Happy Valentines Day
As evidenced by the veritable flood of hearts, roses and smooching couples, today is the highly commercialised feast of St. Valentine. As you can probably gather, I’m not a big fan of the industry that the day has become, and its a pretty safe bet that St. Valentine himself (although apparently there were a few of that name) would be of similar mind.
Still, under all the garishness and tat, the day does server as a useful reminder to make a bit of a fuss of your loved one. For no matter how close you are, if there is no outward manifestation of that love then your partner might feel they’re not actually so special.
Loving your clients
Of course, this applies in a business setting too. Many businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, certainly avail of the opportunity afforded by Valentines Day to try to attract new customers and encourage existing ones to return. Special offers abound, all trying to entice you to choose their flowers, or book a table at their restaurant.
Even outside the hospitality sector there are Valentines-themed offers. I had one in my inbox this morning from a recruitment company…I think they were professing their undying love, or something similar?
But are companies missing a trick here?
Its not just for Valentines Day
If you want to create a long-term relationship, whether in your personal life or in business, then it needs constant attention. It doesn’t mean offering a bunch of roses once a year, or even showering them with gifts every week as over time that inevitably becomes counter-productive.
Instead, its the little things that work best. In a marriage, a compliment on how well your other half looks that morning can warm the heart. Similarly, with your clients, maybe an unexpected referral can achieve the same result. It shows that you have them in mind at all times.
Give a little Link Love
With websites, perhaps the easiest way to achieve this is by having a link on your website to your clients. This simple act can result in web traffic being sent in their direction on a regular basis. In essence, its the same as passing their business card on to people you meet.
What’s more, a good analytics package will allow the customer to see which sites are referring traffic on to them. So if your site regularly appears in those lists, then your customer will be reminded that you are actively working on their behalf.
If they don’t have an analytics package for their site, keep track of the number of times that link has been clicked on your site. You can then introduce those numbers into an email or conversation, along the lines of “I notice from our web stats that 50 people clicked on the link to your website last month…did you notice an increase in sales/enquiries?”. They’ll quickly get the message that you are actively working on their behalf.
So go on, give your customers a little love, add a link to your site. Don’t forget to encourage them to add a link back to your site too. After all, love is a two-way street!
If you already offer, and receive, some link love, is it working for you?
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