The 5 Love Languages of Business

You’re probably familiar with the 5 Love Languages, a system for understanding how you give and receive love. We always say that empowering women is our love language, but the original creator of the Love Language framework says there are 5 main ways to give and receive love: words of affirmation, gift giving, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch. If your love language is quality time, you might not realize that your husband has been trying to show love by cleaning the kitchen! If your love language is gift giving, you might not realize that your best friend has been showing love with lots of warm hugs!

The Love Language framework isn’t just helpful for interpersonal relationships, though…it can be a great way to think about loving on your clients! Here’s how you can use all five love languages to show your clients how much you appreciate them.

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION

YES, this means showering your clients with praise and compliments when you see them—but it also means bragging about them on social media, sharing and promoting what they are doing, and helping them network! This is a very practical way to boost your client’s business AND fill their heart with love.

GIFT GIVING

We LOVE Pretty Mail. We make a point to send a special something to our clients every month! This doesn’t have to be anything overly expensive or flashy. Getting snail mail—that isn’t a bill—is always a surprise, and it reminds your clients that you are thinking of them even when you aren’t physically together. Another form of gift-giving? Offering champagne and snacks whenever you have a client over!

QUALITY TIME

The key word here is QUALITY. This means making the most of your time together by being intentional! Two hours of twiddling your thumbs together is not as valuable as one hour of powering through a to-do list together! When you have client meetings, make sure you are well-prepared. Give every meeting your all! Whatever your service may be, make sure they leave feeling knowledgeable, prepared, and well-loved.

ACTS OF SERVICE

This might mean going outside your usual “scope of work!” This is particularly important for event coordinators, but any time you are at a client event you should be ready to serve in any way you can. Notice when drinks need to be refilled, trash bags replaced, or bra straps tucked in. Your client will feel SO loved when you take care of the million little details that make things run!

PHYSICAL TOUCH

Admittedly, this one is a little more difficult in business relationships than in personal relationships. We love hugs, but not every colleague does! In fact, one way to show love is to be respectful of physical boundaries. Be mindful of which clients do and don’t receive love in this way. At the very least, you can show love with a firm handshake, big smile, and lots of eye contact!

The best practice for the love languages? Mix it up! Remember, not everyone receives love in the same way, so try to use all five to show your appreciation!

Xo,

The PR Dolls