Are You Spreading the Love?

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. It’s fun to go into or past stores and see the shelves stacked with shiny red hearts, yummy chocolates and cards that express love in so many different ways. What’s even more fun is knowing that this celebration of love goes all the way back to 5th century Rome. 

Some ideas just have staying power. 

Love for instance. While we don’t usually talk about it much in business, but it’s one of the main reasons people stay with a company – they feel cared about (and dare I say “loved)! 

I just have to listen to some of the language I hear in my own backyard to understand the role love has in business. In the past week or so I’ve noticed the following things being said. “I love dealing with them – their service is great” “I love that restaurant” “I love my car!” “I love my hairdresser” “I love that website” “I love that class” “I loved that movie.” “I love my job.” "I love my mechanic!" 

If you really want to feel the love in the air, pay attention to all the expressions of love you hear in the next week or two. Then think about whether or not the expressions of LOVE mean additional business for the establishment they’re meant to describe. 

I think you will find a stunning correlation!

Will the love you create in the workplace and the marketplace pay off? Oh Yeah! 

In my second book “Building Customer Loyalty - 21 Essential Elements in Action,” the last element I talked about -- and perhaps the most important -- is Devotion. 

Devotion is the feeling or showing of great caring, commitment and loyalty to the customer. It's a commitment of the heart.

Loyalty is a emotional connection.  

And we now know without a shadow of a doubt that the surest way to do that is to have that same caring, commitment and loyalty to your employees. Are people happy to come to work with you?  

Happiness at work is so critical to getting high performance results that it’s now being measured as a KPI. Key. Performance. Indicator. 

It’s so important to continued success that top scientists and psychologists have weighed in and can connect it directly to customers, productivity, innovation, sales, retention and a big ole' reduction in absenteeism.  

When people love where they work, when they feel cared about, it’s easy for them to want to come to work and to go the extra mile for the customer!

Give discretionary behavior, get discretionary behavior.  

This pandemic year has made it clear to every single exec I’ve talked to – the emotional well being of their employees and customers has taken the spotlight. 

Building real loyalty involves a commitment of heart as well as resources. 

Without a doubt, the devotion they have shown to their employees - by giving them extra training in stress and wellness strategies, chipping in for childcare, providing more tech tools, having cocktail parties and events - helps employees feel important and valued. 

It’s dedication, it’s enthusiasm – it’s LOVE!

When you create a business a customer loves coming back to, they come back and they bring friends. They say nice things and experience joy when they interact with you. Your employees feel good about themselves in the presence of positive feelings. It's what I call "Positive Spillover."

Spread the love, spread the joy. It’s a great time to offer your staff – and your customers different ways to positive in this changing challenging and sometimes negative world.

By the way - if you are one of my readers who loves “long form” writing you can read on – if you are one of my readers that says “make it short” – okay - you can stop reading here and still feel complete.

Here's a way fun Valentines Acronym: Our suggestion for a VALENTINE that will last throughout the year. 

Value – When was the last time you took a close-up look at the value you offer to customers and employees? When was the last time you and your team discussed new ways of adding value to the customer experience? It’s a great time to do it now. Value is at the heart of loyal customer relationships and profits. Create value for your customers every day in every way. Ask everyone, “How did you create value today?” List the many ways. 

Attention – In a world where most people are multitasking, make it your business to pay 100% attention to your customers, what they are saying, how they are feeling and what they need. Pay attention to your people – their needs for involvement and to make genuine contributions to your organization. Giving someone your full attention is one of the best ways there is to tell them you care. 

Love – That’s right, love! It makes the world go ‘round, even in business. Love in business is about your devotion to the well being of you customers, your staff and yourself. It’s all about your caring. And it’s common sense; customers and employees are more likely to give you their loyalty if they feel cared about. Customers today (especially today) are saying “Show me the love!” Go ahead – show it to them! 

Energy – Pour your energy and enthusiasm into everything you do. Customers love to do business with people with a “can do” and upbeat attitude. Co-workers love to be in environments where everyone pitches in, rolls up their sleeves, and gets the job done - without whining or groaning. Become a more positive leader. Don’t know how – call me, I specialize in teaching positive leadership. 

Nurture your relationships with all your stakeholders. This group includes customers, co-workers, your manager, suppliers, stockholders, the community in which your organization is located and even others in your industry. Make sure you’re always doing your best, and be constantly on the lookout for ways to build trust, show respect, communicate with kindness, and to nourish and grow them. 

Touch people’s hearts before you expect them to reach for their wallets. Loyalty is an emotional attachment. Since customers are usually emotionally attached to their money, you’d better be able to meet both their business and emotional needs.  

Integrity – Be able to define it, know what it means and what it looks like to you personally and to your organization. Have it, be it, demonstrate it – consistently. We are suffering painfully from a lack of integrity in today’s world. Stand out from the crowd and live your values. 

New Ideas – Industries and technology and communications are changing faster than you can say, “Google.” If you want to be able to anticipate customer needs, and to provide them with fresh ideas and new solutions you need to think not only outside the box, but also as if the box never existed in the first place. If you value new ideas, you have to show that you do by making time for your team to brainstorm in a safe (emotional) space. New, exciting ideas are an important part of what long term professional relationships thrive on these days. 

Exquisite – If you want to stand out in the crowded, competitive business world today, the experiences you create for customers and staff have to be more than satisfactory – they’ve got to be exquisite! After all, employees who receive exquisite care from management are more likely to deliver exquisite customer care.

 So there you have it. A Valentine's article and a little Extra ~

Get out there and spread some LOVE around! Send this article to at least 10 friends and ask them to send it to 10!

With Gratitude and Love,

JoAnna