During a podcast interview with Tom Wheelwright, we explored why people increasingly prefer being called “clients” rather than “customers.”
What I discovered wasn’t just about semantics; it was a fundamental shift in how people want to be treated. It’s not really about the word at all. It’s about what that word represents to people in our commoditized world.
What they’re really seeking is a sense of connection. They don’t want to be an account number. They don’t want to be treated like a transaction. They want to feel like a person—an individual who matters.
Salesforce found that 88% of their 6,047 users polled said their overall experience matters as much as what is being sold, whether it is a product or a service.
When I was with Rolls-Royce, we learned this lesson early. Our clients weren’t just buying cars; they were investing in an experience. They wanted to feel special, understood, and valued. The moment we treated them as just another transaction, we lost them.
The real differentiator in a world that AI is transforming is the experience people have with you from the moment they first contact you through every interaction thereafter. When you elevate that experience, you create emotional engagement. That’s the bedrock of lasting relationships.
And relationships drive revenue and create lifetime value!