How to run an empathic web service

I fundamentally disagree with the idea embedded in the title of this Inc. magazine profile, but How to Draw 22 Million Visitors to Your Website is a great look at Pandora, and how the company  uses its connection to its users to create product excellence and customer loyalty. 

Four elements identified in the article:

1. Be Human
2. Be Willing to Evolve
3. Listen to Your Customers
4. Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

And to me, this is what being an empathic company is all about.  Why are these kinds of services successful?  Actively engaging with customers- by listening, by responding to them, visiting with and empowering them- creates the kind of bond that drives 1.7 million of your customers to write to Congress about royalties.

Customers are great at being loved.  How good are you at loving them back?

The title of the article in Inc misses the point: don't just try to get to a million customers or 20 million site visits a month- though neither of those would be bad in and of itself, they aren't a measure of your success at creating a product that fills a need and builds long term value and loyalty.