MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Firing the Right Customers Is Good Business

We like customers and have spent most of our careers studying them. In our research, teaching, and consulting projects, we have repeatedly urged executives to listen to their customers.1 However, we have come to realize an uncomfortable truth: Some customers are just not good for you and will ruin your business. Hence, you would be better off “firing” them.

Firing any customer goes against much of the prevailing wisdom in marketing and business. According to legendary business guru Peter Drucker, the purpose of any business is to create and keep a customer. This insightful statement has become a guiding principle across industries.

About the Author

Carsten Lund Pedersen is an associate professor in the Business IT Department at the IT University of Copenhagen. Thomas Ritter is a professor of market strategy and business development at Copenhagen Business School.

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