3 ways to get your customers to fall in love with your business

Aug. 24, 2022

Many of us have experienced the feeling of excitement of new a discovery. The desire for more. Sharing your happiness with your friends and family. Wouldn’t it be great if all your customers felt that way about your business?

Rieva Lesonsky

Here are three ways to get customers to fall in love with your business.

1. Be social

On social media, you’ll find plenty of evidence of how much consumers love to brag about a new business they’ve fallen in love with. Post after post shows people boasting about a new service or product discovery and their hype gets other consumers interested. In fact, studies prove how much social media influences purchasing decisions for most consumers. The key is figuring out the best ways to use social media to promote your business. Number one is to be on the platforms your customers are on. If you want customers to be social about your business, you must be social yourself. List your social media in all your marketing materials, and boost engagement by asking questions, posting coupons, or a funny video. Use social media analytics to see what type of posts are getting shared and adjust your marketing efforts accordingly. And don’t forget about ratings and review sites, where customers can leave reviews of your business. Ask customers to review your business, check back often to see what people are saying—and respond (politely) to both positive and negative comments.

2. Be part of the community

How you contribute to your community matters to your customers—just ask them. In a 2019 survey on best-loved brands from Morning Consult, a global research company, consumers ranked brands by several factors, one being how the brand has positively impacted their community. Be advised, the word community means different things to different people and also varies depending on your industry. The owner of a pet store certainly considers their local town as their community, but it could also mean pet lovers all over the world.

Brainstorm ideas with employees or other business owners on how to be active in the community. Think small (sponsor a local charity event) or big (get on the board of a national organization)—the more ways you give back the more your customers will show you their love.

3. Be a good listener

How many times have you wished your significant other really listened and understood what you are trying to tell them? Unlike in a personal relationship, where one person will work to be heard, customers who don’t believe you are listening will just move on to your competitor. Listening means taking a step back from the hard sell and really hearing what the customer wants from your business. Most likely customers are looking for solutions to their problems, whether that’s what gift to buy an important client, how to fix a broken appliance, or even how to find a new hobby. Customers fall in love with a business they can trust to be there for them when needed; a business that offers the products or services to make their problems go away. Forge a solid relationship built on trust and dependability and you’re on your way to true love with your customers.

Article reprinted from the Small Business Administration

About the Author

Rieva Lesonsky

Rieva Lesonsky is president and CEO of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBusinessCurrents.com. She’s a nationally-known speaker, best-selling author, and authority on entrepreneurship and has covered the industry for more than 30 years. Prior to starting GrowBiz Media, she was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur magazine.

Lesonsky regularly writes about small business and entrepreneurship for numerous websites. She also consults with and produces content for corporations targeting entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Lesonsky has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart show and Oprah, and can regularly be seen on MSNBC’s Your Business.

Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, and was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate. In 2009, she was honored as one of publishing’s top innovators. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization honored her for helping drive “the entrepreneurial revolution in secondary education.” The ASBDC awarded her a “Champion of Small Business” award and in 2012 she received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She’s been named one of the nation’s top 100 Small Business Influencers and is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.