that you consider is the idea that people don’ t buy with their heads so much as with their hearts. The competition in today’ s marketplace is not for customers’ money. Not at all. The only real competition is for their emotions. Touch the hearts of the people you serve and they’ ll be back for more. Engage their emotions and they’ ll become your raving fans. Miss this insight and you just might lost your business.
Sure I could spend less on a cup of java. Sure there’ s a coffee shop closer to where I work. But I love the way going into a Starbucks make me feel. Relaxed. Happy. Good. And each of us craves good feelings as we live out our days. In so many ways, adults are nothing more than children in grown – up bodies – and children are all about feeling good. On this point about emotions driving customer behavior, Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, writes, in his superb book Lovemarks:“ The Future Beyond Brands:“ In my 35 years in business I have always trusted my emotions. I have always believed that by touching emotion you get the best people to work with you, the best clients to inspire you, the best partners and more devoted customers.” Roberts then quotes neurologist Donald Calne:“ The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.” A breathtakingly important point. Human beings move when their emotions are moved.
Human beings move when their emotions are moved.
How does carrying an iPod around make you feel? How does shopping at a hip ship makes you feel? How does walking into your favorite restaurant and being greeted like Diddy or Madonna or Bill Clinton make you feel? You get my point. People go where they are made to feel cared for, special and good. People buy from a place of emotional engagement. Seems to obvious. Yet most businesses don’ t get it.
Here’ s my blood statement for today: Business is in so many ways about love. Think about it. Success comes by treating your customers with love. Acclaim comes by doing your job with love. Market leadership comes with selling your wares with love. If your customers only like you, you are vulnerable to losing them when a competitor with a cheaper product or a more economical service comes along. Why? Because you’ ve failed to emotionally connect with them. But when your customers love you – because you’ ve touched their hearts by the way that you occur in their lives – you become part of their extended family. You’ re now a part of their community. They become loyal. They tell the rest of the family about you. And they’ ll take good care of you should times get tough.
So I’ ll keep going to Starbucks. I love the place. And if you ever want to find me, I’ ll be the guy tucked away in the quiet corner, sipping on a grande soy latte with a smile on my face and joy in my heart – feeling the love.
19. Learn to Say No
Every time you say yes to something that is unimportant, you say are no to something that is important.“ Yes men” and“ Yes women” never create anything great. There’ s huge value in getting good at saying no.
Saying no to the friend who wants to meet over coffee to gossip. Say no to the co – worker who wants to spread his negativity and cynicism. Say no to the relative who laughs at your dreams and makes you doubt yourself. Say no to the social obligations that drain time from your life’ s work.