Articles

The 80/20 Rule

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

May 2026

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

                          “The 80/20 Rule"

There are a number of 80/20 rules that float around the business world, like 20% of your customers generate 80% of a business’ revenue. And, 20% of your problem customers consume 80% of your time. The one I am writing about here is that 20% of your customers will believe what you say about your business, and 80% of what others say about your business.

When you read or hear an advertisement for most businesses, there may be phrases like “We provide quality service”, or “We provide the fastest turnaround,” or maybe even “We have the lowest prices in town”.  Well, I hope this doesn’t shock you, but most people expect quality service, fast turnaround and fair prices! So, if that is your messaging, you might want to consider a different market messaging.

What most people will tend to believe are real-life stories from your customers. Stories like – My car broke down one stormy dark night, and I called the auto repair shop that I use most of time, and they had an emergency number I could call. I called that number and told them the problem that I had, and they sent someone out to see what was wrong. It couldn’t be fixed right there, so they helped me secure my vehicle and drove me home. The next morning, they picked up my vehicle, took it to their shop, repaired it, and called me with updates along the way. By lunch time, my vehicle was back in my driveway, and they only charged me for the repairs. I will never use another auto repair shop – Jennifer S. 

Now, I have no idea if a story like that ever did happen, but if I read that on an auto repair shop’s website as a testimony from a customer, I would put their phone number on my speed dial. I likely wouldn’t do the same if I just read that they provide quality service next to none in the industry. But what the customer cited is what I would call “quality service next to none in the industry”!!

Positive customer testimonies and positive customer survey results are the strongest marketing messaging you can put in all your marketing materials. You can ask your customers for testimonies, and most will willingly agree to do them. Regarding customer surveys, you don’t have to survey a big number of customers. You could only survey 25 customers and only receive 10 responses back that are all positive, and then the survey results would read something like “100.0% of customers responsive to our recent survey said that they would recommend us to their friends and relatives.”

If you want assistance creating positive messaging, seek advice from one of our professional Silver Fox Advisors who can provide guidance or a directional change for your business's messaging. We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org.  There, you can learn more about our great programs and community outreach endeavors, or about selecting a Silver Fox Advisor whom you can engage, or perhaps about even becoming a member yourself.