Valentine’s Day is not the only time to celebrate love. While this passionate emotion is often associated with family, friends and that special someone, it benefits your business to show customers love all year round. Adding a personal touch with benefits makes your business different and alluring. Learn the subtle art of loving your customers by giving them what they need and showing them something about your business personality. After all, attracting customers is a type of courting and the best approach leads to a meaningful relationship.
Give ‘Em What They Want
Just like the people you love, customers have desires and and needs. Getting in touch with those feelings helps you offer the most useful products and services. Knowing about your target market is the first step. Your goal is to cater to what they want and prove you can keep them satisfied. Don’t be the one-night stand of business relationships. Selling cheap or inferior merchandise then pumping up its value only lands a single sale. Delivering superior quality and excellent services keeps them coming back for more. Show them you’ve got the goods and aren’t afraid deliver them.
Show Me, Show Me, You Really Love Me
Once you get a customer’s attention, make sure to bring it on. An attractive website is bait to bring customers to your company offerings but don’t be just another pretty face. Add substance to your approach with meaningful content that addresses the customers’ questions. Make them nod their heads as they read your web content and realize it answers the questions they have in their heads. Go beyond the obvious and offer facts or solutions they might not find anywhere else. If you are in a heavily populated market, change your approach. Doing the same thing in a different way gives your brand a fresh, new look.
Try a Little Tenderness
One of the ways to reach out to customers is a personal approach. For years, a generic and formal voice was encouraged for business communications. Since the advent of the Internet, content has become more dynamic. Businesses are developing their own personalities through blogging and social media. Don’t be the boring wallflower in the crowd. Dare to infuse personality and a sprinkling of your own experiences into your work. Show you are both strong and vulnerable, which is how you were able to create solutions that matter to real people and not just search engines.
Let’s Get Physical
Most businesses are operating solely in a virtual world. Make sure to show customers you are real. Post actual photos of people from your company. Show them smiling, thinking and interacting. Attend local events to prove you are living, breathing human beings that go out in public. Participate in trade shows and expos to network with other entrepreneurs. Send out direct mail marketing packages with freebies such as pens, calendars and magnets. Give people tangible evidence of your existence rather than hiding behind a glowing computer screen.
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
Your content, products and services should appeal to customers’ senses. Make them laugh or bring them to tears. Encourage them to smile and learn. This is the type of content and offerings customers will want to talk about to others. Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most effective – and affordable- ways to market your enterprise. Some businesses even stir up a bit of controversy to get people to talk about them. Let your approach reflect your personality and brand. From nurturing to controversial, develop an approach customers relate to.
My Endless Love
First love is a sweet and unforgettable experience but then the reverie ends. Introducing someone to what you offer so they can ultimately built a rapport with the competition won’t give your relationship or business any staying power. The key is to be there for whatever they want. Learn creative ways to adapt as your target market changes and grows. Take advantage of new technologies and information. Be on top of what happens in your industry so you always have a cutting edge approach. While it is wonderful to get their love once, your goal is to build a relationship with customers that lasts for years to come. This requires growth, patience and the desire to make them happy over the long haul.
[box type=”shadow”]Main Takeaway:Love goes beyond Valentine’s Day and expressing your feelings to your inner circle. Show clients love and personality to brand your business and keep them coming back for more. Address customers’ needs, be innovative and be willing to develop long-term relationships.[/box]
