How can you demonstrate appreciation for your customers to build loyalty and a stronger brand? Being helpful and showing your gratitude is the most effective marketing strategy of all. It honors the people you sell to by recognizing that you serve them.
Moreover, being grateful means you spend time understanding their needs, problems, and issues with an empathic approach, not a transactional effort. How can you stop marketing to sell, and instead market to help or serve?
Gratitude an Attitude
If you see customers and prospects as targets, it is a transaction.
When you can peel back and learn more about who they are and what matters to them, they can become recipients of your kindness. Often, this happens through surprise and unexpected actions. I don’t know of a more powerful approach to marketing than demonstrating your appreciation in unexpected and surprising ways.
Currents of Giving
It is amazing what you can learn while drinking a cup of coffee.
I overheard a story last week at lunch about a local electrician who has five people who work for his company. Twice a year, this electrician randomly calls up a past customer and offers to have his five electricians help someone in need that they know. It can be an individual, a religious organization, or even a non-profit they support.
It isn’t a marketing ploy or tactic – it was a way to give back.
It sounded from what I overheard that this electrician doesn’t advertise this offer; he does it to serve his customers. From what I sensed, since electricians don’t do things like that – this man wanted to do it because he thought it was the kind thing to do to pay his gratitude forward.
As a result, the owner of the electrical firm wanted to be helpful and kind and to do not say. You can only imagine the power of the word of mouth that this kindness generates. I’m sorry I didn’t learn the name of this company so I could promote their kindness.
Gratitude is the Ultimate Connection
What could your business do for your customers that will surprise them with your kindness without expecting anything in return?
Can you do something for their charities or friends that demonstrates that extra mile you’d travel – without posting about it on Twitter or Facebook?
The open rate of being helpful appears to be infinite.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash
