What’s love got to do with it?
When was the last time you asked yourself, “Do our customers love us?”
Maybe you’ve asked this question in different ways. Perhaps you’ve even hired consultants to measure “brand affinity” and other chilly-sounding concepts like “attachment-aversion relationships.” But when was the last time you surprised your clients or constituents with something that made their hearts skip a beat or at a minimum make their pupils dilate even just a little?When was the last time your gave prospects a reason to love you?
Well, if your content marketing and communications strategies aren’t helping clients feel the love, then maybe it’s time to find ways to rekindle the feelings that first connected you with your clients and constituents.
Give Love to Get Love
In the age in which reTweets, Likes, Recommends, Thumbs Ups and Favoritization can equal love, it’s the selfless things in your communications that can really count and increase your lovability.
Or, as Tim Sanders says in Love is the Killer App, “When you represent knowledge, opportunity, selflessness, and intimacy, you are not just a service provider or a product. You are fun, you are interesting, you are valuable; you take people places they have never been before, you show them books they have never heard of, you introduce them to people they never dreamed they would meet — in short, you are the equivalent of a human theme park.”
More directly stated, if your marketing and communications messages are more selfless than self-absorbed, you have a greater chance that your constituents will feel the love for your company or organization. If your day begins with the basic premise of “What have I done for you lately?” you stand a higher likelihood solidifying a long-term relationship.
5 Ways to Romance Your Clients
The characteristics that make for great Valentine’s Day celebrations and successful, loving relationships can work for you communications and marketing:
- Tell them you love them and mean it – sincerity wins hearts and respect
- Aim for the element of surprise – the unexpected will always be appreciated
- Give a reason to brag – you want them to talk about it the day after
- Be unique – you’ll be remembered for originality
- Make them feel special – If they believe they are the only one, you have a friend for life.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Kevin Sparkman is VP/Cofounder of Fusionspark Media Inc.