The Treat Method Make your customers feel so good about their decision to give you their business that they do it over and over again.
By Kim Walsh Phillips Edited by Heather Wilkerson
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The Tall One, aka my husband, is so embarrassed by me. I am a grown woman saying loudly multiple times a day as I go out the door, "Wanna go potty? Go potty! Go potty!" with pure excitement and joy in my voice.
And to be honest, I kind of love being a cheerleader for my puppy (like I was born for this) but that's not why I do it.
I do it because I am encouraging Daisy's positive behavior with positive reinforcement. You use my lawn for your potty instead of my office, you will be met with joy and treats. (Well, not you. That would be terrible. Just my puppy.)
And it's worked. The puppy will behave for my positive attention and her peanut butter treats. Less mess for me to clean up and more joy for my dog. But this isn't just a method for Daisy. It can work for your list too.
Related: 6 Ways to Build a Bond With Customers
When someone comments on a Facebook post, do you write a meaningful comment back thanking them for commenting and appreciating the time they took to do it? Probably not. Most are simply clicking "like" and calling it a day.
When you get an email back from someone after you sent one to your list, are you replying back with appreciation for the person writing it? Most don't bother to reply to the positive emails they get. They instead focus only on the problem customers.
What about when you get a sale, referral or a repeat customer? How are you recognizing their behavior so that they want to do it again?
Most of the time when we make a purchase, send a customer someone's way or choose to be a patron of something again we never hear anything from the vendor. It is hard to feel like our dollars really matter to them.
What if you acted differently and made your customers, clients or patients feel special about their choice to give you their business and time so that they were encouraged to do so again? It could be just the thing that gets them to choose you over anyone else the next time.
Related: Customer Experience Will Determine the Success of Your Company
Start with giving more love and attention to those who are giving it to you. That will encourage them to do it again and attract more of your perfect prospects to your brand.
And working with your ideal perfect-fit clients, customers or patients is exactly what every business owner wants. No potty talk required.
