This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit some friends at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They are in the process of starting a museum in the area and I offered my assistance to help them on a big weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with the lake, it is a popular tourist spot south of Jefferson City. Its biggest activity: boating. For most of us here in the Midwest, we are familiar with a bass boat or small cruiser. At the Ozarks, you often see ocean going performance racers or large cabin cruisers because of the lake’s size. It is also in a beautiful part of the country that offers over 2000 miles of shorefront with all the little coves and inlets.

The reason I am bringing this up is to say that people are still spending money. This past weekend was Shootout, an annual event where everything from pontoons to fifty foot race boats compete for top speed on a stretch of open water as thousands of spectators watch. To say that the amount of money floating in the water is obscene would be an understatement. When many of these water-going projectiles can cost in the millions; and it is common to see several of these types of boats docked at any of the bars and restaurants lining the shore you can see that people are still spending money. Now they are just spending it differently.

While there I was able to talk with several executives in the industry as well as people who were there to enjoy the weekend. The business leaders were optimistic about their industry and were seeing a resurgence of buyers. They also admitted that the clients were the ones who were passionate about boating since lending practices have changed how people are able to afford these luxury items. People are still willing to spend, they are just more careful how they wish to spend their money. For their investment, they want more. If it is eating at a restaurant, the service has to be top notch. If they are buying products, they have to be high quality. Often the value of the item aligns with the values of the individual. That awareness is heightened in an environment where we are talking about a lifestyle.

As business leaders we are about creating experiences. Because people make their buying decisions based on emotion, we are continually pressed to make the experience the best one possible. Because our customers’ values are different we have to align the experience with their values. This is what makes business so challenging. We are always working to hit a moving target. The companies that are the best at this are growing and the businesses who fail to learn this are struggling.

This is why it is so important to know who your customers are. Learn which ones are the best. Understand what is important to them and why they would choose to do business with you. Also know which ones aren’t a good fit. You will never make everyone happy so spend your time making your best customers exstatic to do business with you.