Paul McCartney was right: money can't buy you love. According to Entrepreneur.com, a person encounters an average of two-thousand advertising messages each day, each one proclaiming that this or that product or service is "the best" for one reason or another-often for no reason at all. But buying more advertising doesn't guarantee that people will talk about your company, much less buy from you.

Why Doesn't It Work?

Why can't you buy your customers' love through advertising? There are several reasons, but the main one is that people don't trust advertisements. Why should they? Advertisements proclaim all sorts of ridiculous things, from "drink this and you'll be happy" to "smoke this and you'll be cool." People have learned to tune out the two-thousand advertising messages they encounter each day.

What Does Work?

So if advertising has an extremely-low success rate when it comes to creating fanatical customers that love your company, what does work?

1) People pay attention to their friends.

A new restaurant moved into the town I live in. When I saw their advertisements which were, admittedly, pretty cool, did I rush out and try it? Nope. I waited till a friend told me, "you've got to go to that new pizza place-their calzones are awesome." There is a small segment of the population that marketing psychology calls "early adopters." These are the people who will rush out at the first word of a new product, store, restaurant, movie, or whatever, simply because they want to be the first. The rest of us wait to hear the verdict from our friends because we don't want to waste good money on a less-than-positive experience. Although advertising has a place, creating scores of fanatical customers isn't it. People pay attention to their friends. If you can get people talking about you in positive terms, you're on your way to stardom.

2) People buy products that work and that they like.

This isn't rocket science. But so many companies seem to believe that inferior products can be peddled just as effectively as good products if they have "good marketing." Good marketing, however, is honest marketing. People might try a product once because of the marketing. But at best, they won't become a repeat customer, and at worst, they will spread negative word of mouth about that product. Companies like Apple and Mercedes know that developing a superior product is what it's all about.

3) People buy services from companies that don't disappoint them.

It's why people stick with their CPAs. Or hairdressers. Once people find a company that provides a consistent, quality service, they aren't likely to leave. But if you disappoint your customer even once, he or she is likely to be wooed by others seeking his or her business. But perfection isn't possible, so what do you do when you mess up? Make it up to them by apologizing and offering something outside-the-box wonderful. Most people are ready to forgive-even want to forgive-if treated kindly and thoughtfully.

4) People want to be listened to. People want to feel valued-it's right smack in the middle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

It's been said that the most effective way to show someone that you value them is to listen to them. When you listen to your customer in a genuine way, you will create a fanatical follower. This is where customer service can be taken to the next level. When people call your company, what is their experience? If your customer hangs up the phone and says, "Wow, they actually listened and took care of the problem," then you've won a fan. Social media is also a great tool for listening. Open up the lines of communication and listen to what your customers have to say. Care about their experiences. And you'll be guaranteed some customer love. You can't buy it, but you can earn it.

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