Why your station needs one

There’s a lot of buzz these days about Zappos. Their customer-centric approach to growth reminds me of Nordstrom’s.

Both companies are literally loved by their customers.

In her new book, Love Branding: How To Make People Fall In Love With Your Brand,* Carolin Dahlman makes several interesting points.

You want your station to be loved, but honestly, what do you do at every listener interaction point to show her you love her?

The companies that really understand this know that customers (listeners) don’t want to be told they “should” love a brand, or even that they “will” love a brand.

Instead, they want to be loved BY the brand. They want to be loved by your station.

Carolin says: “Don’t just focus on THEIR love for YOU, but also show you care for every customer by giving, giving, giving. Don’t open a fan page on Facebook just to market yourself. Open a page to serve.“

Here she is in a short piece I found on YouTube:

Everything I believe, everything I teach about emotional bonding parallels Carolin’s thesis.

In your personal relationships, it’s usually the littlest things you do that show your love and your thoughtfulness. And it’s the same on your radio station.

At literally hundreds of touch points every day — each one of your liners, every time you answer the phone, the way you introduce your music, the method you choose to put prizes into the hands of your contest winners — you have a chance to prove your thoughtfulness.

To prove your love.

So maybe finding a love coach for your station would be a great investment in 2011.

Because listeners can tell when you love them, and its a lot easier to evoke their love when they feel yours.

*At the time I wrote this, Carolin’s newest book is not yet available on Amazon, but keep checking. It’s worth reading.