We all love our babies, no matter how difficult they make it to love them. A small business is usually like a team of old friends, full of insider jokes, and let’s face it, that’s what makes putting in all those long hours totally worth. While there is a lot of love inside the said small business, not all of outsiders fall in love with it naturally. Weird, huh? Perhaps, but it’s true! In spite of all the small business cuteness, fresh ideas, young people on board, pretty people on board, and an attitude to win the world, there are people out there who may not directly fall in love with your business. They may seem cynical but they are important, as they can turn into your biggest supporters. So, how exactly to make this happen? It’s no different than finding love as a person. Same rules, different domain. Here is how you can get a quick start.
# Say the sweetest things: One place where the young are always in advantage is an amusement park. If you can have fun, why not have it? People love reading a good story no matter how old or serious they are. So small business can and should write content that goes easy on heart, and sets you apart from ‘the man’. This means getting creative with your communication, and unfortunately that is not always easy to do. Not everyone can write great copy, or hire agencies to do it. What you can do however is to present an honest face, make your business the best version of you. Everyone loves people trying to make it big, especially real people. So don’t worry about whether what you are saying sounds ‘professional’, if it’s heartfelt, and sincere it will strike a chord, and find some lovers for your business.
# Give Attention: There is an easy way to get noticed. Let people know that you are noticing them, you care what they think, what your business means to them. As time passes your small business will start making a reputation as a ‘real’ company run by people who care. This makes it very easy for your clients or customers to love your company. There are ways to do this without setting up new processes. Just get equipped with software that save additional information with transaction documents. You could start by making casual conversation with your client, and if you come across information like their birthdays, anniversaries, save that with other information you have about them. This way you would be collecting a lot of information over a period of time. Information which will not only help you be attentive, but also create some really detailed and personalized business intelligence.
# Celebrate Little Moments: Everyone wants a viral moment in life and times of 2013, and no one knows how to land it. Here is a little tip that can help you probably have a shining moment that makes your small business a sweetheart of your audience. Learn to keep a watch on the everyday weirdness that comes with starting a small business. Ask yourself if you had a great conversation with a client? Did someone say something about your business that was completely different than the way you think about it? Did you get a big contract and party lasted a bit longer than it should have? Make a practice of talking about things like these, and celebrate little moments of success or at times learnings (that’s what we call a failure these days). You would find that the chances of being liked and loved increase if people think you have a good time too often. It’s simple, people like people who live it up because they cannot, but they want to, they really do.
# Care about what’s beyond business: The big guys have known this for a long time. It’s one of the reasons that they take CSR so seriously. Doing something good for the environment and society elevates your small business and adds much needed goodwill. What’s more, it doesn’t have to be spending a huge amount of money, you could start with something as simple as going paperless. You would not only save a huge bunch of trees but also a big chunk of expenditure on paper. You could also take a look at supporting a charity organization that is in line with your business or brand. Yes, this does take some additional effort on your part, but it’s definitely worth it. So do give it a try.
These were a few things to get you started. Creating a business that is loved by many is no simple task. It’s a long process and obviously cannot be spelt out in one article. So keep visiting us for more interesting stuff on running a small business. Hope you have a great time attracting new followers for your business. Do let us know your thoughts on the article. Do you agree with it, disagree with it, did you have a good time? Let us know! We are all ears!
