How To Really Charm Your Sweetheart

If you run a business, you know that consistency is critical. You build a successful brand by building trust. Like a faithful, patient sweetheart, a good brand shows up day after day and delivers on its promises.

For the same reason, the way to really charm your sweetheart is not by buying roses. Celebrations are fun, but true love is in the everyday. The real and enduring way to win a loved one’s heart is consistency.

Into the Groove.

Consistency can feel at odds with innovation and creativity. Sure, if you play and stray, you end up confusing people and ultimately losing your audience. Yet placing primary importance on consistency constrains experimentation and growth. And fun. Right?

True Blue.

What’s important to remember is that consistency doesn’t mean stagnation. It means keeping the fundamentals constant while you innovate, explore, surprise and delight. Madonna has built a very consistent brand around dramatic reinventions that shock us and push boundaries (including her latest incarnation revealed at the Grammy’s). Because she consistently shows up as only Madonna can, as absolutely true to herself, she has earned the creative permission to change her wardrobe, her music, and even her face.
 
Crazy For You.

Here's my advice. Go for consistency in the big stuff. The better you nail these down, the more room you’ll have to be crazy and creative or however you want to be:

Consistent values. What do you believe? Discover and define your underlying values. If you know exactly who you are, it will come through in whatever you do. 

Consistent voice. How do you communicate? Whether you’re selling pickles or pricing strategy, you are uniquely you. Let your personality and style shine.

Consistent connection. How do you behave? In love and in business, we want partners we can trust, whom we know will go the extra mile for us, who ‘get’ us and care about us and respond to us in just the way we need. Be the kind of person you’d want to be in a relationship with.
 
In summary:
Open Your Heart.
Express Yourself.
Happy Valentine's Day.