Focusing on product and service development can pay off in the long run. Successful companies identify who their target customers are and then do everything they can to satisfy and retain them. Clearly defined target customers are a beacon of direction for the company. (Sometimes a company can determine its target customers by asking the opposite question - that is, by asking which customers it doesn't need to satisfy. In any case, no company can satisfy everyone, and some customers are not even worth having.) In short, the target customers should be those who will always be loyal to the company. One of the most successful insurance companies in the United States was founded over seventy years ago, and they serve a very unique market of skilled drivers. Their service locations are located in agricultural states and their insurance brokers are all community members who are in close contact with their policyholders and understand what they need and want. Marketing strategies are designed to appeal to members of the target market and to meet the needs of loyal target customers. Examples include incentives for good driving skills, discounts on premiums at the end of the third year for those who have been accident-free for three years, and so on. As many companies know, even their target customer base is constantly changing. Their expectations evolve over time. So service quality is not absolute; it depends on the customer and not on the service provider. Moreover, the quality of service is judged differently from customer to customer. Therefore, good service companies are always able to constantly adapt their products and services to meet and exceed the changing expectations of their customers. For example, an automobile manufacturer had a group of extremely loyal customers and found itself losing them. The manufacturer visited the lost customers to find out why. The customers said they were satisfied with the quality of the cars, but they were starting families and wanted larger cars. These customers' expectations had changed. The automaker responded by designing larger cars. In the end its efforts paid off: sales and customer loyalty increased.