The Art of Making Customers Feel Valued in a Small Business

Jack-Jack the cat – photo by John Mitchell

Recently my wife and I had to have our 10 year old cat put down by our vets after his six month course of treatment for cancer failed.   He was under an animal hospital and also had been under a specialist eye clinic for an ulcer so we let them both know so that they could “close” their records for him.  The day after we had emailed both of these organisations we got two sympathy cards in the post, both of which had lovely, hand written, personal messages in them.  This made us both feel that Jack’s (the cat) passing was being acknowledged and that we had been valued as clients of both the eye clinic and the hospital.

This lead me to thinking that in the bustling marketplace, where businesses of all sizes vie for customer attention, the power of making customers feel valued cannot be overstated. For small businesses, in particular, this personal touch is a crucial differentiator. Unlike large corporations, small businesses often operate on tighter budgets and with fewer resources, making the loyalty and satisfaction of each customer essential for survival and growth. This blog post explores some ideas that small businesses might employ to ensure their customers feel genuinely valued, fostering long-term relationships and encouraging repeat business. Continue reading →