Likability is a weird quality. Plenty of people are fans of Aretha Franklin or Bob Dylan, but it’s not because either of them spent a lot of time mailing out Christmas cards or being particularly warm to their fans.
Google doesn’t do tech support and plenty of popular high-end restaurants got that way by being difficult to book and not particularly welcoming to new patrons.
One reason is that we’re drawn to status. To like something as a way of certifying our insight or rank.
But there’s a different path, one that’s far easier to maintain and travel. It’s simple: Like your customers and they’re more likely to like you back.
This is one reason that the Beatles switched their focus after their first US tour (and eventually stopped touring). They couldn’t figure out how to like the screaming young fans that didn’t have much in the way of discernment. Instead, they shifted to writing and producing music for fans and colleagues that they wanted to spend their time liking.
If you want to be more liked, begin by liking.