You build customer loyalty by ditching the act (Published in The Business Journal)

In Hawaii, they say, “If you cross someone’s property on the way to the beach, be the first to smile and wave.”

This is great advice on so many levels. It shows that you are willing to take the first step to give the other person permission to take the second. And that’s how defense barriers come down and friendly relationships follow.

In our digital world we find ourselves vying for attention in a sea of overly simplified sound bites. We have a tendency to become minimalist as a form of efficiency. “Just keep it to business,” seems to be the order of the day. And its corollary, “Put your best foot forward,” seems to make sure that our image is photoshopped to perfection.

It seems ironic today, with the big trend toward transparency, credibility, and authenticity, that many of us have found ourselves clothed in pretentions that inadvertently create barriers to the very trust we seek in business.

This is the problem Leonard Kim and Ryan Foland tackle in their new book, Ditch the Act, Reveal the Surprising Power of the Real You For Greater Success. This message comes at a time when even the tech schools are realizing the power of soft skills in business success.

We chatted with Foland, a UC Irvine communications expert, about the book.

M&B: What is the core message you and Leonard are conveying here?

Foland: We wanted to demonstrate how exposing your imperfections and even failures can endear you to your customers. By letting down your guard, you actually invite compassion, understanding and support.

M&B: But don’t your customers expect a level of professionalism from you to give them confidence in your performance?

Foland: If your goal is to build a loyal customer, or even an advocate, they need to trust you first. That trust is based in relatability; basically, how much of themselves can they see in you? Sure, you must deliver a professional service or product, but what makes them loyal is identification with your human vulnerabilities.

M&B: Can you summarize the process you recommend to ditch the act?

Ryan: We have identified 8 steps to help take off the mask, increase authenticity, and build a loyal following.

Step 1: Understand that positioning is an art form. So position yourself as a real human. Craft your unique bio in a way that documents your whole story and not just your highlight reel. Include not only your good moments, but also the bad ones, highlighting your personal experience as the foundation for your expertise.

Step 2: Discover what makes you unique and identify the problem you are best suited to solve. Then learn how to share your stories with a targeted audience who needs your help.

Step 3: Overcome your fear and start sharing. Create stories and insights based on your exposure résumé and begin to weave them into your content. Start at lower levels of exposure and work your way up to sharing the skeletons in your closet.

Step 4: Focus on form, not force. Speak your truth and uncover how your stories reveal your values, ethics, goals, visions, passion, and desires. Start putting yourself out there and get comfortable with the content you create.

Step 5: Extract key content pieces and turn them into video scripts, and get in front of the camera, then hit the record button. Make videos, videos that show your personality and expertise, then embed them into content you’ve already published.

Step 6: Be consistent with content creation and learn how to nourish streams of content to stay top of mind.

Step 7: Keep it social, and foster camaraderie in new relationships both online and offline. Engagement sparks engagement, so don’t be afraid to start interacting with new people.

Step 8: Stack your successes by using small wins to gain bigger wins. Like writing a guest blog to help you land a low tier podcast interview, which might lead to a non-paid speaking gig, which might lead to a higher tier podcast, which might lead to being featured in a trade publication. Start small, but start!

Like the Hawaiian beachgoer, being the first to wave and smile, you can break down the barriers that separate you and your business from the friends-actional, family-like trust that builds true customer loyalty.

Originally posted in The Business Journal - https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2019/11/you-build-customer-loyalty-by-ditching-the-act.html