No Customers

Many marketing experts are encouraging nonprofits today to think about the people that come to them for help, as customers. The thought process supporting that is that if we treat them like a customer, we will serve them better.

Actually, that can be a dangerous approach. The mindset behind a customer relationship is that the individual has a choice; that they can decide whether to utilize your services or not. Most individuals that come to Manna do not have a choice. As soon as we start treating them like customers, that they can leave if they don't like our services, we marginalize them.

What really works is to not treat them as anything, but to simply act as a servant...