’t handle those responsibilities, you have to. And you have to handle your responsibilities with a good attitude! Every customer interaction must be handled with care; I’m talking about service, with a smile! …
5. Be Aware of Changing Markets.
In business you must be aware of changing markets. Your spouse is your target market in marriage, and their needs will most likely change over the course of your marriage. What they liked in the 70’s, may not be what they like in the 80’s, or the 90’s, or today. You need to stay abreast of the market as it changes, you need to hand out surveys and find out the heartbeat of the customer. Never let changing-times make your product obsolete. Be aware that the market will change, anticipate the change, and meet the new need. If you do, you will always remain current to your customer.
6. Make Trade-offs with Your Customer.
If I go to the grocery story, they have bread, I have #100, and we make an exchange and everybody’s happy. Marriage is about trade-offs, you give me what I want, I give you what you want, and round and round we go. It’s okay to consciously plan trade-offs. That’s how it works in business. Maybe the trade-off is for your spouse to cook, while you clean, or maybe you work, while they take care of the house. In business as in marriage, there are “win-win” trade-offs where both parties are happy. You can’t be successful in the long-term if both parties don’t feel like they’re getting a good deal.
7. Be Aware of the Competition.
In business, as in marriage, there’s going to be competition. If it’s a good business, there’s competition. The key to success isn’t to focus on the competition, but to focus on the customer. No one should be able to treat your customer better than you can. No one knows them better. They’ve been with you longer, and you know more about what they want, or at least you should. No one should be able to pick your “one” customer out of your hand. Be aware of the competition, but work to know your customer.
8. Have an Irreplaceable Product.
No business succeeds without a product or service that people feel is irreplaceable, and marriage is no different. In order to have success, you must offer your customer what they can’t get from anywhere else. Just by being with them, you have an amazing advantage in this area. By being with them, you know exactly what their needs are, and you can offer them the products to meet those needs. You have the products they need, you have them under contract, this gives you a large advantage towards keeping them as a customer.
9. Be Wanted.
It’s one thing to be needed; it’s something else entirely to be wanted. The best products appeal to a customer’s emotions. They may not need the product at all, but they want the product because of the way it makes them feel. The key to being wanted is to know your customer’s expectations, and to exceed those expectations consistently. If you exceed your customer’s expectations on a daily basis, the customer will happily return everyday.
In closing, if you have both parties working on these task together as a team, there’s no limit to the great things the couple can accomplish or the joy they can experience in marriage.
To your bliss!
Thank you for reading, and be sure to pass this article along!
Yours truly,
MA.
