A RAVING FAN IS LIKE AN INFECTION YOU WANT

Laura showed up on Monday morning…laughing. “I’m infectious!” she said.

If you’re a small business owner, it all makes perfect sense, so I’ll let Laura tell her own story:

“Every Saturday morning, my husband and I roll out of bed and head to a nearby diner for brunch. On our way to and from the diner, we always pass the same shop. Finally, a couple months ago, after dozens of drive-bys, curiosity got the best of us and we stopped to explore.

Inside, I found my shopping Mecca. Bohemian chic women’s clothes that are totally my style jumped off every rack into my arms. Fun and funky gifts and antiques filled the shelves. Lovely fragrances wafted from scented candles. It was like I’d walked into an interactive museum…and I was buying out the gift shop!

We were greeted immediately by the shop’s owner, who effused a hippie vibe as quirky as the store. She scooped me up and helped me discover twenty new things I couldn’t live without. Between my new goodies and her infectious personality, I was hooked.

In just one visit, I became a RAVING fan.

Fast forward a few months.

I’m getting a pedicure, and hear the young woman next to me telling her manicurist that she’s prepping for a 1960s-themed photo shoot. The stylist had left it to the models to find their own clothes, the shoot was the next day, and she had no idea where to go.

I bit the inside of my cheek for a hot second, then spurted out, “You need something like the dress I’m wearing?” She looked me up and down and said, YES. Naturally, I raved about my favorite little boutique, and told her the owner could have her and the other models completely outfitted in one visit.

Off they went, and in one afternoon, that young woman and her model friends purchased more clothes than the shop normally sells in a month! Not only that, but they’re all raving fans now, too—living, breathing testimonials to how amazing that little store is, telling anyone who will listen that they just have to check it out.”

Laura told me the story and sheepishly said, “Even though I’ve been working here, and I’ve listened to the conversations about raving fans, until now, I didn’t fully get it. It absolutely blows my mind how much ME being a raving fan impacted that business. It’s not like I’m someone with a huge blog or anything. I feel I was infected by the raving fan bug, and didn’t know it until she inspired me.”

That’s the thing about raving fans.

How YOU engage as the business owner has an impact on your customers. You have the power to create raving fans, who then go out and infect MORE. Add that to what Laura’s story illustrates – that even a few raving fans can have a HUGE impact on your business.

Sometimes you get lucky and are able to harness the power of raving fans organically – and that’s great. Other times, you don’t know HOW to get more of them, you just know you need ‘em.

And what you really want is a system to cultivate those raving fans over and over again.

If you’re spending days stressing about the business, and losing sleep to nights of tossing and turning with worry…STOP. There’s a better way.