photo credit: M. Janicki
Maybe when you were a kid, you dreamed of growing up to be a rock star or an actor. The idea of fame and glory, and all those screaming fans, has a certain appeal. I think there is something inherent in all of us that has us desiring to be recognized. Maybe you don’t crave attention like Paris Hilton, but you do like to be appreciated.
While the whole rock star thing is probably out of reach, getting fans may not be. As a small business owner, you can create fans of your business. These fans won’t pull off their underwear and throw it at you, but they will sing your praises to friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers. Thanks to the internet, blogging, and social media, what a fan says about you can travel pretty far and wide.
What Makes a Fan?
To gain a fan, you need to either be astounding or do something astounding. Fans don’t flock to boring businesses. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a whiz kid. You can create fans be providing amazing value, great interaction, and/or a superb product.
Fans start out as admirers. They like what your company does. They appreciate the product. To take admiration to the level of fanhood, there needs to be some kind of trigger. The best thing you can do to trigger this is to provide some personal interaction. Become a fan of your fans.
As a small business owner, your goal should not be to make fans of your product. Product is a fickle thing. If you build up all of your admirers on a product, what happens when a newer and better product comes to market? Mass exodus. Instead, you need people to be fans of your business. This can start with your product being great, but it doesn’t end there.
Simple Gestures
When you get a customer, that should be celebrated as a big thing inside your business. Each and every customer is important. Even more so if you consider that you have the opportunity to turn any happy customer into a raving fan. What are some ways that you can make this happen?
One simple way is to provide a token of appreciation. Recently, I have been on the receiving end of some t shirts. I never really saw the value of a t shirt printed with your business name before, but I have been converted. When a company that I have had a positive interaction with sends me a t shirt, it serves as a reminder of those positive feelings. I not only appreciate it, but I will wear it with pride. It provides a tangible connection between buyer and company.
Even a personal phone call or email can go a long way toward making customers fans. Do something out of the ordinary in appreciation for your customer, and they will have warm glowing feelings for your company.
Added Value
Another great way to build fans is to give customers a lot of added value. This can be built into your product or service, or it can be in the form of additional information, especially if it helps the customer directly. SmartDraw is a company that has this down. They offer a software program that helps you with all kinds of charts and visualization. I find their product useful, but it is not what made me a fan of the company. What is really great about SmartDraw is that they provide a wealth of information about how to use their product to accomplish things for your business. This includes a blog and mini-courses, along with a Twitter updates that link to great information.
There are so many ways to build the love through added value. When you ship a product, is it going out in amazing packaging, or a plain cardboard box. How is your user manual? Instead of long and boring, it can be fun and conversational. Think of some of the little things you can do to add value around your own product or service. This shows that you care, and your customers will love you for that.
Think about Zappos, a company with a large and vocal fan base. They don’t have fans because of the shoes that they sell. They are the same shoes you can get anywhere. Zappos has fans because of the value it adds around the purchase. Its the next day shipments, the easy returns, and the amazing customer service experience that make people raving fans of this shoe store.
What Raving Fans Do For Your Business
So, if you focus on the customer and show that you care about them and appreciate them, you have a good chance of turning them into a fan. But you may be thinking, why go to the trouble? Even if you don’t have a rock star complex, fans can benefit your business in interesting ways.
A fan is different from the average customer. To get an idea of this, just watch a football game and look at the die-hards. People come to the games in costumes, body paint, with signs, and everyone shouts themselves hoarse. They believe in their team and want them to win.
Your business needs people who believe in it and want it to win. Not only do you gain encouragement from these people, they help spread the word about you to others.
Thanks to the world of instant communication we are experiencing with the rise of the internet, word can spread quickly and widely. So, if you have an army of fans, the word will get spread about your business. Suddenly, you will see an upsurge in referral business, new links being created that point to your website, and the birth of a viral marketing machine that will be the envy of your competition.
There is no referral network better than a fan network. And if you keep doing the special things to make new fans, it will just grow and grow. It is very scalable.
Take Action
Start thinking about how important each and every customer is to you, not just in terms of their sale, but in terms of their potential impact. Not everyone will become a super-fan, but you only need a few to get the ball rolling. Many will follow. So get creative and think of a few ways you can add value and go the extra mile to make a customer smile and think good things about you. And if you decide to print t shirts, be sure to send me one.
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Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow Bradford on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BradfordShimp.com
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