In businesses today, we are rediscovering our humanity in one way or another, and at the core of it is love.
Love doesn’t just play a role in business, it’s the key to business success in the new economy.
The growing love economy
The love economy is gradually growing and businesses all over the world are embracing it. The business of the future and the future of business is love. That is to say, if love is missing in your business, your business may not survive in this future.
The author and entrepreneur Daniel Priestly‘s remark on this subject is worthy of note: ‘The companies that will do well in the future are the ones that discuss love in the boardroom. They will ask questions such as: “How can we build this business in such a way that people will love working with us, love shopping with us, love supplying us, love talking about us, and love to see us doing well?”
He continued, ‘Talking about growing sales, beating the competition, and dominating the market will not get any of those things achieved. Talking about ‘love’ will. Love is about passion, love is about care, love is about intimacy, love is about… love.’
This love must first be in you and then oozes out to touch every aspect of your business, and those who benefit from it. First, you must demonstrate love to your two principal stakeholders if you want to thrive in this love economy, and they are your internal and external customers (employees). Let’s look at them briefly.
Love your customers
People are talking about building a customer-centred enterprises, but when you get right down to it, only a few enterprises are actually doing it. As you already know, your business success will depend on how well you put your customers’ needs at the forefront of everything you do.
If you want to give your customers (and potential customers) what they want most, you have to first find out what that is. Love makes you focus on customers, and on what they care about.
It makes you walk a mile in their shoes to understand their needs better so that you can create amazing solutions for them. When you love your customers, it’s easy for you to take care of them and make their business experiences with you much better and more remarkable.
Your love for your customers will make you listen to them, talk to them, and treat them like you would treat special friends or royalties that they are. You might even start by calling them something other than a customer, and become more connected with what they are thinking and feeling.
Love for the customer builds human-to-human connection, which no advancement in technology can replace in business. When you love your customers, they will love you back by preferring to do business with you than whosoever that is out there.
You will notice that they will reciprocate that love, and will practically fall in love with your business. This, of course, will make you happy. The happier you are, the better you can take care of them, which, of course, they will love and reciprocate again, which will result into your business growth.
Love your employees
In the case of employees, love means genuinely caring about them, their happiness and well-being. Love will make you help your team to learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, and grow. More so, it will make you build a culture that inspires them and gets them excited and fully engaged in their work.
All healthy relationships are, in one way or another based on love. When you genuinely love your team, they will love working with you. Healthy employee relationship and customer retention, combined with the growth and abundance that aligns with love-based decisions, makes for a healthy and successful business.
Employees who feel love perform better. This performance results in higher engagement, and higher engagement means increased productivity, and that leads to higher productivity and performance, and increased profit.
You ought to take time to care for your business and everyone involved. Remember, business is about relationships—the relationships with all the people we work with, buy from and sell to. It’s when you do what you love in the service of your key stakeholders that most of them will love what you do and give that love right back to you and your business.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
Well thought out.