Time flies when you’re having fun, which means summer has come and gone and the holiday season has snuck up on us once again. Thanksgiving is next week, and then we’re on to Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and other winter holidays before we hit the homestretch toward New Year’s.
For the Barrel O’Monkeyz family, we have many things to be thankful for this year—namely another successful year working with top notch clients to support their marketing and digital media efforts. To those clients we’ve worked with, those we continue to work with, and to those clients-yet-to-be, we are grateful for the opportunities presented and the relationships developed.
GRATITUDE FIRST (AND ALWAYS)
Business success (like life) depends on relationships, and at the core of all relationships is gratitude. The most important relationships in business are between the company and its customers.
Knowing that, how have you shown your customers that you appreciate them, that you are grateful they buy your products or use your services? In the article, How Gratitude Advances Marketing And Business, author Cheryl Conner asserts that if brands truly want to foster loyalty with customers they should “go for gratitude first, and loyalty will follow.”
Just how does a company show gratitude to its customers?
- Social media is a key ingredient. Posting, sharing, retweeting, and liking customer-generated content on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other platforms is a powerful way to show you’re paying attention to your customers. It’s also a very public way to express gratitude for their feedback and the stories they share. Personalized comments are especially impactful. Using hashtags such as #grateful, #bestcustomers, and #thankyouforyourbusiness can help too.
- Create a short video of your employees thanking customers for their patronage or retelling a special customer-centric anecdote from the past year. Doing so can play a huge role in demonstrating gratitude—and you don’t need to hire Pixar to get it done. All it takes is a smartphone, a steady hand, a compelling and heartfelt message of thanks, a few minutes to upload the footage to YouTube, and then the wherewithal to promote the video via your website, blog, email blasts, and social media.
- Send an email blast or go old school with direct mail to your list of customers, vendors, and others associated with your business. Use the communication to thank them for another great year together and to look forward to the next. In customer communications, you might also include some sort of loyalty reward in the form of a discount, special giveaway, or an exclusive sale to show appreciation and gratitude. However, remember that the prime focus of the eblast or direct mail piece is gratitude NOT the promotion. Otherwise, consumers will see it as just another coupon or offer.
NOT ALL GRATITUDE SHOULD BE CUSTOMER-FACING. After all, it takes a village to be successful. In the case of a business, that means your employees and vendors—your extended company family. So when it comes to expressing gratitude, be sure to include those who, ultimately, help determine your bottom line.
Many of the same ways you use to show customers your gratitude can be used to thank your company family:
- Use social media “thank you”s and kudos for when employees and vendors go “above and beyond.”
- Create and post YouTube videos highlighting employee and vendor accomplishments and good deeds.
- Hold and publicize employee and vendor appreciation events and awards.
- Send e-blasts or written notes thanking employees and vendors for doing amazing jobs.
When Turkeys are Grateful – Enjoy!
BE GRATEFUL ALL YEAR LONG
Showing gratitude to others, whether in your business life or in your personal life, doesn’t have to wait for any particular season. Sure, holidays such as Thanksgiving are convenient reminders that we should all be more grateful for the people in our lives. But just think how being grateful and demonstrating it all year long would improve and strengthen our relationships with family, friends, and customers.
As you look back on 2019 for all you have to be grateful for and to all those you owe gratitude, also think ahead to 2020 and begin to think of ways you can incorporate a year-round gratefulness mindset into your life. You—and all those around you—will be thankful that you do.
WE’RE HERE TO HELP
Do you need help creating a digital marketing strategy for your company? Do you need guidance regarding social media posting, platforms, and policies? Barrel O’Monkeyz is here to help you develop and communicate your brand story to the world. Contact us today.
