6 Steps to Connecting With Influential People

Influencers -- those well-connected, knowledgeable voices to which others listen and respond -- are coveted connections. They can provide insight, recommendations, introductions and opportunities.

Most people already know who the influencers are in their industries, says attorney and entrepreneur Steven Babitsky, co-author of The Street Smart MBA: 10 Proven Strategies for Driving Business Success (Apress, 2012). They're often popular authors, speakers, bloggers, columnists or successful businesspeople. Babitsky has an effective formula for connecting with many of them. Here are his six steps to connecting with influencers in your industry.

1. Offer something.

"Give three things and ask for one," Babitsky says. In other words: Give more than you take. When he's interested in making contact with an influencer, Babitsky first determines what he can offer that will be of value to the contact. He may be writing a white paper or book or be organizing a conference where he can offer the individual a speaking gig.

Of course, not everyone is writing books or organizing conferences every day. However, you can offer to interview the person for your blog or for a special report on your web site. Alternatively, you might be involved with a professional or trade organization where you can introduce the individual to your own network of influencers.

2. Do your homework.

It's usually possible to research influencers' past writing and speeches, interests, and pet causes with a simple online search. Don't waste their time asking basic questions or for information that is easily available online. Instead, find common points and use those to find areas where you might connect.

3. Get in touch.

Babitsky likes to reach out via phone or email instead of social media because it's more personal, he says. However, take your lead from the influencer's cues. If he or she is active on Twitter or carries on online conversations on his or her blog, that might be a good way to get in touch, too.

4. Limit the ask.

When reaching out for the first time, make it short and sweet. Don't ask for anything that will take more than 10 or 15 minutes -- a brief interview or a straightforward question or two. People generally like to help, but they may not have time to answer lengthy questionnaires or get involved in a seemingly endless back-and-forth.

5. Keep in touch.

Maintain a database of contacts that also includes searchable keywords related to interests. That way, if you come across an article or information related to some of your contacts’ interests, you can easily send it along, keeping you relevant and memorable.

6. Ask to reciprocate.

If someone has helped you, Babitsky recommends asking the individual if there is anything you might do to help him or her. The individual may be dealing with a challenge you can help alleviate, he says. If not, the ask is another form of relationship building, showing the influencer that you're interested in giving back.

From Entrepreneur

How Twitter Is Making it Easier to Travel Back in Time

When you step into the Twittersphere, it often feels like you're surrounded by zillions of tweets. Finding the ones that matter can be a challenge, especially if you're looking for something posted a long time ago.

For example, wouldn't it be nice if Twitter provided a quick and easy way to see what your biggest competitor tweeted about last Memorial Day without having to scroll back through a year's worth of posts or do some fancy search work?

Twitter has done just that, unveiling a new date range option on its advanced search page. Advanced search also allows the user to filter specific users, hashtags and location.

This feature has been available previously, but you had to be familiar with the way Twitter search worked and its language, according to Tech Crunch.

Advanced search is not available on the mobile app.

But mobile users aren't entirely out of luck. If you only have your mobile device handy, and are need of knowing what kind of March Madness promotions were mentioned in March, type in “march madness sales since: 2014-03-01 until: 2014-03-31”in the search bar.

Pro Tip: Don't forget to select “All Tweets” if you'd like to see everything, not just“Top Tweets.”

From Entrepreneur

Why WhatsApp is worth $19 billion

WhatsApp's jaw-dropping $19 billion price tag took the world by surprise. But Facebook might have actually gotten WhatsApp for cheap.

We're serious. Hear us out.

What is WhatsApp? WhatsApp is a mobile messaging service that functions as a kind of a social network. WhatsApp users can send messages to one or many recipients at the same time, and they can even share their locations.

In many ways, WhatsApp's users are just the kind of customers Facebook is looking for. They are extremely active, sending more than 600 million photos a day -- more photos than Facebook users upload. A whopping 70% of WhatsApp users are active every day. By way of comparison, 62% of Facebook users are active daily.

People around the world send 19 billion WhatsApp messages per day, including 200 million voice messages and 100 million videos.

Crucially, WhatsApp has a strong presence internationally, particularly in Europe, India and Latin America. Those are regions where Facebook is trying to grow its base of users. WhatsApp and other mobile messaging services also are widely used by teens and tweens, a group that has notoriously been ditching Facebook for rival services, including text message services and Snapchat.

"Facebook users were complaining dearly about the lack of one-on-one personalized socializing and sharing, which WhatsApp clearly has been successful with," said Vidya Nath, research director at Frost & Sullivan.

How WhatsApp makes money: WhatsApp is also growing at a blinding speed, adding 1 million new users per day. At that rate, WhatsApp should hit 1 billion users sometime next year. With its $1 annual subscription fee, 1 billion users would translate into significant revenue for Facebook.

"Large scale networks like WhatsApp are rare and provide significant monetization opportunity, justifying their valuation over time," said Robert Peck, analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

The messaging service, founded in 2009, has been so successful because it understood from the start the importance of embracing mobile technology. That's something Facebook struggled with, notably going public without any revenue from mobile devices. Facebook now gets more than half of its revenue from advertising on smartphones and tablets, but it still is looking to expand its mobile reach.

"WhatsApp took chatting to another level, and it further strengthened the phone as a central point of a consumer's universe," Nath noted.

As a result WhatsApp managed to attract far more users in its first four years than its competition was able to over the same time period.

Growing faster than other social networks: Four years in, Facebook had just 145 million users. Google's Gmail had 123 million. Twitter had 54 million. And Skype -- now owned by Microsoft -- had 52 million users, according to Heather Bellini, software analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Although WhatsApp is more limited in its scope and capabilities to Facebook and Twitter, mobile messaging services are becoming competitors to traditional social networks.

In many ways, Facebook's purchase of WhatsApp mirrors its 2012 Instagram acquisition.

The $1 billion valuation scared some investors at the time, but as young social network users gravitated towards photo-sharing services, Facebook wanted to scoop up what could have eventually become a big rival.

WhatsApp may be "cheaper" than most rivals: Facebook paid just $30 per Instagram user at the time (the service had 33 million users when Facebook bought it, compared to 150 million today). Facebook is spending $42 per WhatsApp user.

But given WhatsApp's enormous user base, its purchase price might be a bargain compared some of its competitors. LinkedIn's share price values that professional social network at $153 per user. Twitter trades at $140 per user, and Facebook is at $123. Even at its latest $2 billion valuation, Snapchat trades at $50 per user. (And Snapchat reportedly turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook last year.)

"We don't think the company overpaid for WhatsApp," said Peck. "We think WhatsApp and Facebook were likely to more closely resemble each other over time, potentially creating noteworthy competition, which can now be avoided."

From CNN Money 

How to keep your business afloat if your partner dies

On New Year's Eve 2012, Jim Murphy sat in a Los Angeles hospital room at the bedside of his closest friend and business partner Ari Ramezani, who was fighting an aggressive stomach cancer.

Not only was he devastated at the prospect of losing his friend, but they had done very little to prepare their company, a voice-over-IP phone provider called Phone Power, for the situation.

The two men, both in their early 40s, had been inseparable since college, and over the past two decades had built four businesses together, selling one, a DSL company, for $12 million in 2005. They vacationed together in Las Vegas and Mexico, stood in each other's weddings and bickered at work like a married couple. "I spent as much time with him as my wife," says Murphy.

Phone Power was growing quickly, hitting $16 million in sales in six years. It had just acquired a Boston company called Broadvoice, and they were integrating the two sets of employees and operations.

Ramezani had been noticeably absent for months leading up to his cancer diagnosis in June 2012. After that, he never returned to work.

"The overall mood had really changed at the company," says Sam Ghahremanpour, Ramezani's younger cousin who was hired to help with the acquisition.

It was so sudden --- and the partners were so young -- they hadn't taken any steps to protect their firm.

There was no "key man" insurance policy that paid the company in case of a cofounder's death. They didn't have a succession plan. And they had a $4 million loan, which the bank could recall if a cofounder left the company -- which included one of them dying.

In the weeks leading up to Ramezani's death, Murphy pushed to get the business in order. He successfully convinced bankers not to call the loan. He set up a board of directors to protect the interests of Ramezani's family, and he created an operating agreement for any major decisions. And, aware of his own mortality, Murphy even took out a key man policy on himself.

In the hospital on New Year's Eve, Murphy promised his friend that he would take care of his wife and three children, all under the age of 13.

Less than two weeks later, Ramezani was gone. When Murphy returned to work, he buried himself in his responsibilities. But inside, his confidence buckled. "I felt like I couldn't fail," he says.

For two decades, Murphy had always had a partner to handle tough times. The two started their first business, a cell phone and pager firm, as roommates in college. They learned to be entrepreneurs together -- signing their first lease and interviewing their first employees.

While Murphy would focus on the profit and loss, Ramezani shot from the hip, arguing to get customers now and worry about profits later. Ramezani was a big idea generator, while Murphy was skilled at the logistics. "He pushed me beyond my comfort zone," he says.

Murphy eventually hired a therapist, and he rallied Phone Power's employees to take over Ramezani's duties.

By March, Murphy decided it was time for Ghahremanpour, who had become chief operating officer, to move into Ramezani's office, which had been untouched for nine months. Inside were papers from May 2012, an empty Gatorade bottle and Ramezani's scratched handwriting on the white board. "It was like a time warp; it was very surreal," Murphy says.

As he regained his confidence, Murphy became more motivated to build on the duo's success. He and Ghahremanpour grew sales in 2013 to $18 million, and Ghahremanpour has forged ahead with plans to capture new markets, such as small business customers and immigrants.

"I've tried to take Ari's approach to always looking for ways to improve the business," says Ghahremanpour.

His business sensibility has lived on. Now, when the executive team can't agree on a tough decision, they ask, "WWAD? What would Ari do?"

From CNN Money

How to tame your workers' wandering eye

The job market is finally looking brighter: Recruiters are circling, pay is climbing and companies are scrambling to keep their best employees from leaving.

Tempted by the prospect of landing a better gig, 85% of the workforce is looking for a job or interested in talking with recruiters, according to a survey released Tuesday by LinkedIn. That even includes people who are "satisfied" with their jobs.

If you don't want to lose talented employees, here's how to keep them happy and engaged.

Give them a voice

As CEO of design firm Slice of Lime, Kevin Menzie knows competition for his employees is fierce. So Menzie ensures his 15 employees feel like they are the company, instituting monthly "retrospectives" to discuss what's working and what's not.

That can be tough at times, like when Menzie had to deny their request for gym memberships. But he left the topic open for future consideration. "I think it's riskier not to listen," he says.

Kathryn Minshew takes a similar approach as CEO of The Muse, a career website in New York. She promises transparency and answers her 15 employees' questions on fundraising, finances and hiring plans. This puts any frustration out in the open and boosts loyalty.

"Not every decision is made by consensus or democracy, but it leads to creativity and people being extremely invested in what they do," she says. Her firm has lost just one employee since 2012.

Check in often and say thanks

The traditional yearly review won't cut it in 2014, says Allyson Willoughby, a vice president at Glassdoor.com.

To ensure regular feedback, New York-based Quirky.com uses automated software called 15Five for weekly check-ins. All 189 workers get questions about what's going well, where they're stuck or how to improve their jobs. As a result, managers have time to think through challenges before one-on-one meetings, which can be spent brainstorming solutions, says Rochelle DiRe, a Quirky vice president.

"Plus, our CEO knows exactly what is going on with everyone and can shout out to people who are doing a good job," she says.

That kind of recognition goes a long way. Jeremy Bloom, CEO of cloud software firm Integrate, sends thank you notes and bottles of Dom Perignon for a job well done. "Thoughtfulness," says Bloom, "is a key ingredient to building loyalty."

Offer professional -- and personal -- development

Lack of career growth is a big reason people leave their jobs, says Beth N. Carvin, CEO of exit interview firm Nobscot Corp. She's seeing more companies start mentoring programs to prevent that.

That includes Luggagefree, a New York-based luggage delivery service. President Jeff Boyd wanted a cost-effective way to boost personal development for his 15 employees. He settled on Everwise, which acts as a Match.com for mentors and protégés. For $1,500 per person, Boyd provide outside mentors who offer fresh ideas for career growth.

"My hope is that they'll be self-empowered and feel better about their colleagues, about our clients and about Luggagefree," he says.

Meanwhile, IdeaPaint, which makes dry erase paint for walls, wants to stimulate its 30 employees by turning its new downtown Boston office into a community center. Just this month, it started hosting speakers and roundtable discussions before and after work. Open to anyone, they've already boosted company morale.

Give them a break

Perks like gym memberships and free bagels are great, but sometimes just a break from the office can build morale and boost loyalty.

One of the most popular perks at Quirky is the week-long "company-wide black out" every quarter (which is on top of unlimited vacation time).

"Knowing you get this break gives you a sense that you're working towards something together," DeRe says.

Slice of Lime owner Menzie treats his employees to ski vacations and "creative experiences," like a recent trip to Universal Studios. People can propose their own "outties" on an online list.

Menzie also lets employees spend 20% of work hours on personal interests, and he keeps an open Amazon account for employees.

The perks, he says, cost far less than replacing an employee.

"You get that money back because they're staying, they're happy and they're doing great work," he says.

From CNN Money

Mozilla's boss, Mr Eich resigns over view on gay marriage

MOZILLA, the outfit behind the Firefox web browser and other software, has just lost its chief executive, Brendan Eich (pictured), who resigned on April 3rd after spending little more than a week in the job. His departure raises thorny questions about where lines should be drawn between leaders’personal beliefs and their corporate roles.

Mr Eich quit after a controversy blew up about his views on gay marriage. In 2008 he gave $1,000 to a campaign that supported Proposition 8, a California ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in the state. The measure passed but was subject to legal challenges. Prop 8's supporters went all the way to the federal Supreme Court, which last year dismissed their appeal, thus allowing gay marriage in California to go ahead. When Mr Eich's support for the proposition became public a couple of years ago, it provoked an outcry in the Twittersphere, but this eventually died down. Mr Eich argued that Mozilla should stay focused on its mission and not allow differences of personal opinion to cloud its operations.

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His elevation last month from chief technology officer to the top job at Mozilla rekindled the furore. Some Mozilla employees upset with Mr Eich's views on gay marriage called on him to step down. To make matters worse from Mozilla's perspective, OkCupid, a dating site, this week began sending out a message to visitors coming to it via Firefox that called on them to use an alternative browswer because of Mr Eich's public stance against gay marriage.

Faced with all this, Mr Eich threw in the towel. In a blog post about his departure, Mozilla's executive chairwoman, Mitchell Baker, admitted that the former chief executive's beliefs had created a dilemma for the company.“Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech,”she wrote.“Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need to have free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard.”

Plenty of folk have wondered out loud why Mr Eich's views on gay marriage had anything to do with his ability to lead an organisation that makes software. After all, he seemed eminently suited to the job given his track record as a co-founder of Mozilla and the man behind JavaScript, a very popular programming language.

However, the dilemma that Ms Baker refers to is real. Mozilla isn't a typical company. It is more of a community organisation that is strongly committed to so-called "open-source software", which is developed collaboratively and then licensed for use in such a way that it can be studied and changed easily by others. The outfit also campaigns actively to keep the internet open in the face of efforts by a few giant tech companies such as Google and Facebook to carve it up into fiefdoms that they rule over.

So Mozilla is a bizarre beast in the world of tech: part business and part internet missionary. It also relies heavily on the goodwill of programmers and others to support its efforts. To woo them, the outfit has stressed that it is an open and inclusive workplace. In her blog post Ms Baker refers to the fact that Mozilla “prides itself on being held to a different standard”as an organisation.

By appointing Mr Eich to the top job, Mozilla's board members must have known they were risking a backlash. They only needed to consider the experience of Chick-fil-A, an American fast-food chain whose boss, Dan Cathy, had also publicly opposed gay marriage. Mr Cathy recently said he regretted taking a public stance on the issue after his firm was hit by a consumer boycott.

Some critics say that at a time when Mozilla is struggling to adapt its wares to a world dominated by smartphones and other mobile devices, it can ill-afford to lose a talented techie like Mr Eich. And they argue that forcing a boss to resign on the basis of his beliefs is a dangerous precedent that smacks of political correctness gone mad.

But a chief executive has to be able to get people to follow him and engender confidence in the broader marketplace. The schism Mr Eich's appointment caused within Mozilla risked damaging its ability to pursue its mission. And OKCupid's decision to call on Firefox users to switch to other web browsers is evidence that the fallout was starting to have a real impact on Mozilla's operations.

All this raises the question of why Ms Baker did not anticipate the impact that Mr Eich's promotion would have. In her blog post, she trumpets the“diversity and inclusiveness”of Mozilla's workforce, yet admits at the same time that the board failed "to listen, to engage and to be guided by our community". We should applaud her belated frankness, but hard questions should be asked of her own leadership in this sad saga.

From The Economist

10 Tactics for Increasing Your Customer Value and Loyalty

We live in an age of growth hacking and rock star startups taking the world by storm. As a result, many of us focus on new customer/user acquisition, even though it can cost 7x more than customer retention.

While there's nothing wrong with working hard to grow your customer base, it's important to remember the value behind customer retention and brand loyalty. Internal research from social analytics platform SumAll shows:

“25% to 40% of the total revenues of the most stable businesses in the SumAll network come from returning customers. Even better, steady customers help businesses weather lean economic times; businesses with 40% repeat customers generated nearly 50% more revenue than similar businesses with only a 10% repeat customers.”

Brand loyalty is one of the most difficult assets for a business to attain. Or, at least it was. We used to have to rely on customers having a great experience with our product/service, or with our employees. Now, we can give them a great experience, but most businesses still haven't figured out how to do it.

Before we get into specific tactics that you can use to increase brand loyalty with your customers, I recommend checking out the Global Loyalty Sentiment Report from Nielsen. It's filled with insight into what customers from different international markets and different verticals care about most when it comes to the brands/products they buy. This data could/should influence how you use each (or any) of the suggestions below.

1. Feature Your Fans in Your Content

Embed social media posts from fans who have shared your content or said something great about your brand to their followers. Put them in the spotlight and let them know how much you appreciate them. Once they see the reciprocity, they'll make your brand a priority and become one of your most valuable marketing assets.

Soda Stream does a great job of regularly putting their fans in the limelight through their Facebook page and on their blog. Not only are they regularly engaging their fans with contests, they are making sure everyone knows who won, and creating a lot of buzz while they're at it. On top of that, they've been able to gather a lot of user-generated content they can employ in the future to bring in more fans.

2. Send Fans Something They Didn't Know They Wanted

If your fans take an interest in what you're talking about and what you care about, it's only fair for you to do the same. Take a look at their social accounts to see what kinds of things they really enjoy, and then send them something you know they'll love. They'll definitely talk about it through their social accounts and, more importantly, they'll talk about it in person with their friends, family, colleagues, and anyone else who will listen.

General Electric sent me a pretty awesome Batman book, and I've referenced it in 3 widely shared articles and shown it to everyone who has entered my office.

Here are some things to look for if you're not sure what to send:

Look at their photos to see if there are any hobbies or activities they engage in.

Look at their posts and profile information to see if there are any books, movies, characters, games, or activities they talk about.

Look for conversations they're having with other users. If they're getting into public discussions on a specific topic, you probably can assume they know/care about it.

Don't pick out something obvious when it comes to the gift you send. Do a little research and find something unique or, at the very least, different from what most people are talking about. (Unless they flat out said, “I would really love_____.")

3. Take Customer Advice (and Credit Them for It)

One great way to keep your customers loyal to your brand is to constantly improve. Instead of just going by the numbers, or your gut, try figuring out what your customers want next. Create a poll with a few of the ideas you've been thinking about and send it out via your blog, social media accounts, and email.

ALWAYS leave room for your customers to make suggestions that you didn't list, and always offer some kind of incentive for participating in the poll. Even if it's just a chance to win something small like a gift card or early access to the new feature, it will make a huge difference in the number of people who actually participate.

If you end up making a change or update based on your customer's feedback, give them credit for coming up with the idea. Announce it through all of your marketing channels, and send them something to show your appreciation (don't be skimpy).

SumAll just sent out an email asking if anyone would be interested in their new Facebook analytics. I replied, and their analyst got back to me within a few hours with access and asking for feedback. I sent over a couple things I noticed right away, and he got back to me in just a few minutes, answering my questions, letting me know what else they were working on, and thanking me for my feedback.

Here are a few great tools you can use to get feedback from your customers:

For Surveys or Polls - Polldaddy or Survey Monkey - Both offer simple setup options and user features.

For displaying the results - ChartsNinja or Infogr.am - Both let you upload spreadsheets and create cool charts or infographics you can share on your blog or social channels.

4. Give Customers an Upgrade

If some of your customers are actively and openly engaging with your brand on a regular basis, they're the best possible people to give the full experience. If you have a product line, send them something they haven't tried. If you have a premium service, give them the upgrade for free. The actual cost to you is miniscule compared with the impact those customers will have on their friends, family, colleagues, and social followers.

Before streaming became the best thing since sliced bread, Netflix rolled it out as a free add-on for their existing customers. It was in its infancy as a service at the time, but it allowed them to give their customers something they didn't know they wanted. That, undoubtedly, contributed to their leading the charts for brand loyalty in 2011 and to their amazing growth since.

5. Be There When Customers Need You

Your social media channels or your blog may not be your primary channel for customer service, but they are touch points. Make sure the people manning the stations are capable of helping your customers solve common problems.

That doesn't mean redirecting them to the customer service page. It means holding their hand while the problem is solved, helping them cut through the confusion to find the solution, or getting them directly connected to the person who can help them (without having to sit on hold or wait for an email response). Great customer service is a commonality among most truly successful businesses.

Remember that WOM (word of mouth) doesn't just happen when you do something right. In fact, a study from ZenDesk and Dimensional Research found that people who had bad experiences with customer service were 50% more likely to talk about it on their social channels than those who had good experiences. Also, they shared the bad experience more than 5 times.

6. Help Customers Do Something They Love

Dollar Shave Club recently started a campaign to“Sponsor Your Thing.”They asked their fans to tell them about something they were passionate about. Then, Dollar Shave Club actually started“sponsoring”their customers’things.

They usually give the member whose thing is being sponsored something that will enhance their thing or make it easier to accomplish. They also include a customer's thing on their monthly mailers that go out to all subscribers and post it on their blog and social channels.

I asked them to sponsor my band’s new album, and indeed, they are using a track on their new podcast. Even though they didn’t fund the project or help us “go viral,” they’re doing something to help me out, and I'll probably be a lifetime customer and evangelist.

7. Give Customers Something Your Competitors Aren't

We're not talking discounts here. We're talking features, services, resources, or whatever else your customers will place some value on.

Buffer does this almost daily with their blog. SumAll does it with their image library. And, Sharpie does it simply by having the superior product (IMO). The point is that, instead of providing equal value to all of their customers, they're providing incredible value to a specific group of customers, and it’s paying off on the loyalty front.

If you can't do it with your product or service, do it through your customer service. For example, there are multiple comic book stores in my hometown, but the owner of Shield Comics sets aside the comics he knows I'm interested in and actually hunts them down for me if he doesn't have them already.

On top of that, he pings me on Facebook to let me know if I missed something good. Keep in mind that I had never met the owner prior to the shop opening. The first day I visited, he struck up a conversation and asked about my interests. He puts extra effort into making sure I keep going back.

8. Be More Convenient than Anyone Else

Last year my glasses broke and my car died at the same time. I was working from home in the middle of nowhere so I didn't have the time or the opportunity to get to the eye doctor and order a new pair of glasses. Enter Warby Parker. They made it really easy and affordable for me to get a new pair of glasses quickly, and they helped me solve a few conundrums along the way.

I didn't have to call an 800 number and wait on hold for hours, and I didn't have to fill out a stupid ticket and wait days or weeks for a reply. I sent them a tweet, and they got back to me quicker than any other business I've engaged this way. I'll keep buying from them and saying great things about them until they give me a reason not to.

Another type of convenience to consider would involve normal user or customer actions. This includes auto-billing, automatic orders, refills, and reminders. All of those little things make it easier for users to enjoy what they're paying for. As a rule of thumb, your users/customers should spend the least amount of time possible trying to use your product or service, so they can spend the majority of their time enjoying it.

9. Solve a Problem for Your Customer

Go beyond your actual product and give them something that makes their life easier on a regular basis. Neil Patel did this with his website analyzer on QuickSprout, and Portent did it with their content idea generator.

Understand your customer, figure out what would make their life easier, and build it. When you can pull this off right, you make your customer rely on you for more than just your product or service, and that makes you almost irreplaceable.

10. Make Quality a Priority

If you have the best product, and you keep making it better, you're going to have loyal customers. If you pair that with any of the above strategies, you'll be close to unstoppable. People love to feel like they have the best thing, no matter what that thing is, and they'll do way more than talk about it if they really feel like it's the best.

Apple fans are the perfect example. A widely shared report from 2011 showed that Apple products actually triggered the parts of their fans’ brains normally associated with religion.

If you want to build your business on loyal customers and brand evangelists, you have to do something more than the mass consumer expects. Like any other asset, brand loyalty isn't free. But like anything good in life (or business), it's worth working for.

Whether that means making an effort to put your customers in the limelight or offering extreme convenience is up to you. Just make sure you're doing something that makes you hard to replace and impossible to forget.

From Entrepreneur