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Why Loving Your Customers Isn’t a Schtick

by Abby Kerr

in Uncategorized

About this column

Making your customers love you need not involve love potions, although that might be fun.

Image by Lucia. . .courtesy of Flick Creative Commons.

Like many of the best internet marketing awakenings I’ve had in my life as an online business owner, this one started with Naomi Dunford. In particular, it started with a recent post in which she says that the reason most online business owners fail to make the money they need is because they start asking for that money today. As in, on the day one recognizes the need for said money. Or even on Day One of business.

Naomi’s novel idea is this. Wait 29 days to ask for money:

Spend the first 28 days being totally, ridiculously awesome. Plan to make 100% of your money on the 29th day.

— Naomi Dunford, IttyBiz.com, “Make Them Love You. THEN Ask For Money,” August 23, 2010.

Sound schtick-y? Scammy? Not if you know Naomi.

And not if you do “totally, ridiculously awesome” right. {Go read Naomi’s post to get an idea of what that looks like.}

So shortly after Naomi’s post went live, LaVonne Ellis of The Complete Flake grabbed onto the idea and sent out a Tweet asking who wanted to join her in a Challenge. I think I may have been one of the first to respond back, “I’m scared, but I’m interested.” After all, I have something I want to launch and the 28-day timeframe works for me to get it created and launched.

I love my customers.

And my prospective customers. And my blog readers who may never be customers but who hang around for the free goodies. And I’m not afraid to show it. {After all, the word ‘love’ is my business’s tagline! Love is an important part of business for me and my right people.} And I’m certainly not afraid to step it up for 28 days and try to be totally, ridiculously awesome when it comes to showing them.

Then I Tweeted my friend David Crandall over at Heroic Destiny and showed him LaVonne’s Tweet. “Think of joining me?” I asked him. {He can tell you this story in more detail.}

So David said yes, then he and LaVonne put their heads together and then it was an official Challenge. With, like, an official Twitter hashtag. {#customerlove}

So there’s a bevy of us out here in the blogosphere trying for the next few weeks to be totally, ridiculously awesome to our right people to test out this theory of Naomi’s. Although from the #customerlove conversation on Twitter, I can assure you that most of us are doing this for reasons far beyond just making money. We’re doing, as LaVonne said, what we should be doing anyway, everyday, when it comes to being helpful and present and engaged and attentive, just being more intentional about it.

Here’s the official intro post for the Make Your Customers Love You Challenge, courtesy of LaVonne. Check in with The Complete Flake every day for the next few weeks for a new post filled with tips for making your customers love you. {And watch for my upcoming guest post!}

So here’s one way that I’m stepping up the awesome, in the hopes that you can feel more awesome about your niche-y entrepreneurial dreams.

From now until September 26th, I’m offering free, quickie, vision-fueled consulting sessions on the Abby Kerr Ink Facebook page. I’ll respond to the first three questions posed to me each day. A few guidelines:

1.} Questions must be clearly stated, and one question per asker per day.

2.} Questions must center on my areas of expertise: niche-y business, nichification, niche-y marketing, creative entrepreneurship, copywriting, or indie retail.

3.} My replies will be posted publicly on the Facebook page.

Looking forward to hearing your questions, and being wildly helpful.

If the Make Your Customers Love You Challenge intrigues you, why not join us? You can jump in at any time and count it as your Day 1.

In the comments, would love to hear how you try to be totally, ridiculously awesome for your customers.

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

LaVonne Ellis September 1, 2010 at 2:28 am

What a fabulous idea! And you can bet I’ll be lined up with my question. :D

Reply

LaVonne Ellis August 31, 2010 at 10:28 pm

What a fabulous idea! And you can bet I’ll be lined up with my question. :D

Reply

Timothy Morris September 1, 2010 at 5:00 pm

I am really enjoying your site. I got connected through David Crandall and am in on this challenge. I have no doubt that it will boost my community. I already have a few ideas of ways that I am going to hook them up in the next few weeks. I guess you will get it as well. Check you out – Free stuff coming your way!!!

Thanks again.

Reply

Timothy Morris September 1, 2010 at 1:00 pm

I am really enjoying your site. I got connected through David Crandall and am in on this challenge. I have no doubt that it will boost my community. I already have a few ideas of ways that I am going to hook them up in the next few weeks. I guess you will get it as well. Check you out – Free stuff coming your way!!!

Thanks again.

Reply

Abby Kerr September 1, 2010 at 6:31 pm

Hey, LaVonne —

Thanks to you, customers everywhere are going to benefit! :)

Hey, Tim —

Glad you feel inspired by this Challenge. I’m having so much fun with it already and it’s only Day 3. Looking forward to seeing what your hook up looks like.

— Abby

Reply

Abby Kerr September 1, 2010 at 2:31 pm

Hey, LaVonne —

Thanks to you, customers everywhere are going to benefit! :)

Hey, Tim —

Glad you feel inspired by this Challenge. I’m having so much fun with it already and it’s only Day 3. Looking forward to seeing what your hook up looks like.

— Abby

Reply

David Crandall September 2, 2010 at 2:57 pm

Great offer, Abby! I love that you are reaching out to people and offering what you do best. (Though I know that is consistent with how you normally are too.)

I’m so happy with how this challenge is going. People are responding so well and I love it. Thank you for being the one to hook me up with this movement.

I’ve thought for a long time that I knew a good 50% of the people on the internet. I swear you know the other half PLUS a bunch of mine. Tim’s even showing up in your comments now!!! ;)

Reply

David Crandall September 2, 2010 at 10:57 am

Great offer, Abby! I love that you are reaching out to people and offering what you do best. (Though I know that is consistent with how you normally are too.)

I’m so happy with how this challenge is going. People are responding so well and I love it. Thank you for being the one to hook me up with this movement.

I’ve thought for a long time that I knew a good 50% of the people on the internet. I swear you know the other half PLUS a bunch of mine. Tim’s even showing up in your comments now!!! ;)

Reply

Abby Kerr September 2, 2010 at 3:39 pm

Wild, isn’t it? I’m so excited to be partaking in this Challenge and glad that you and LaVonne have found a meeting of the minds over this.

And the Facebook quickie consulting sessions are going great. I’m very impressed by the depth of questions people have! It’s good to know what’s concerning them.

Reply

Abby Kerr September 2, 2010 at 11:39 am

Wild, isn’t it? I’m so excited to be partaking in this Challenge and glad that you and LaVonne have found a meeting of the minds over this.

And the Facebook quickie consulting sessions are going great. I’m very impressed by the depth of questions people have! It’s good to know what’s concerning them.

Reply

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