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Telling your story of how you arrived at where you are or maybe the story of how your business went above and beyond creates a subject that your potential clients can relate to. If they feel that you are the type of business that they could support by doing business with YOU instead of a competitor then that is an edge that you want. It's not a matter of manipulation but a matter of sharing the personal side of what you do instead of being ALL business. We are people that run these businesses and when we can break it down to a personal level it brings what we do as a business to an emotional experience with you. We did a campaign for a sports training facility in Montana and we learned they actually sponsored quite a few of their athletes in training. Some of their students really couldn't afford to get the proper training but they did have the heart and determination to succeed. We reached out to their local news station and made them aware of how this facility was helping the community and the news team visited them and did a story which got them more exposure because their story was about making the difference in kids' lives. The facility trained them because they saw the potential they had and two of their students went on to be star athletes who both made public statements of their thankfulness to the training facility which in turn brought them even more business. The two factors in play here are telling their story and giving back. It really does pay off to be a giving people/business.
Consistency is very important when relating to others whether it's in business or in the upbringing of your children. We as humans behave more effectively when consistency is in use. We relied on consistency from our parents as children. If we could expect to be fed at a certain time each day we felt cared for. If we were put to bed each night at a certain time we unconsciously had comfort in that consistency of routine of what to expect each and every day. Now apply that to the humans that come into your business. If you're running a restaurant and you have a customer that comes back to eat a specific item on your menu because they really enjoyed it the first time they tried it, they expect it to taste the same. If it doesn't they now have loss of faith in doing business with you again. Consistency should be applied throughout every area of your business from what is said when someone answers the phone to the quality of the product or service you provide. Your consistency puts people at ease in their expectations in how they are going to be treated by your business just like it did in their childhood. If there are going to be changes in what you offer I recommend you give as much warning as possible and ask for feedback in your decision from your regular customers if you can. It shows respect to those that have been investing in your loyalty to serve them.