Kindness as a Service: Why This is Imperative for Every Business

In today’s world of big business, the simple act of kindness can sometimes become forgotten. This is a huge misstep toward the path to business success. A study by Booz & Co. and Young & Rubicam shows that while brand attributes such as exclusivity have gone down in popularity over the past few years, traits such as kindness and friendliness are up in value by 300% and 150% respectively. Customers want businesses to be approachable, kind, and friendly, and they will appreciate it when they are.

In particular, if you own a small business, you can try to offer an edge against the bigger companies. Make kindness and excellent customer service a standard of your business. As Henry Mason, the head of analytics and research at TrendWatching, wrote in a recent article, “For consumers long used to – and annoyed by – distant, inflexible, self-serving corporations, any acts of kindness by brands will be gratefully received.”

The important part of these acts of service kindness is that nothing is expected by your business in return. Customers want authenticity, and if they see that a business has that, they will most likely remain loyal to it.

A small act of kindness costs nothing, and it goes a long way. People will often remember a small, unexpected act of kindness for a long time. This, of course, can reflect positively on your business and make it stand out among other businesses. Use kindness as your default customer service and business model. I’m not saying it will work 100% of the time, but if definitely will make a good impression on your customers and employees. It’ll make you feel better about yourself, too!