But behind closed doors, how often do you laugh at them? Or grumble about their last-minute changes, their penny-pinching, or their lack of understanding of all the work you do?

You don’t have to delude yourself into thinking the customer is always right – but you should try to love them in spite of their flaws. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are two key ways you can show your customers the love they deserve.

Be mindful of your message

A Seth Godin post from a few years back highlighted an e-commerce FAQ that basically accuses customers of being dishonest.

Unfortunately, we can no longer take phone orders. Customers forget to tell us something and after the order is placed and processed they claim we wrote down incorrect information. By placing an order online we have a record of exactly what you want, especially for custom-designed items, leaving no room for error.

While it’s likely that this was a real problem for this company, there’s a huge failure here: it demonstrates a lack of trust. Does that show customers that you really “appreciate” them?

An easy but partial fix is simply a messaging improvement.  Why not say, “Making sure we get you exactly what you want is important to us, and using our online form makes sure we have everything squared away?” That’s a big improvement. Instead of implying that the customer is deceitful, you’re emphasizing your commitment to great service – and you haven’t had to change a single facet of how you do business.

Take a few minutes to go through your web site, especially customer-focused pages like order forms, FAQs, and customer support areas, and think about the messages from a customer’s point of view. Look for text that implies customers are uninformed or not to be trusted – and rewrite it.

Build love, build loyalty

Far better than simply changing your messaging, though, is to tackle the root of the problem. Instead of blaming your customers, start trying to understand how you can best meet their needs.

In the example above, that would mean hiring or training better phone sales staffers, sending out detailed confirmation emails before shipping or producing custom orders, or simply accounting for a higher rate of returns in your business model and impressing your customers with quick replacements for any problems.

In the long run, it’s neither the business processes nor the messaging that’s the underlying problem: it’s your attitude. Start trusting, respecting, and even loving your customers and you’ll find them returning that devotion. Vovici’s  5 Decisions that Earn Devoted Customers & Business Prosperity gives more examples, and MarketingSherpa shared 5 Retention-Centric Tactics to Boost Sales.

Finally, you should be aware that loving your customers can occasionally involve tough love, too.  There are certainly some clients from hell that come up in any business – and you need to know when to fire those clients. But if you’ve got the right attitude, those customers will be few and far between.

There are two primary reasons to incorporate your business: limiting liability and separating the business taxes from your own. Limited liability is probably the primary reason to incorporate: all it takes is one customer with a grudge to lead to a lawsuit against your business.

Frivolous or not, it takes time and effort to fight any lawsuit – and if your business isn’t incorporated, all your personal assets are at risk, including your house and other property. Incorporating limits your liability in any lawsuit or other obligation to the amount you’ve invested in the business.

A beneficial tax situation is the other main reason to incorporate. Not only are US businesses taxed at a lower rate than individuals, you’ll be able to claim more expenses to reduce your taxable income.

Other reasons to incorporate include:

• If you plan on acquiring investors – either to raise capital or to attract employees by offering ownership shares in your company – incorporation is essential.
• The existence of a corporation doesn’t depend on any one person or group of investors. Incorporating makes it possible for owners or shareholders to leave the business or sell shares without imperiling the future of the company.

Getting organized

Finally, there’s an underappreciated benefit to incorporation – one that many entrepreneurs may see as an initial drawback. When you file for incorporation, you’ll have to do quite a bit of paperwork, which can be a drain on your time. However, some of the work you’ll have to do can really help you organize your business.

Many small businesses are run by energetic, passionate entrepreneurs who love their work – but may not have an MBA or extensive experience running a company. Going through the incorporation process forces you to think through details of how the business should operate, what the corporate structure is, and how the ownership breaks down. While it can be a pain, this effort can really pay off for business owners who tend to avoid that kind of work.

How to incorporate

There are a few ways you can get started with incorporating your business.

• Directly with a lawyer. The most traditional source for incorporation assistance, a lawyer can walk you through the entire process of setting up your corporation. This can be a relatively expensive approach, though, and is best if you’re in a high-risk industry or have intricate ownership or management issues.
• Do it yourself online. At the opposite end of the spectrum from hiring lawyers, you can choose to download incorporation forms on your own. The application process is fairly standardized, but make sure you’ve done your research beforehand so you know exactly what to expect. This is the least expensive method, but puts the burden on you to get every step of the process right.
• Professional services firms. The middle ground between hiring lawyers and doing it yourself is using a professional service firm. These companies often handle a variety of business services, such as accounting, taxes, and insurance, and can offer a wealth of experience at lower cost than some lawyers.

Once you’ve decided to incorporate, there are a lot of key decisions to make, from the official name of your business to the creation of a bank account. Here’s a good summary of what you’ll need to prepare. You’ll also need to decide exactly what type of corporation to form. Here’s a quick description of the most common options:

• General corporations. The most common option, these legal entities can be owned by an unlimited number of stockholders who are personally shielded from debts or obligations related to the business.
• Close corporations. Close corporations have 30 to 50 shareholders, no ready market for their stock, and active participation by the majority of shareholders in corporation management.
• S corporations. This type of corporation provides the benefits of incorporation, but it eliminates “double taxation,” which is when the profits of a corporation are taxed first as income to the corporation and then second as income to the shareholders when profits are distributed as dividends. An S corporation is limited to 75 or fewer shareholders.
• Limited liability company (LLC). An LLC is a business entity formed upon filing articles of organization with the proper state authorities. LLCs generally provide limited liability to their members, and are taxed like a partnership which prevents double taxation.

A lawyer, accountant, or other expert can give you more information about which option is right for your situation. There are also plenty of guides out there to choosing the right business structure.

If you want to start comparing incorporation service providers, we can help. Answer a few simple questions and we’ll match you to qualified providers in your area.

However, the summer months shouldn’t be an excuse to sit back and wait for September to get here. Smart businesses take this time to seek out new opportunities and strengthen relationships with existing customers. Brian Roemmele, President and CEO of 1^st American Card Service, spoke to us about how salespeople can address the difficult summer environment head on and emerge stronger and more focused than before.

BuyerZone: What typical challenges do salespeople face during the summer?

Brian Roemmele: The top challenge is access to your customer. Regardless if the economy is struggling or thriving, it’s difficult for sales people (particularly those in corporate sales) to get access to companies’ key decision makers from mid-June to mid-September. However, it’s not impossible. A lot of work can be transacted during the summer months but you need to use a different strategy, one that involves more phone calls and better relationships with so-called “gatekeepers.”

Getting someone on the phone who may have influence on the lead decision maker could help you complete the sale.

The gatekeeper in this case can be essentially a second decision maker who stands between you and the person in charge of making the final decisions on purchases. What you need to realize is that the gatekeeper – whether a spouse, partner, or office manager – can have a significant impact on decision making whether the person is part of a two-person operation or a large corporate environment.

Gatekeepers may request more details about a product or service and could play a role in finalizing a sale. They typically cultivate the relationship with the salesperson and take their time since they may have the authority to facilitate a purchase. It’s up to the salesperson to listen and field any questions as if the gatekeeper is the one who will sign the contract and write out the check.

BZ: What should companies do to keep sales staff motivated?

BR: Compensation is something that you should review. In sales, you typically pay commission based on the sale but not the ongoing relationship with the customer. This is short-term thinking because most of the important money in a business partnership comes over the long-term. Instead, find new ways to compensate your sales force for their ingenuity with finding new customers and looking for new ways to service existing clients. There are many intangibles involved in sales that should be rewarded and can’t be whittled down to a percentage of the sale.

This probably isn't the type of salesperson a small business owner wants to work with.

For example, if you have salespeople whose leads for new business have dried up, have them contact their existing clients to see if everything is going well and if there are opportunities to provide them with additional help. This shows the client that you still care about their business even though they’ve already bought from you. If the response is positive and they’ve generated interest in buying more of your services and products, come up with a financial payoff for your sales force for taking the new initiative.

Your sales team needs to understand that they’re not just selling a single item or service – they’re selling a relationship. They should be looking for customers who will stick by them for years to come in exchange for good, responsive service. As the economy slows, aggressive sales techniques become increasingly less effective. It’s forcing the customer’s hand to make a decision and will eventually cost the salesperson business over time.

BZ: Can these same techniques work for any industry?

BR: Absolutely! In fact, I can’t think of an industry with a sales team where this wouldn’t work. You always have to see yourself as developing a relationship with selling no matter what you do, particularly in B2B sales where there are name brands available from thousands of different sources. Customers will typically prefer to buy from experienced individuals regardless of brand recognition because of the ongoing relationship and mutual respect.

If you don’t love what you’re doing, the products you’re selling, or the ideas you’re presented with, you won’t be successful regardless of industry. When a great idea takes off, people find ways to make it wholly a part of their experience. True success comes when you love what you do and foster the concept of creating those lasting business relationships. Work on that and the money will follow you instead of you chasing it.

The bottom line is: all people use the same skills sets for business and personal purchases. The sales team’s job is to show the customers respect and guide them through the purchase and make their decision easy and efficient based on real value and service. That’s the best way to foster a healthy, lengthy relationship with a customer. And even if it doesn’t result in a sale, if you have a great product to offer, it lays the groundwork. You’ll get a lot further when you genuinely work to gain a customer’s trust then to strong arm them into the immediate sale.

BZ: What do you think of social media web sites like Twitter or Facebook as a way for salespeople to stay in touch with current and prospective customers?

BR: Every form of communication, when used appropriately, has value. Successful businesspeople realize that staying in touch with customers is one of the highest priorities and social media helps them quickly achieve that goal.

It’s important to stay open and vibrant to new technologies and forms of communications, even if it initially seems silly or pointless. Younger people moving up in the business world are so adapt at using social media as part of their lives that it’s become a no-brainer to integrate it into the business.  If you’re unwilling to get on board with tools everybody else is using, you’re thwarting creativity and risk dying out.

A web site like Twitter is paramount to developing strong communication with your customers and co workers. With your customers, As long as you have permission to contact them, it’s a great way to drop them a quick question, comment, or even a “thank you.” Like any other form of effective communication though, you need to be careful not to abuse it. Many companies tend to use it poorly for marketing purposes rather than a communication channel to create a dialogue.

BZ: What final suggestions can you share with businesses who want to keep their sales teams motivated year round?

BR: Businesses need to move from the hunter mentality to the farmer mentality. Most people view what a hunter does as a noble achievement, but hunters historically lose because they have a finite number of big game to go after. It’s the farmers who are society’s real winners. While planting seeds seems boring, when they take their time to cultivate it, they create an endless production of food. This applies to business relationships to as long as they have an attribute that some people lack: patience.

Instead of dwelling on the troubled economy, start innovating. The best ideas in business come during down-facing economies because large competitors are either stymied or shut down completely. Take this opportunity to take calculated risks and build yourself strong. And even when you achieve success, don’t get complacent because nothing goes up forever. Always stay creative and keep coming up with new ideas.

Finally, analyze what your business does and determine which of these three courses of action work best for you:

1. Reconnecting with your current customer base and previous clients
2. Re-evaluating your selling strategies to ensure they’re appropriate for the current market conditions
3. Reinventing your entire company from the ground up if your ongoing initiatives aren’t paying off

These things, used properly, will allow any sales team to thrive.

Looks like... a search engine

But one response that caught my eye comes from Good Experience. The crux of their post:

Microsoft’s strategy, to win market share from Google, is not to compete on user experience. No. Microsoft’s strategy is to advertise the heck out of the thing and hope people flock to the site. They are spending – wait, let me try my best “Dr. Evil” voice – one hundred million dollars to order the world to use their search engine.

It’s not that Microsoft hasn’t done a good job with Bing: comparisons show some small advantages going both ways. The problem is, as Good Experience points out, that they’re not providing any significant benefit for users to switch — they’re focused on advertising driving adoption, instead of the product.

In a larger sense it’s a question of focus. Your small business probably doesn’t have to worry about taking on a behemoth like Google — but if you did, you’d be better off focusing on things that Google doesn’t do well already. Stay focused on areas where you can either outsell your competition or innovate in ways that the competition hasn’t, yet.

What’s your focus these days? Saving money? Improving your products or services? Just keeping your head above water? Let us know in the comments below.