Wednesday Wisdom: For the Love of Clients
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Success Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs, Women in Business
With Valentine’s Day approaching this week, I wanted to make sure women entrepreneurs remembered to share their expression of “love” with their clients and customers.
By the middle of the 18th century, Valentine’s Day was a customary day for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. Handwritten notes and sentimental thoughts were converted over time to a billion-dollar industry. According to today’s statistics, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
As I review these statistics, I wonder how a simple idea like creating Valentine’s Day cards could translate over time to a billion-dollar industry. Is love what really fuels business success?
It’s hard to be innovative in a world of a billion business success stories. I’m sure most women entrepreneurs wish they were creating the next best concept to launch them into the ultimate success stratosphere. But original ideas are hard to come by. If you just figure we are living in the 21st century and it took 3 centuries for the Valentine’s Day card industry to become a billion-dollar enterprise, you’ll see how challenging it can be for an idea to really take hold.
So the lesson today isn’t so much about what it takes to create the next best ground-breaking concept because honestly, the fruition time for success could outlast an entrepreneur’s lifetime. The lesson is about love. Yes, love.
People love to know other people care. Customers in particular love to know their vendors care about them. In the automated, super technical world we live in, a simple gesture of affection – a card, a flower, a gift, a thank you note can have more impact on your current customer base than a new splashy ad campaign can do to attract new clients. Business is about love, isn’t it?
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is meant to have you stop and think about the most important people who make your business successful. Who are they – vendors, partners, sponsors, advisors or friends? Have you taken time lately to tell them they matter? Can you find 30 minutes this week to send a few handwritten “love letters,” like they used to pen in the 18th century, to a few really important people connected with your business?
I think you’ll find as corny as it sounds, displaying love and affection in your entrepreneurial life will reap you a billion seconds of clients remembering who you are.
Women TIES 