There’s a lot of terrible stuff being spread around these days. COVID droplets. Hate. Miscommunication. Misplaced patriotism.
Anger
…there’s A LOT of anger going around. No matter what a person does, you can bet someone, somewhere is going to get all twisted up about it.
(Case in point: Frank spent about 11 seconds washing his hands…having only been in the house all day…and I was calling him out before he’d even finished with the hand towel.)
Even the simplest thing, like deciding whether or not to wear a mask, has turned into a political act that gets people riled up.
It’s not an easy world we live in. I’d venture to say it’s never been, it’s just that a lot of us have been living under an illusion…but that’s a conversation for another time.
What I’m getting at is…
for you and your business it may seem like the world is pockmarked with hidden pitfalls.
And because of this, maybe you’re afraid to put yourself out there, because you’re not sure how people will react.
First of all, there’s no accounting for how people will react, and we can’t take responsibility for their reactions.
As long as our intentions are coming from a good place, which I know yours are, all we can do is put our best content out there and trust it will resonate with the right people.
But we also have to accept we won’t get it 100% right 100% of the time.
Just like that time I was 8 and the teacher asked the class “Where do your parents shop for groceries?”, easy question, but even after hearing my classmates name “Kroger”, “Save-a-Lot”, and “Winn-Dixie”, I still thought it was right to stand up and proudly proclaim, “My mom shops at The Grocery Store”, and then I wondered why people laughed. (There was no store called “The Grocery Store”. It was just the only name I’d heard my mom call it.)
It happens so often. Especially to small brands. The fear of “getting it wrong” takes over and stops them from ever trying to get it right.
They have this great product or service that so many people would love, but they’re afraid to talk about it in case they say the wrong thing.
Or they do talk about it, but they put on their professional robot tone (because that’s what they see most brands doing), and what they have to say they’re saying in such a dull way that it’s all but ignored.
But what if you were to do it differently?
What would happen if you were to open up and allow your content to reflect who you really are and what your brand really stands for? (Hint: something magical.)
Suddenly, you would be allowing your dream customers to know YOU and to like YOU.
You see, customers don’t fall in love with brands. Especially when it comes to small businesses. Customers fall in love with the people behind the brand.
(Why do you think big brands with big budgets pay so much to get celebrities to endorse them? Because people trust people…not brands.)
So this is your call to action.
As a brand owner who has something good to share with the world (right when we’re so desperately in need of something good)…
Get out there and start spreading your care for your customers, start spreading your values as a business owner, start spreading…dare I say it?…love! Start spreading love.
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite people:
“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place—or not to bother.” – Jane Goodall
Know for certain, each time you reach out to your customers with care and compassion, you’re making the world a better place.
