Do & Don’t

In our quest for business success, business owners must do certain things and not do other certain things. While some of each of these may seem to be common sense, maybe we should review some of each and the details behind the common sense. Of course, Gratitude Marketing should provide many of the reasons for these lists, but maybe we need to discuss them anyway.

Never, ever, ever ignore the importance of anyone’s name. If you do not know how to spell anyone’s name, find out, and do not guess. Never assume that it is like everyone else’s; find out how it is spelled. Nothing is more embarrassing than to misspell someone’s name, especially if they are a prospect, customer, client, family member, or friend. Guess that means everyone.

That said; always use their name in a greeting, email, card, or other communication. It makes them feel great, calls attention to their importance, and is common courtesy. We all like to be addressed by our name, not called customer, resident, new resident, or other such vague term. Nothing is worse than to receive a marketing pitch directed to “The Business Owner”. If you want to do business with me, discover who I am.

Always meet one-on-one with new acquaintances and get to know them. Never “write off” anyone as not for us. The person who you ignore might want to be your customer, but may also be your greatest referral source. First impressions are not always correct, and you might be amazed by the details that you discover about anyone. They may even have something that will benefit you.

When you sit down with anyone new for the first time, never start off pitching whatever you have to market. Find out about the other person first, discover what they do, what they need, and what makes them do whatever they do. That way you can intelligently refer them to others that they may need to meet, either because they need whatever the other person offers or because the other person may be a great prospect for them. You cannot do this if you don’t know them.

If the new person that you meet isn’t a prospect for you, don’t dismiss them. They may be a great referral partner; they may know just who you need to meet. They may know the perfect business partner for you. Look for networking partners first, not prospects. If you enlarge our networking partnerships, you will gain more customers. Some of them will become customers or clients, while some of them will refer us to more prospects.

If you lose a customer, you must find out why. You must attempt to never lose touch with them. Depending on why they moved on from our customer relationship, you may gain them back in the future. You may receive referrals from them that may help us grow our business success. You may even learn something about why you lost them that will help us improve our performance with others.

In the coming weeks you will discover more details that make up Gratitude Marketing and you may learn what you are doing right or even wrong. You might not always agree, but you can learn. Sometimes you may even learn what you don’t know, or what you thought you knew about business, Gratitude Marketing, and karma. Again let me have your comments, or call me at 360-314-8691, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com. Let’s help each other practice Gratitude Marketing.

Back On Schedule

For regular readers, thanks for tolerating the absence for the last few weeks. Our move to Sacramento is complete and we now need to dig our way out of the mountain of boxes and other stuff that is not put away as of yet.

That said; let’s move forward with applying Gratitude Marketing to our business and personal lives, reaping the benefits of the great karma that results from making customers, clients, prospects, friends, and family understand that we actually care about them and treating them well.

Exactly what is Gratitude Marketing? It is marketing our businesses in a way that makes our customers know without a doubt that we believe in customer service, performing in an ethical, honest manner, and “doing the right thing” whenever we interface with anyone. Does this mean that we “give away the store” when the customer complains? We should evaluate any communication from a customer in a fair manner, standing behind any promises or guarantees made, but making decisions based on common sense and the relationship between the customer and our business.

Obviously any business can stand behind their fine print without any deviation, but that may not be the best adherence to Gratitude Marketing. The first rule for any business is to stay in business. Selling products or services at a loss cannot be made up in volume. A fair profit is necessary for any business to succeed and stay in business. Any customer or client that wants to continue to have a relationship with any business should understand and agree with this philosophy. However, common sense also means that a rule may be adjusted for the right situation.

Can a business continue to succeed without a relationship based on Gratitude Marketing? If a business wants to be constantly searching for the next new customer, ignoring the current ones that it has, it may be possible to maintain a business operation. However, the stress of that constant search, always replacing customers with new ones, is stressful and not a stable basis for any business. Why not treat your customers in such a manner that they become your unpaid marketing advocates, telling everyone that you are the business with which they should explore a relationship.

Notice the use of the term “relationship”. We all establish relationships with others, either in business or our personal lives. What is the basis for those relationships and what is the result of maintaining them? Is there mutual benefit from the relationship, and can we say that the relationship is one of which we are proud? We can if the relationship is based on Gratitude Marketing.

So let’s restart our journey together, exploring this philosophy of Gratitude Marketing. Let’s learn how to base our lives on treating everyone as we would want to be treated. Let’s turn prospects into customers, customers into clients, and family, friends, and business relationships into networking partners who practice karma, benefiting everyone. Let me have your comments, or call me at 360-314-8691, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com. Maybe we have some of the same ideas, but maybe we have new ideas that can help each other. Let us practice Gratitude Marketing.