Do You Love Your Customers?
“Do you love your customers?” asks Seth Godin in a recent post. It’s a big mistake to view and treat your customers (aka donors) as the means to an end, he argues.
Says Godin:
“In a free market with plenty of information, it’s very hard to succeed merely by loving the money your customers pay you.
“I think it’s fascinating to note that some of the most successful organizations of our time got there by focusing obsessively on service, viewing compensation as an afterthought or a side effect. As marketing gets more and more expensive, it turns out that caring for people is a useful shortcut to trust, which leads to all the other things that a growing organization seeks.”
This advice about properly loving customers reminded me of a recent comment by Tom Ahern in his newsletter, after also citing Godin.
Godin: “We support a charity or a soccer team or a perfume because it gives us a chance to love something about ourselves.”
Re-phrased by Ahern: “When people give to you, they’re not loving the charity. They’re loving themselves.”
Amen!
Tom
P.S. Tom Ahern makes these observations as he elaborates wisely on Dr Adrian Sargeant’s 7 reasons why donors will sometimes stay with a charity for years. He’s up to #4. When he’s finished, we’ll be sure to pass his full discussion along. But if you can’t wait, go here.
P.P.S. And re Godin’s point about focusing obsessively on service. Do you think that doesn’t apply to nonprofits? Very wrong … think again. And read Roger’s “Your Call Is Important To Us. Please Continue To Hold.”
P.P.P.S. Mark Phillips says it in one photo: Everything you need to know about fundraising in one photo.
One response to “Do You Love Your Customers?”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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bless your hearts!