A passionate customer base can do wonders for your business. In many ways, a small business can become much more than the sum of its parts. We all know companies that have become integral parts of our lives, bringing positive energy and satisfaction to our lives.

So what are some things your organization can do to attract and retain a passionate base of customers that not only return to your business but also tell others about how great you are?

Here are four basic steps any business can take to start creating that following:

1. Create and Sell High-Quality Products/Services

The best thing you can do to encourage word of mouth and customer loyalty is to create and sell only the highest quality products and services for your price point. An important follow up to this is consistency. You want to offer the best products over and over again, helping cement the fact that your business is reliable when it comes to quality.

By outperforming your competitors in regards to quality, customers will be blown away and affirm in their minds that your business is definitely their best option. In fact, it can be down right exciting to discover a company that truly takes pride in it’s offerings.

It is also very satisfying to have a product exceed your expectations. Making customers feel they got more value than expected for the money spent is a sure fire way to spark word of mouth marketing and build a base of passionate customers.

2. Build Relationships with Your Clients

Business is about connecting with others and providing value. Enjoying a great conversation and catching up with your local business adds to the customer experience and keeps people coming back.

In today’s lonely and isolated world, everybody can benefit from some real human conversation. Try to establish some sort of relationship with your clients, even if it’s just a thirty-second conversation.

After some time, you’ll notice that people will come back more and more, looking to engage with not only your business but the people that work there.

We all want a good deal and quality products, but sometimes adding a caring human touch can do wonders to boost customer loyalty.

3. Define What You Stand For

Businesses that define important values, issues, or standards have an easier time connecting with their client base. It gives them something in common and helps build a community of like-minded individuals. For example, Apple used their “Think Different” campaigns to connect with people that themselves felt a bit outside the norm.

What’s important to you?

Why did you start your business?

Try to come up with a mission statement that your company truly believes in and then share that with your customers on a regular basis. You could even think of different causes that you support and integrate them into your business.

For example, if you have a passion for saving animals, you could affiliate your business with a local non-profit. Eventually, your customer base could grow more towards animal lovers that support and admire what you’re doing.

4. Stay In Touch With Your Customers Regularly

After doing all of the above, you will want to stay in touch with your customers so you stay in their minds as time goes on. This is where marketing can help you make an impact.

Send out tweets.

Share photos of your latest product.

Write blog posts sharing your knowledge.

The goal is to provide valuable and well thought-out content to your customers so they come back to your business. The key here is to make sure you’re connecting in ways that are desirable and not annoying. The last thing you want to do is come across as some salesy business trying to get people to buy more and more products.

Instead, focus on providing information that either entertains your customer base, helps them connect with your mission and values, or educates them about something they would find interesting.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!