Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By David Aronchick
Fanaticusers are not as hard to find as you may think. A successfulentrepreneur could do worse than spending all day and nightrecruiting them. Yet, all but a few entrepreneurs fail miserably whenit comes to finding, talking with, and winning these incrediblyvaluable partners. How do you avoid this all too commonmistake?
This past weekend, I listened to a great conversation with the authorof A Full Cup, a biography about Sir Thomas Lipton.For those who do not know, Sir Lipton was a business man in the midto late nineteenth century who completely reinvented the tea industryand brought it to America. Before tea, he had become an extremelysuccessful shop owner by using sales techniques new to 1870scommerce. These techniques included things like: displaying his goodswith flare; investing in interior and exterior lights; and ensuringquality goods, or making it obvious when they’re day old products.
Lipton’s innovation assured his customers they were gettingwhat they paid for, and that honesty translated into a commercialrelationship they wanted to be a part of. When your business isrepeat customers, nothing could be more critical!
However, themost important thing Lipton did when it came to selling was simplybeing extremely passionate about his store. Whenever you come upon a business where the owner’s soulshows through to the customer, the customer never fails to return thelove tenfold. In Lipton’s case, this meant having fun with theprocess: putting convex andconcave mirrors at the entrance to create a fun atmosphere; hiringfat men and skinny men to walk the streets near his store with signssaying “Coming from Lipton’s” (fat) and “Going toLipton’s” (skinny); and arranging for a parade of pigs to leadcustomers right to his front door.
Bizarre? Sure. But it’s gotcharacter, which is something that people yearn for no matter whatthe time period. It gives people a chance to commit to something,rather than just interacting with a faceless entity.
Recently,the founders of Tradaleft stealth mode, and one of the co-founders had a nice blog postabout why they decided to stay silent for as long as they did. One ofthe most salient points I took away from it was the followingquote:
Commit to the public conversation when you can actuallycommit to it.
Sir Lipton understood this advice, Wootunderstands this and any company that wants to have passionatecustomers needs to understand this. You will not get committed usersuntil you are committed. Your users will never have morepassion for your products than you do, and until your commitment towhatever you hold dear oozes from every pore, you’ll have a bunch ofhalf-hearted users who will be more than willing to jump on the newnew thing.
The best way to think about your business is tothink about every activity, product, and transaction as aconversation with your customers and users. It’s not enough just toopen your mouth and spew words. You’ve got to believe in what yousay, or no one will listen. And you can’t just keep talking, you’vealso got to pause and listen to what your customers are saying. Itmay feel unnatural or unprofessional at times to be so exposed, but ifyou are truly genuine in the way you interact, your dividends will beenormous.
