Does the thought of having “fans” for your product or service seem far-fetched? After all, your fans have to buy your product and pay for it. So is that even possible?

Yes. You can have fans…and believers and advocates, too. And the way you develop them may surprise you.

Of course you have to deliver a great product and service. But remember, “great” is subjective. Is a Nike shoe really that much better than Adidas or Puma? Of course not. The difference is, Nike tells us they’re great more than the other two combined. They pay millions to celebrities to tell us, too.

Can that really make a difference? It can and it does. We believe things to be true if we see and hear them enough. So when we constantly see and hear ads from Nike, and none or few from Adidas or Puma, we’re naturally inclined to buy Nike. We admire and appreciate Nike more. Hence they attract believers, fans and advocates.

But you don’t need a lot of paid advertising and celebrity endorsements to attract believers, fans and advocates for your product or service. You can do it with word of mouth and/or social media.

Here’s how to do it. Make your claim or promise. Deliver what you promised. Then, demonstrate the value of what you delivered and explain how it helped your customer. Communicate this, widely and often. Ask for likes, shares and testimonials. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.