Some people argued that if they need to change people’s attitude about them, they should be more active in charity or non-profit sponsorship.
“People out there think that we’re arrogant”, they said, “That’s why donations for charity or participating in non-profit activities is important. They’ll be impressed.”
Wrong.
If Nike admitted it manufactured t-shirts & shoes with sweatshops, will you still buy Nike products simply because it sponsored sport activities or donated to the Red Cross?
Well, if your customers really feel that you’re arrogant, it’s because you probably are. It’s because you’re not responding to them. It’s because you’re not listening to what they need. It’s about Customer Relationship handling. It’s about you ignoring what they’re trying to say. Even worse, you might have pretended that you’re listening.
Pouring money into charity won’t make your customers feel any better. Making changes will. Make changes by listening to what they need. Make changes by listening to what they are talking. Are you still pretending that you’re reading customer feedback and changing in their way?
But anyway, signing checks is always easier than making changes, changes are usually painful.