The Power of Appreciation: What Customers Truly Want

Growing up, the question that was constant in the mind of young men, teenage boys, and even into adulthood was, "What do women want?" As a teenage boy, it baffles you, but by the time you become a man in his 30s, you just accept the situation of never quite knowing what women want. But lately, I hear the question "What do men want?" a lot, which is an interesting development with a simple answer: to be appreciated. That's all men want. BTW, it's also what women want.

Many women think men want all kinds of things, and most of it revolves around sex. But men want to be appreciated, and all problems start once a man no longer feels appreciated in a relationship. That's when checking out starts and, eventually, cheating. It's such a simple answer, yet few understand this.

What do customers want? I meet many executives (men) who apply the same confusion they have about what women want to their customers, but a customer is like a "man" in this context. A customer wants to be appreciated, and if they're not, they'll go elsewhere. If your company can't deliver on time, saying, "We're truly sorry, and please know that we really appreciate you as a customer and are doing the best we can for you," makes all the difference.

I consulted for a company that was terrified to tell their customers that orders were delayed due to Covid-19 measures affecting shipping. I told them they needed to tell their customers how much they appreciate them and share the real reason instead of continuing with their current process of pretending it’s coming any day, which resulted in very angry customers. They hesitated but let me write that email, and not one customer came back with abuse. The worst response was, "I'm really angry that you couldn't have told me this earlier, for I've been angry with you for so long when I didn't need to be." Most customers responded with something along the lines of, "Ah, that explains it! Thank you so much for letting me know. I'll gladly wait." And it took another six weeks for orders to arrive, but the negative reviews and anger evaporated.

You'd think that customers would be more understanding on their own during Covid-19, but customers are always afraid they're being taken advantage of, or that they're not appreciated—much like "men". Instead of all these marketing emails that go out with special offers and deals, we should send sincere emails telling customers how much we appreciate them. A simple "Thank you for being our customer" will yield amazing results, just as you'll be amazed at how your relationship will turn around if you tell your husband, boyfriend, son, or wife, girlfriend, daughter how much you appreciate them.