Part II in Strategies for Success: We all know it. People are the heart of our business, but in the day to day labor of earning a living, it’s easy to lose sight of this fact. I loved an old flick, You’ve Got Mail in which the protagonist finds her small business threatened by a hostile invasion of a national corporate enterprise. She offers these words, “What’s wrong with personal? Shouldn’t it all begin and end with being personal?”

The answer is yes. Each transaction, each shopper needs your personal touch. A recent study conducted by Genesys reported that of 9000 questioned, 40% of a company’s most faithful shoppers wanted more human interaction. I can relate to that. I recently started a 7-day free trial with a company and found myself unable to navigate its system. When I tried to cancel the service the next day, I was unable to log in and couldn’t cancel without logging in, and there was no human to call. What a pickle! I needed a human.

"Give value. Give value. Give value. And then ask for business."

Gary Vaynerchuck

Each of your shoppers craves that personal touch as well.Infants left untouched in their cribs, with bottles propped to feed them,develop a syndrome called failure to thrive. Their basic physical needshave been met, but they lose weight and die without a loving touch. Yourbusiness, and by extension, your customers need that to thrive. Just how do weprovide a personal touch?

Each of us will come up with idea that resonate with ourpersonalities, but here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• Designate a day each week for customer appreciation with homemade cookies. Make it a day customers can anticipate.
• Handmade notes mailed to customers after they’ve dropped by. Notice something they touched or something they wore or talked about and comment on it.
• Appreciation goodies dropped into each bag.
• Facebook page tributes to customers who have birthdays or who have performed services within the community.
• Shout outs to those who add customers to your Facebook page.
• A culture of inclusion, with notes of inspiration for all your tribe.
• Personal shopping services and deliveries when folks are in a bind.
• A Heart’s Desire listing of things they like for others to purchase, like a gift registry without being named such in the usual sense.
• Personal shopping sales, one per customer for each day of the month…feeling special.
• Faithful Shopper rewards that never expire.

Left to it, you can name others…but these are your heartstrings extended to your shoppers It goes even further, though.

"People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic."

Seth Godin

You also need to be accessible when there is a problem. Youneed to be that final appeal for someone who is distressed, and you need to thebalm to the situation. That complete trust in you and your dedication to theirsatisfaction wins loyalty, building a strong business in the process.

"Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room."

Jeff Bezos

Rhonda Abrams, interviewed by USAToday, submitted a number of rules small businesses must embrace forcontinued success. Rules 1 and 2 involved servicing a small group of people anddoing it well, doing it consistently. This is your base. These are your mostloyal customers. Find your tribe and spoil them!