Why Your Customers Need to Know They’re Valued

 

Businesses have a secret. It’s actually glaringly obvious, but they seem to act like it’s a secret because most hardly ever mention it—the big secret is that they can’t exist without their customers. Business owners and consumers alike all know this, so why not publicize it to earn some goodwill with your customers? This is why it works.

 

The Missed Opportunity

Some businesses bring it up from time to time, saying that their customers are their “top priority”, or something to that effect; however, most businesses rarely mention this, if ever. Even if they do, it’s usually just a generic sentiment like, “You are important to us.”

Few businesses go so far as to admit that their very existence depends on customers’ continued patronage. If you admit that you’re literally nothing without them, it’s an opportunity to show goodwill and appreciation toward your customers. People value honesty in a business, and this is one of the best ways to show it.

 

More Than a Marketing Tactic

It’s not just that you should plaster it all over your advertisements, “We cannot exist without our customers” (and your marketing staff might advise against it, anyway)—that’s not the point.

The point is to act on the idea and conduct business according to that idea, and then you can say it to your customers with confidence because it’s truly how you run your business. More than using it as just another marketing strategy—it doubles as this, anyway—it’s merely reminding your customers that this is a core belief of your company.

 

There’s No Downside

Whether you include it in the letterhead on all of your company correspondence, or you display it on your website’s landing page, logically it can’t be a bad thing to tell your customers that they are crucial to your business’ survival.

It seems that most businesses underestimate how compelling this can be to customers, which is why they don’t bother to say it. It’s one of the easiest ways to build trust with your clients, or your customer base.

Try it for a while, and see what kind of response you get. Even if you didn’t actually publicize it, but just ran your business as if you’d be ruined without customers (which you would), they’ll probably get better treatment from your company. And treating your customers better and with greater respect is a sure way to get more loyal ones, while generating good word-of-mouth at the same time.