Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Customers put product value ahead of political values
Customers put product value ahead of political values
Apr 2, 2025 1:51 AM

Woke capitalism prioritizes politics. But paying customers always put service and price first.

Read More…

For years American business has allowed itself to be swayed by the push and pull of political culture. Investment decisions, corporate donations, and hiring practices have been made in response to a culture that demands acquiescence or cancellation.

But as Netflix, Disney, and State Farm deal with political and cultural backlash from both sides on a host of issues, and politicians scapegoat businesses large and small, the luxury car industry has reminded us of what used to be Business 101: Provide what consumers want, get it to them on time, and charge the agreed-upon price. Nothing more, nothing less.

panies like Ford, Toyota, and General Motors struggled to meet demand, and some manufacturers ordered dealerships to drop their prices, BMW and Tesla took advantage of excellent chip supply chains to produce record numbers of cars and then deliver those cars to consumers. This disciplined approach to supply chain continuity and customer satisfaction seemed to have been the industry’s top priority.

“Luxury vehicle sales have always tried to set themselves apart with not just a far superior product, but a consumer service that borders on a personal concierge feel,” says automotive entrepreneur James Boening, who has run luxury car dealerships across the country. “People pay for service. Give someone a Ritz Carlton experience when buying a car, and all of a sudden it’s less about the car and more about the personal connection and care.”

Today many businesses make the mistake of appealing to assumed customer political and cultural values instead of creating value for customers—often resulting in in positive headlines but always risking backlash when they land on the “wrong” side of an issue. Starbucks, for example, has received praise from liberals for funding employees’ abortions … but criticism for opposing staff unions. And just last month, State Farm promoted, then canceled, an internal LGBT-support network.

Sometimes the old ways work best, and survey data and consumer anecdotes make clear that customers put pany’s value proposition —getting the right goods or services at the right price on time, and being treated well along the way—ahead of ever-changing cultural and political values. Businesses that want to improve sales, increase profits, and build strong customer loyalty should ignore keyboard warriors on Twitter and pay attention to what real customers say and do.

In Summer 2020, Axios asked 34,000 consumers which corporations they trusted most. The winners weren’t the flashiest or the most political—they simply met customer needs and wants. Clorox was No. 1 because people wanted to be sanitary. No. 3 Amazon kept people’s homes well stocked, and five of the next panies were grocery stores that kept us fed at home and safe in public. Technology firms filled out many of the other top 30 slots, with Netflix and Zoom providing stay-at-home entertainment, work opportunities, and education.

As Axios put it, “Industries with a prominent role in life under quarantine have seen especially big jumps” in consumer trust.

A few months later, research consultancy McKinsey found that the pandemic had radically changed consumer loyalty, but not their priorities. One-third of Americans changed from whom they bought goods, and those changes were made for reasons like value provided, convenience to acquire goods, and availability of goods desired.

A final survey, conducted by accounting powerhouse PwC in Fall 2021, found that businesses earn the most employee and customer trust when they prioritize munication, and owning up to mistakes. In a close fourth, and interwoven into the top three customer priorities, was “delivers consistent customer experience.”

None of this surprises Lee Rashkin, who took Presby Environmental from a pany to America’s second-largest wastewater-treatment manufacturer.

“There are exceptions to every rule, but consumers—and, therefore, sales—are driven less by social activism and far more by timeless core business values,” he told me. “Reliability was Presby’s hallmark. We prioritized never having a backlog, even when we sent millions of units across the country and the world. And distributors often preferred to rely on our trucking capacity instead of a cheaper, outsourced alternative.”

But even as consumers show us what they want, many influential voices say differently. Industry leaders, politicians, and media pundits frequently say that having the “right values” is critical to business survival.

But what are those “right values”? Consumers don’t want politics; just 19% of customers told PwC that left-of-center social values drove the most trust, whereas the universal values of accountability and consistency ranked 50% and 39%, respectively. This is true for people across the political spectrum: Liberals and conservatives alike have made China the world’s leading manufacturer despite China’s positions on key issues like genocide against Muslims and widespread forced abortions, respectively.

Luxury panies are, again, our North Star when es to doing business right. They know that consumers share the same marketplace priorities. We want to be treated well when making a purchase, understand what we’re getting when we make said purchase, and believe that the product or service will be delivered on time for the agreed-upon price. And if something goes wrong, we want munication and accountability to correct the problem.

These critical values supplement pany’s value proposition because they’re universal. There is no brand risk to treating all people as they deserve, paying your staff well, and having a culture of accountability; whereas having the “wrong” opinion about culture and politics can earn bad press and distract senior executives from focusing on growth.

“Senior executives bring the most value by focusing on customer service, high employee retention, and gross and net profit,” says Mike Feuz, an economist who consults for national and multinational corporations. “The best business leaders look long term, beyond the noise of public opinion and quarter-to-quarter performance. They keep critical goals front of mind, which mitigates short-term risk and keeps the pany on track.”

Consumer opinion surveys have made customer priorities clear: They want their orders taken care of first, now and always. It’s why luxury panies like BMW and Tesla shattered records last year.

But the panies go beyond a simple product or service. Despite their political controversies, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks have products their customers want. But they’ve also created environments in which universal values are respected. Chick-fil-A has the most profitable franchise in fast food because of employee politeness: It’s never “You’re e,” but instead “My pleasure”—and it moves drive-thru customers at amazing speeds. And Starbucks prioritizes your name and giving you a relaxing coffee experience with your latte and pastry.

Politically oriented capitalism made huge inroads with corporate America in the years leading up to the pandemic. But as we saw Netflix—hardly a socially pany—defend Dave Chappelle against critics, and the University of Michigan—which explicitly supports legalized abortion—defend a pro-life professor against medical students who walked out on her department e speech, the pendulum may be swinging back the other way.

Historically and today, the panies put customer value before generic, ever-changing social activism, which most consumers don’t care about when making a purchase. This may seem a no-brainer, especially for free-market readers, but it can’t be emphasized enough that, when times get panies that value their customers will thrive by putting their energy into keeping shelves stocked and meeting those customers’ real needs instead of listening to social media activists and cable news talking heads who, deep down, petitive prices and good customer service as much as you do.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Samuel Gregg on the legacy of the late Michael Novak
In a recent article for Public Discourse, Samuel Gregg articulates the great impact that the late Michael Novak had both on him personally, but also in promoting free market economics and moral living for a greater, more virtuous world. He says: When news came of the death of the theologian and philosopher Michael Novak, the loss was felt in a particularly sharp way by those of us who knew him personally. Like many people of all ages, I was fortunate...
To avoid a demographic winter, Europe must understand human dignity
Like all of Europe, Poland is suffering from a steep demographic crisis. Despite a relatively large (European) population andan expansive land mass that serves as a bridge between Europe and Asia, Poland has a fertility rate lower than that of China – a nation that only recently relaxed its One-Child Policy. (Beijing now enforces its two-child policy no less ruthlessly.) Several European (and non-European) nations have tried to incentivize their citizens to have more children through various means: taxpayer subsidies...
Religion & Liberty: Fighting for totalitarianism’s victims
The unofficial theme for Religion & Liberty’s first issue in 2017 is despotism. In this issue, you’ll find stories from the Soviet Union, a close look into the North Korea regime and a reexamination of Hitler’s rise to power. The cover story is an interview with human rights expert Suzanne Scholte, who discusses her passion for fighting the sadistic rule of Kim Jong Un and working with North Korean defectors. After 20 years fighting for those who don’t enjoy freedom...
5 Facts about Washington’s Birthday
Today is the U.S. federal holiday known as Washington’s Birthday (not “Presidents Day—see item #1). In honor of George Washington’s birthday, here are 5 things you should know about the day set aside for our America’s premier founding father. 1. Although some state and local governments and private businesses refer to today as President’s Day, the legal public holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code. The observance of Washington’s birthday...
Explainer: What is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)?
On Wednesday, February 15, the European Parliament approved theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free trade agreement abolishing most trade restrictions between the European Union and Canada. Negotiators hammered out the 1,600-page agreement over the course of seven years before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Council President Donald Tusk signed CETA last October 30. Then, the pact swept through the Strasbourg-based European Parliament by a vote of408-254 with 33 abstentions last week. What does it do? CETA...
Toward a Christian view of economics
Embed from Getty Images Many Christians assume that the Bible has nothing at all to say about economics, says theologian Albert Mohler, but a biblical worldview actually has a great deal to teach us on economic matters. Mohler outlines twelve theses for what a Christian understanding of economics must do. Here are three of them: 1. It must have God’s glory as its greatestaim. For Christians, all economic theory begins with an aim to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31). We...
When morality evaporates
When Tzvetan Todorov died on Feb. 7, the Bulgarian/French philosopher and literary critic was lamented only in certain intellectual ghettoes. To the men and women eulogizing Todorov in these circles, he was feted properly if not stingily, which is most unfortunate. Finite word counts are a harsh mistress when a fellow writer endeavors to create a fully realized portrait of his or her subject. Todorov leaves behind a body of historical and moral philosophy that connects the dots between the...
5 Facts about Michael Novak
The theologian, scholar, and writer Michael Novak died yesterday at the age of 83. Novak was one of the most influential Catholic thinkers of his generation, and an indefatigable champion of free enterprise, democracy, and liberty. Here are five facts you should know about Novak: Michael Novak / Acton Institute 1. At age fourteen Novak entered Holy Cross Seminary of the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame with the intention of ing a Catholic priest. From there, he went...
How Michael Novak changed your life
Michael Novak died last Thursday at the age of 83. In a remembrance for The Hill, Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico reflects on the passing of his friend and mentor, and how he changed all of our lives: Some of my most memorable conversations took place over what would e effectively known as the Salon Novak: dinner parties that Karen and I would orchestrate where we witnessed Clare Boothe Luce contending with Jack Kemp and Bill Bennett on...
Why is customer service better at Starbucks than at the DMV?
Note: This is post #22 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Prices are signals that indicate to suppliers how much is being demanded. So what happens when the government puts a cap on the price that can be charged for a product or service? Two effects are shortages and lower quality. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok explains why this happens. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved