Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.
Interpretation
Goodwill is an intangible asset that represents the trust and reputation a company has, which cannot be easily replicated or diminished by competitors.
This quote by Marshall Field highlights the importance of goodwill as a valuable asset in business. It suggests that goodwill—built through strong relationships, trust, and a positive reputation—is something that cannot be easily matched or taken away by competitors, as it is rooted in the experiences and perceptions of customers. Unlike tangible assets, goodwill represents a company's unique character and the loyalty it cultivates with its clients, making it a formidable advantage in any competitive market.
In practice
In a business seminar discussing the importance of maintaining customer relationships, one could cite this quote to emphasize the value of goodwill.
Those who enter to buy, support me. Those who come to flatter, please me. Those who complain, teach me how I may please others so that more will come. Those only hurt me who are displeased but do not complain. They refuse me permission to correct my errors and thus improve my service.
The companies that survive longest are the one's that work out what they uniquely can give to the world not just growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.
If you want to invest in us, we believe customer number one, employee number two, shareholder number three. If they don't want to buy that, that's fine. If they regret, they can sell us.
In a marketplace where it's so easy to produce products, where your competitors can essentially match you on the product itself, you need to have something else. You need to have an added value, and that added value is the identity, the idea behind your brand.
If Vancouver did not succeed as Starbucks from '87 on, our entire international business, which is now thousands of stores and a significant amount of growth and profit, may not have existed.
CEOs are paid for doing a terrible job. If the system wasn't so messed up, guys like me wouldn't make this kind of money.
Be influenced by nothing but your clients' interests. Tell them the truth.
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