Simple Politeness

Previously we discussed that when someone does anything for us, or we observe someone doing something for someone else, we should thank them for that effort. People who perform a service for anyone should be recognized for that service, no matter who they are. To do so is an act of simple politeness.

If someone asks us for information that we provide to them, we have the right to expect a thank you for the information that we have provided. If the request is made in the form of an email rather than in a face-to-face verbal inquiry, the requestor frequently never thanks the responder for the information that they receive.

If their inquiry was made verbally in a conversation, would they just walk away without any reply at all? The use of an email for the original inquiry does not provide an excuse for not replying to the email which answers the original request. Simple politeness demands that we take the step to thank others for what they do for us.

What else do we not do in our business lives that would fall under the expected aspects of simple politeness? How about thanking our customers for being our customers? Shouldn’t we issue each customer a “thank you” when they buy from us, when they put money into our pockets? Gratitude for our customers’ business is so much more potent in the business-customer relationship than when we promote how great we are as a business or how wonderful our products or services are.

If one of our customers refers someone else to us we should thank the referring customer for trusting us to treat their referral as well as we did them. If the referred person does not become our customer, is that the fault of the referring person, or is that our job to make the referral work? We still should show our gratitude for the referral.

What about the customer who becomes a client who buys from us on a continued basis, who periodically orders, or who is on an automatic renewal with our company? They deserve special thanks and recognition. An expression of gratitude is not only appropriate; it should be expected. To do less is taking the customer for granted, the first step that will result in our losing the customer in the future.

Everyone likes to be noticed and appreciated for what we do. As business people we want to receive the thanks of our customers for offering such great products or services at such great prices. We also want to be recognized for making the customer buying experience as enjoyable as we can. Is it too much for our customers to expect some simple politeness from us towards them? Shouldn’t we treat them as we would want to be treated by everyone with whom we do business, or just encounter every day?

Gratitude Marketing provides us the means to show simple politeness towards others. It is not a new and complicated process. It is not revolutionary or a secret means of building a business. It is just doing what we want others to do, showing gratitude for those actions we all perform during the day. It doesn’t matter if we are the giver or the receiver of this great karma, we all can benefit from simple politeness and a warm thank you. Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.