In the past, businesses could be successful without being liked. Utility companies and infrastructure providers, for example, were almost universally reviled but still posted exceptional profits and growth.

In many cases with these firms, the quality of their product (e.g. natural gas supplies) was out of their control. This meant they had to find other areas to compete on, and customer service was soon identified as the weapon of choice.

As a result, they began to focus on selling that service – and now that’s their priority. In fact, they’re building service-based brands around concepts such as understanding and thoughtfulness. They want to be liked.

And you can understand why. If customers like you, they are more loyal and more forgiving of your mistakes. Think of your friends in real life – you can forgive chronic unreliability in a friend if she is also generous and pleasant. The ‘Lovemarks’ concept created by the Saatchis exemplifies this trend – companies transcending the brand to create an intimate emotional connection “that you just can’t live without. Ever”.

Things have changed. Reputation and success are now inextricably interconnected. In the digital age, brands that don’t aspire to be liked are going to die.

Which in turns begs the question now echoing in every boardroom: how can we get people to like us and how do we turn that into revenue? When you look at Topshop, which in December 2010 had 18 percent of its e-commerce traffic referred from Facebook, you can see the very real bottom line value of being ‘liked’.

The first step in being liked is being trustworthy. Authenticity and sincerity are the cornerstones of any friendship, whether it’s between friends or between customer and company. Some brands have become a bit complacent of late and they need to earn the right to be liked. Successful businesses need to be trusted, and they do this by building a meaningful relationship with their customers online.

Brands also need a story – something to create the necessary level of intimacy. After all, if you want to be liked, it’s about a lot more than just selling a product. You need your customers to know who you are and what you think. And don’t just tell that story yourself – if it’s engaging enough, your customers will tell it for you.

In fact, involving customers is vital. Ask them questions, act on their feedback and make them feel involved. That makes your brand personal to them and instils genuine passion. And, and this cannot be stressed enough, be sincerely sorry if you get it wrong.

Many brands aren’t loved, but they are respected. This applies to companies and other organisations alike: the England cricket team, for example, is currently highly respected but probably not as ‘beloved’ as it was in 2005 – quite possibly due to the lack of explosive personalities such as Andrew Flintoff. Moving from respect to love isn’t easy, but it can make all the difference in the world.

Rosie is strategy director at digital consultancy Reform.

Tags: brand loyalty, brand storytelling, facebook, liked, reform, rosie sayers