At a recent seminar, several retail and marketing executives talked about how they are going to grow sales as the economy recovers. They would do this by focusing on the customer, they said.

“We are now going to focus on the customer” is, in fact, a mantra that is often heard from manufacturers and retailers of products ranging from cars to cookware, mattresses, perfume, potato chips and paper towels.

Whenever I hear, “We are now focusing on the customer,” I ask, “Well, who were you focusing on before?” If you are manufacturing a product or providing a service, haven’t you already been doing so with a keen eye on what your customer wants? If not, why are you in business?—David Gill