Love plan? LOVE PLAN? I know what you’re thinking: That Spike Jones has lost his ever-lovin’ mind! What does he mean, “LOVE PLAN?!?”
Allow me to explain: If you’re a brand and you’re on social media, then one of the first things you work out is your crisis plan. You know, that plan that’s activated the second there’s backlash against you because of (fill in the blank). You PR and social teams are poised and ready to go at a moments notice. And hopefully you’ve not had to pull the trigger on this plan, but at least you know it’s there and you’re prepared for the worst.
But…
Do you have a love plan? In other words, when someone actively steps forward and decides to tell you how awesome they think you are, are you prepared for the love? What do you do? What’s your plan? Because a lot of companies aren’t expecting any love, and therefore aren’t prepared for it. Sure, sometimes a “thank you so much” will do, but think about how you can take that love and amplify it. Think about how you could be known for the way you love people that love you. And the beauty of it is, there’s so many ways to reciprocate that passion through small gestures of gratitude that extend far beyond “thank you.”
The other part of it is that when you embrace that customer’s passion and heap it back on them, they are almost never expecting it. So not only did you just win their loyalty, but you also created an ambassador. And the very nature of an ambassador is to spread goodwill in your name. In other words, you created positive word of mouth.
So prepare a love plan. Different levels. Different gestures. Experiment with it. Because it’s just as important as a crisis plan – especially since it’s those very people that will come to your aid when you need them the most.