Lots of small companies will do anything to sign up a big customer. Startups often make concessions of two varieties:
- We’ll give you more stuff (read: features/support).
- You give us less stuff (read: money).
Often, when we meet companies who have made big concessions for a customer, we often hear the justification that Company X is a “strategic customer.” The word “strategic” here is taken to mean that, by virtue of signing up this particular customer, your company will be able to gain some proprietary advantage in the marketplace: greater legitimacy, a new sales channel, lots of PR, etc.
Calling certain customers “strategic” is dangerous, however. There are no strategic customers, only anti-strategic ones; and here’s why.
It’s that time of year again. Summer is winding to a close, and students are returning to campus. The energy in the air is palpable, especially in a place like Boston, which seems to live and breathe along with the student population.
