10 Things I Love About your Business

Have you ever wondered what makes consumers fall head-over-heels in love with companies?

Certain brands develop a dedicated (unpaid) fan base that continually raves about them — while others struggle to gain a tweet, like or or recommendation.

If you’re wondering how customers morph into brand champions that cannot say enough good things about your company, here’s why:

Ten reasons customers can’t get enough of your products and services:

1. Your brand represents ideals and issues I care about.

A company should be more than the products and services it sells. Once you’ve started to sell and ship products, don’t forget to transition your company into a brand. Develop a unique, creative and inspiring brand that clearly differentiates your product from those of other sellers in the market. Seek to create an emotional connection.

2. You educate and inspire me through your messaging.

You may presume that you exist to solely sell products. However, this is not the case. Most successful companies also create even more value beyond their products by educating customers — and empowering them to make the best decisions possible. And when you empower people, you organically develop brand champions and viral capabilities that extend way beyond the resources of your own organization.

3. Your company delivers more than what I expect.

It may seem trite, but taking the extra step to wow customers can go a long way. A company that ships office supplies, can also ship a few pieces of candy with their packing slip. A retailer that sells clothing can also develop a loyalty program to reward a customers’ patronage. Ultimately, small acts of kindness won’t break your company’s bottom line — in fact, they can add tremendous value when multiplied across thousands of customers.

4. If you get it wrong, you go above and beyond to make it right.

As small businesses grow, they will inevitably face challenges as they scale. It’s a learning process. However, your customers will appreciate you even more if you own up to mistakes and seek to make them right — immediately. Have you ever received the wrong item or a defective product. It happens. No company is perfect. But what matters most, is how a small business responds to their own short-comings. If you look to make what’s wrong – right, your customers will thank you for it in the end — because surprisingly, many companies don’t.

5. You make the shopping experience user-friendly and enjoyable.

If you own an e-commerce website – ensure that it is aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. If you run a brick-and-mortar business, make the retail space inviting and pleasurable. You’d be amazed at how many customers rely solely on their initial impression of your business to decide whether or not they’ll spend their money with you.

For example, online users may land on your site, and immediately become turned off by the design — and bounce to another site, rather than continue viewing other pages on your site. Or if you fail to provide a clean and uncluttered in-store experience, you can potentially miss a lot of foot traffic.