What Kind of Cows Do You Raise?

I was raised in a farm town, but I am not a farmer. I don't know the first thing about cows, so I apologize if I misspeak. As I understand it, there are two types of cows that you can raise on a farm: beef cattle or dairy cattle. Beef cattle, of course, are raised to be slaughtered for meat. Once you kill a beef cow, you no longer have use for it. Dairy cattle, on the other hand, are used throughout their lives for milk production. As long as the cow is alive, it has something to offer. There are HUGE business implications for this distinction.

What kind of business do you go after? Are you looking for the beef cow or the dairy cow? Are you looking for the quick, easy, kill or the long-term revenue stream? When you're hungry, the beef cow can look oh so tempting. Look at all of the meat you can get out of one sale! Do whatever it takes to get that sale! Crush it! Because, if you do, you are going to make a killing! What's the problem with this approach? Once you've killed the beef cow, it isn't coming back. Once you've eaten the meat, you will get no more from that cow. Your revenue stream has ended.

Dairy cows are the opposite. Maybe they aren't so satisfying from a single transaction. Maybe you invest a lot in them, nurturing them as customers. Perhaps you spend a lot of time, energy, and money to keep them loyal. But, guess what? They keep coming back. You have milk today. You have milk tomorrow. You have milk forever. The revenue stream never ends. You keep the dairy cow alive and it keeps giving you milk.

Are you in it for the long haul with your customers? In today's age of competition and commoditization, you need to go after loyalty. You need dairy cattle. One big sale, if you can even get it, is not going to sustain you. You need continous revenue. You need customers that are willing to partner with you. Go after those customers. Don't go for the quick sale. If you slaughter your customer today; you'll starve tomorrow.