What makes customers happy? While there's no magic formula to keeping customers satisfied, you can take inspiration from these customer satisfaction quotes.
If you're in a customer service or leadership position, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about keeping your customers happy so they continue to purchase from you and tell their friends about your brand.
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To improve your customer satisfaction, you can take wisdom from the world's top entrepreneurs, customer service experts, and authors like Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Maya Angelou, Sam Walton, and Jeff Bezos.
We've rounded up the top quotes about customer satisfaction to start you on your journey.
Customer Satisfaction Quotes
1. Tony Hsieh, Former CEO of Zappos
"Let's take most of the money we would've spent on paid advertising and paid marketing and instead of spending it on that, invest it in the customer experience/customer service and then let our customers do the marketing for us through word of mouth."
While Hsieh recently passed this year, this is the general philosophy at Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer.
In Tony Hsieh's and his company's opinion, a business should be modeled after building happiness for both customers and employees. That is the true recipe for success. Customers can't be satisfied if the employees serving them aren't.
2. Alex Allwood, Customer Experience Management Consultant
"It comes down to how your customer experiences the brand – and how that brand makes a person feel."
Alex Allwood trusts in this mantra as a customer experience specialist and author of Customer Experience is the Brand.
With growing competition in every industry in every aspect — from price to technology to innovation — Allwood believes the way to differentiate your brand is through improving customer experience.
A standout customer experience is what helps a customer remember a brand, and that's why companies should be focusing on meeting customer needs and expectations.
3. Julie Rice, Co-Founder of SoulCycle and Peoplehood
"There's a certain way of creating a service, hospitality, and experience that perpetuates people feeling like they matter."
In an interview, Julie Rice discussed how she wanted WeWork to have the same sentiment as SoulCycle by having members connect with each other and the brand connect with its customers.
So much of what drives SoulCycle is its feeling of belonging.
Members are continuously satisfied by their experiences with the brand not only because of the intense fitness classes but because of the community aspect. The relationships they build and the acceptance they feel drives their lifetime loyalty.
4. Steve Jobs, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Apple
"Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves."
According to this quote from Steve Jobs, the best form of customer satisfaction is exceeding expectations that customers didn't even know they had.
The best customer reps don't wait until customers ask questions and bring forth problems to solve.
Proactive customer support is high in demand these days. Offering product solutions, upgrades, and new technologies to customers shows them that you prioritize their needs and know what's best for them.
5. Dr. Maya Angelou, Poet, Educator, and Historian
"People will soon forget what you said. They will never forget how you made them feel."
In an interview with a Wisconsin newspaper, Dr. Angelou talked about the things she's learned after living for 75 years.
While it's unclear whether this quote was originally said by her or adapted from Carl W. Buehner, the point still remains pertinent to customer service teams.
If you deliver a delightful service experience, customers will remember it and seek out your brand in the future.
6. Dan Peña, Chairman and Founder of the Guthrie Group
"The best form of customer service is self-service. Constantly empower customers to get their own answers themselves."
A vibrant personality who's not afraid to speak his mind, Dan Peña is an American businessman that achieved success through his no-nonsense, gritty attitude.
In this quote, Peña is arguing that customer self-service is as, if not more, effective than traditional customer support.
Self-service empowers customers to find their own solutions, getting them faster answers and freeing up your service team to work on more complicated support tickets.
7. Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo
"The basics of business is to stay as close as possible to your customers, understand their behavior, their preferences, their purchasing patterns, etc."
In this quote, Indra Nooyi outlines the importance of a company building a close bond with its customers.
In order to truly satisfy your customers, you can't make mere assumptions about what they want.
The only way to build products and services that they'll actually purchase is by paying attention to their actions and listening to their praises and complaints.
Mold your company around your customers, rather than forcing customers to adapt to you.
8. Angela Duckworth, Co-Founder of Character Lab
"Unless you have a vision, you haven't begun to do the practice that makes you great."
This quote comes from Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology and winner of the 2013 MacArthur "Genius" grant.
Duckworth is saying that people need to make plans if they're going to achieve a goal, and in customer service, that means you need to know how you can support your customers before you can actually help them.
By auditing your customer service resources, you'll identify the most effective ways to support customers and engage them on channels that they're most comfortable using.
9. Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group
"None can destroy iron, but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his own mindset can."
Ratan Tata is the chairman of the Indian business conglomerate, Tata Group. He's one of India's most prominent philanthropic business leaders and has been the face of the organization since the early 1990s.
Even though he had family ties to the company, Tata started on the ground floor shoveling limestone in a car dealership until he worked himself into the position where he is today.
This quote reminds him that his success has been built upon his can-do attitude, and he can continue to succeed so long as he maintains that approach.
10. Girish Mathrubhootam, Founder and CEO of FreshDesk
"Don't be a jerk, even if you are brilliant, don't be a jerk."
Girish Mathrubhootam is the Founder and CEO of Freshdesk, a customer service software that helps businesses manage their customer support teams.
In an article posted on Your Story, Mathrubhootam sheds light on a common support roadblock that many SaaS businesses face.
Most customer support reps are product experts and can get frustrated when working with users who don't share their level of experience.
This quote acts as a friendly reminder that even if your reps are brilliant, they still need to exercise emotional intelligence.
11. Shiv Singh, Marketing and Customer Experience Executive
"The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers."
Shiv Singh is the author of the book, Savvy, which explores company cultures and how modern media influences the trust between consumers and businesses.
In the book, Singh offers this quote as a mission statement for organizations that want to build trust with their customers.
If your company focuses on customer success, your customers will start referring other people to your business. Not only does this improve customer retention, but it also reduces your customer acquisition costs.
12. Joseph Jaffe, Founder of The Alpha Collective
"Customer service is everything and anything that touches a customer — directly or indirectly. Customer service means servicing customers, and it's so much more than just solving problems or addressing complaints."
Joseph Jaffe is the Founder and CEO of Evol8tion, a marketing agency that connects small startups with established brands. This quote from his blog, Jaffe Juice, shows that customer service is more than just a reactive function.
Any interaction with the customer can be considered customer service, and employees need to keep that in mind if they want to create a consistent customer experience.
Jaffe goes on in the interview to discuss how proactive customer service can significantly improve satisfaction.
13. Sneh Sharma, Founder and CEO of Ittisa
"Your talent and the right opportunities open the first few doors, but your attitude opens the rest."
Sneh Sharma is the CEO of the Bangalore-based Media agency, Ittisa. Sharma is known for her creativity, work ethic, and attitude, which made her the successful businesswoman she is today.
In a blog post, Sharma talked about how her perspective has kept her eager to overcome new challenges. This quote serves as some quick-fire inspiration for customer service teams who may need some additional motivation for their day.
14. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
If you're not familiar with Warren Buffett, he's one of the world's most successful and influential businessmen. He's the outspoken CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and is reportedly worth over $80 billion.
This quote from 2003 demonstrates one of the reasons why Buffett has been so successful over the years. He understands that even the best companies can fail if they become complacent and stop prioritizing customer needs.
15. Jeffrey Gitomer, Author and Sales Trainer
"Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless."
This quote might seem shocking at first glance. Isn't this entire post about the value of customer satisfaction?
What Jeffrey Gitomer means by this (and he wrote an entire book about it) is that customer satisfaction is a single metric in time. It's a valuable measurement, but it doesn't necessarily translate into future action or revenue.
Customer loyalty goes a step further with the trust and shared values you build over time.
16. Alice Sesay Pope, Vice President, Global Device, Digital and Alexa Support at Amazon
"Customers don't care about your policies. Find and engage the need. Tell the customer what you can do."
At HubSpot, our support team has the mantra, "solve for the customer, not our convenience." This means we focus on meeting the customer's needs, even if that requires us to do a little more work than what our job typically requires.
Alice Sesay Pope, captures that idea with this quote by saying customers aren't interested in your company's policies. Instead, they're more concerned with the solution you're going to provide them.
17. Janet Robinson, Former President & CEO of The New York Times
"Repeat business or behavior can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned."
In this quote, Janet Robinson notes the distinction between customer sales and customer loyalty. It doesn't matter if a customer simply buys the same product over and over again from you if they feel no connection to your brand.
When a customer is truly satisfied with the brand experience, they'll gush about your company to others.
You want your customers to choose you over competitors because they are loyal promoters, not because you manipulated them into doing so.
18. Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations
"I believe customer service doesn't cost — it pays. Just like advertising earns money by bringing people in, customer service pays by bringing people back."
Shep Hyken, a customer service and experience expert, quoted this in an interview with the HubSpot Service Blog. Here, he discusses how customer satisfaction ties into the customer experience.
In his opinion, customer experience shouldn't be the responsibility of a specific customer department.
Every single employee in a company should focus everything they do on how it will be perceived by the customer and satisfy their expectations.
19. Brian Halligan, Co-Founder of HubSpot
"Your focus should include creating communities outside of your site for people to connect with you, your products, and others within the community. Ultimately, this 'outside' focus will drive people back to your site."
Hubspot Co-founder Brian Halligan said it best with this quote. The best way to satisfy your customers is by providing value beyond the physical purchase they make.
Yes, customers want an efficient product or service. However, they also want community. Exceed their expectations by helping them connect with your other customers and build a community that can also connect them back to you.
20. Kōnosuke Matsushita, Founder of Panasonic
"After-sales service is more important than assistance before sales. It is through such service that one gets permanent customers."
This quote is attributed to Kōnosuke Matsushita, who was the founder of Panasonic in 1918 and was renowned internationally for his customer-centric approach to business.
It's amazing that after 100 years, his ideas are still relevant to how companies provide customer service today.
While you certainly need to delight customers before they make a purchase, keeping them happy after the sale motivates them to come back to your business.
21. Simon Sinek, Author and Speaker
"Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders — in that order."
Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last, often speaks about how companies can build powerful organizations from within.
The result of a vision-centered company, though, is that the transformation spills out to inspire customers as well.
22. Walt Disney, Founder of Disney
"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever."
Walt Disney invented an entire empire of entertainment, delighting audiences with films and theme parks that didn't exist before.
While the first audience that comes to mind for Disney is children, adults are at the heart of their audience as well. Never forget the importance of laughter, play, and imagination for your customers.
23. Bill Gates, Philanthropist and Founder of Microsoft
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
While it's tempting to focus on your successes, take some time to look at your least satisfied customers.
Take it from Bill Gates, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our day.
Spend time uncovering the source of your customers' dissatisfaction, and you'll be able to uplift the experience for everyone.
24. Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon
"We innovate by starting with the customer and working backwards. The focus is not the product, but the customer.”
When you're building a product, it's tempting to start with your needs and wants and what you want to build. According to Jeff Bezos, we should be working backward instead.
Start with the customer and what they want. Ask your customer about their needs as the foundation and validation for any product ideas.
25. Katie Zabriskie, President of Business Training Works
"The customer's perception is your reality."
Kate Zabriske is a marketing consultant and author of the book, The Communication Jungle: Understanding Yourself and Others. Zabriske has worked on marketing teams for popular brands like Toyota, Sodexo, and Microsoft.
This quote highlights the importance of the customer's opinion and how your brand's reputation influences marketing, sales, and customer service.
Even if you think your business is great, the customer's perspective will always be the determining factor of your success.
26. Jakob Nielsen, PhD., Principal at Nielsen Norman Group
"Clear content, simple navigation, and answers to customer questions have the biggest impact on business value. Advanced technology matters much less."
Jakob Nielsen is known as one of the founders of the field of user experience (UX), which champions centering design around the user. He also famously once said, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," when asked for his top design tips.
What does that mean? Sophisticated technology is futile if the user can't actually navigate it. Keep things simple above all else.
27. Jay Baer, Author, Speaker, and Customer Experience Expert
"Customer experience is the key business differentiator of the 2020s (and beyond). It is exceptionally difficult to build and sustain a competitive advantage rooted entirely in price, selection, or even quality. But it is entirely possible for a business to be the best in its category at how it makes customers feel."
Companies far and wide hire Jay Baer to help their companies build better experiences.
When you've looked at as many businesses as he has, you'll notice that many of them start to sound the same — similar products at similar price points.
What makes you stand out and makes customers want to buy from you? An outstanding customer experience.
28. Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, Authors
"The worst thing you can do is meet expectations one time, fall short another, and exceed every now and then. I guarantee you'll drive your customers nuts and into the hands of the competition the first chance they get."
In their famed customer service book Raving Fans, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles emphasize the importance of consistency in customer service.
If you surprise and delight customers one week but then ignore their complaints or feedback the next week, you can't build trust. Without trust, your customer satisfaction will stay low.
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29. Horst Schultze, Former President and COO of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
"At The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, we have the motto, 'We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.' This exemplifies the anticipatory service provided by all staff members."
The Ritz-Carlton experience was pioneered around a level of excellence in service (famously, all employees can spend up to $2,000 to rescue a guest experience without manager approval).
Founder Horst Schultze created this motto to describe their approach of treating all guests like VIPs and empowering employees to act with professionalism, no matter their job.
30. Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart
"There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."
Many companies say that they put customers first, but the founder of Walmart reminds us that without the customer being satisfied, our jobs or companies wouldn't exist.
31. Ken Blanchard, Ph.D., Author and Service Consultant
"Customer service is not a department, it's everyone's job."
A sought-after speaker and customer service expert, Dr. Ken Blanchard has written book after book about how to wow customers.
One idea he champions is that customer service is the responsibility of everyone across the company, not just those who have it in their job description.
32. Ron Kaufman, Author and Consultant
"Occasionally problems will occur. When it happens to your customers, fix the problem fast. Make it your speed and generosity that gets remembered, not the problem."
Let's acknowledge the obvious: All companies make mistakes. It's impossible to be perfect.
Ron Kaufman, author of Uplifting Service, reminds us that the customer won't remember the problem if we solve it with speed and exceptional service.
33. Gary Vaynerchuk, Serial Entrepreneur and Author
"It's not the number of followers you have or 'likes' you get, it's the strength of your bond with your followers that indicates how much anyone cares about what you have to say. In this game, the one with the most real relationships wins."
Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy, encourages us to look beyond vanity metrics (your number of subscribers, followers, or customers) at the true relationships you have with customers.
After all, a customer can move their business at a moment's notice if a relationship isn't there.
34. Peter Drucker, Father of Management Thinking
"The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that there are no results inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer."
As an individual working at a business, it's easy to spend all your time focusing on metrics, results, and numbers. At the end of the day, though, solving one customer's problem and making their day can surpass everything else.
35. Fred Reichheld, Author and Business Strategist
"Persistence provides a foundation for building loyalty. You have to keep at it. You have to expend energy, constantly, to fight against counterproductive currents and temptations for short-term solutions."
Fred Reichheld is well known for co-creating the Net Promoter Score, a one-question measure of a company's customer loyalty.
He argues that customer loyalty isn't something you simply gain once; you have to earn it day after day with persistence and consistency.
36. Stacy Sherman, Marketing Executive and Customer Experience Speaker
"Please and thank you are still magic words."
Stacy Sherman writes and speaks about humanizing business, which can become more difficult as companies scale.
As you think about delighting customers, don't forget the simple gesture of politeness and the transformation it can bring to an experience.
37. Shep Hyken, Customer Service Author and Speaker
"To the customer, you are the company."
It's important to remember that a single interaction can make or break a customer's perception of your company.
Every time you interact with that customer, you are the company. You have a great ability to impact their satisfaction at that moment.
38. Jeanne Bliss, Speaker and Consultant
"It's decisions made and actions taken that prove that the customer commitment is real and not lip service."
Ever heard that actions speak louder than words? Customer satisfaction hinges on actions, not just what you say in the public arena.
Make sure that you back up any promises you make to customers by following through, or you'll leave customers even more dissatisfied.
39. Clare Muscett, Consultant and CEO of Women in CX
"Building a good customer experience does not happen by accident. It happens by design."
It's not good enough to simply tell your customer service to be polite. Building experiences that satisfy customers is a deliberate process that needs to be baked into all levels of a company.
40. Howard Schultz, Former CEO of Starbucks
"If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand."
Customers are satisfied by products, services, and their interactions with your brand. One overlooked aspect of customer satisfaction and loyalty is your values.
When you share and live out a value that your customer shares, you'll earn their respect and loyalty for years to come.
These happy customer quotes and inspiring industry leaders can brighten your work days and show how you — as a customer service, support, or success employee — can improve your customers' satisfaction with your brand.
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