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147: The Transformative Power of 'Thank You' in the Digital Age · Imperfect Marketing

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Hello and welcome back to another Imperfect Marketing Brief.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, kendra Corman.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Happy November.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Yes, I said it.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I can't believe it's November already either, but let's go ahead and jump in and start talking about gratitude.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: When you cultivate customer loyalty through appreciation, your customers are more loyal.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: People like to be thanked and they like to feel appreciated and needed.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: It goes for employees and for your customers.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: So, as we're heading into this Thanksgiving season, I just think that it's really relevant content and it's a cornerstone of building meaningful relationships, and relationships are at the core of what we do as entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and service providers.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: So let's talk about how our customers have a million and one different choices for almost every service out there, especially ours.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Yes, you're unique, yes, you provide value, but for all of us, they can go someplace else.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: So showing appreciation can sometimes significantly enhance their loyalty and your image in their eyes and the eyes of their friends and potential new customers and clients.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: So let's talk about expressing gratitude and going a little bit beyond the basics.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: So how do you go beyond a generic thank you to be truly authentic and make your customers feel valued?
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, so let's start off with number one personalized thank you notes.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: It is one of my favorite tools when I'm working with a entrepreneur or solopreneur and they are on a tight budget.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: The thing that I tell them to do is to buy some thank you cards.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Buy some thank you cards.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: They can be custom made, they can be which is cheaper than you probably think, but they can also be just bought off the shelf at your local hallmark and write a thank you card.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Write a thank you card for the introduction or the meeting that you just had with them.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Put an old-fashioned stamp on it and stick it in the mail, because we are living in a digital age of digital communication, right?
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Nobody wants one more email, and so mailing a card that took time to write makes a difference, and I don't care if you don't like your handwriting or if you think it's too messy or too hard to read.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Take an extra couple of seconds, write a thank you card.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Write a little bit slower, and it will make all of the difference.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: It shows effort, personalization and it is genuine appreciation, and it stands out in this crowded marketplace of all digital communications right?
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: You can also have customer appreciation events.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: You can celebrate milestones, birthdays, holidays, whatever it happens to be, and host an event to celebrate your customers and it could potentially increase business because it lets them know that you appreciate them.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: It can be speakers, it can be special webinars, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money and that is key.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: So let's think about how you add gratitude into your marketing strategy.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: First off, gratitude should be a core pillar of your marketing strategy.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: If you're looking to grow through referrals and engagement with a either referral base, customer base, whatever it happens to be Okay.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: And first you want to start off, you want to be authentic.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Authenticity is key.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Do not thank somebody if you're not thankful.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Okay, you want to make sure that you're sincere, because people can see right through it.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: As you may know, I am a adjunct faculty at Rochester University here in Rochester, michigan, and one of the things that I gave my students this semester was a case study on Bud Light and the issues that surrounded them earlier this year.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: What happened?
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: They all talked about how it just didn't feel authentic to the Bud Light brand.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: They can't even drink and it didn't feel authentic.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Authenticity, without any prompting at all, was the big theme when they evaluated it.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: So make sure that you're being authentic because, while your missteps in gratitude might not quite be as large or go as viral as the Bud Light situation did, it's still really important to be authentic to who you are and who your brand is.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Feel free to use social media.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: People love to be recognized on social media.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: It's a little crazy, right.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: You can share testimonials, community milestones, you can just thank people for their questions and their engagement.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: You don't have to give away your customer base, you don't have to let people know who your customers are.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: But, again, people love to see their name in light and social media is a great way to show that appreciation and spread the word there.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Now, of course, I would love to hear from you have you ever experienced a brand expressing gratitude in a way that stood out to you?
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Share your stories with us.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Let me know.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: You can reach me at support at KendraCormancom.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: I would love to hear what you have to share and maybe it will be on one of our next episodes.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Now, finally, before we jump into the closing and wrap things up, because this is supposed to be done in 15 minutes or less, and I'm usually around 7 to 10, but let's talk about the long term effects of gratitude.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Customers are likely to return to and advocate for a business that makes them feel appreciated.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Make them feel appreciated.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: That's why so many people do holiday gifts at the end of the year for their clients.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: They just want that little recognition.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: And again, when it's a core value of who you are as you grow and expand and add employees, it cultivates a positive culture internally, not just externally, and again, it makes people feel appreciated.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Before we wrap up, if you found value in today's episode and are going to be sharing your gratitude, I would be personally grateful if you would subscribe, share and leave a review for this Imperfect Marketing Brief.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Your support helps us continue to bring you great content every week, twice a week once a week through the Imperfect Marketing Brief and then once a week through the interviews with experts in a bunch of different areas of marketing to help you grow your business and organization.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Stay tuned for our next episode when we delve into planning a compelling social media calendar.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Until then, keep showing your gratitude in your marketing efforts and see that positive impact unfold.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Have a great rest of your day.