Advertisement Ideas: Using Gratitude As A Marketing Strategy!!!
I recently attended an Introduction To Gratitude Training done by Jo Engelesson who is an author and speaker who is a leader in the personal development and spiritual development industry. Her website www.tofa.us allows visitor to purchase tokens of appreciation that they can register and then pass on to those who have positively impacted their day. Jo told her story about how assuming the attitude of gratitude changed her business. I visited the site and bought 5 of the coins and have handed out 4 of them so far. Each time I have given out a token I have seen a great shift in my attitude and as a result have had a successful day. As I gave out one of the tokens of appreciation I began to think how can business owners and marketing directors and those involved in charitable work use the concept of gratitude as a marketing strategy. The answer was simple incorporate gratitude as part of the strategic marketing plan by rewarding existing customers and donors and also when procuring new customers and donors.
One of the greatest thing you can do in business or in your personal life is to express gratitude. People like to feel appreciated. In today’s world where people text, facebook, and email receiving a hand written thank you note goes a long way in making a person remember you. Sometimes the more creative you are with the thank you the better. I remember working for The NY Liberties of Major League Volleyball and asking potential sponsor’s secretaries what their favorite pizza was and then going to the owner of the team, Jerry Saperstein, and asking for a budget to send them pizza with thank you note. He said yes and I sent the pizzas and had the pizza place write a note thank you for speaking with me about The NY Liberty, Jonathan Lederman. This tactic worked and we secured a few sponsors as a result. I then began to use this tactic with reporters. If a reporter did a story about the team I sent a hand written thank you note. The idea is that using gratitude as a marketing strategy works. I would secure people’s addresses who attended games and send them a thank you note and something with The NY Liberties logo on it and tickets. This helped to take the attendance from 300 fans a game to over 1000 fans a game.
While I was working at Forum Publishing Group selling advertising I ran into many businesses who would tell me I don’t need advertising and I would reply how about thanking all the people who have made it possible for your success and not needing to advertise. A few businesses said wow a Thank You Advertisement might be a good idea. They were correct and ran thank you ads thanking their customers and vendors. They reported back to me that the ad brought in people and that they would like to do some more ads. I made it a point to send a personalized thank you card to all my advertisers and this brought in more business for myself. I took a territory that was averaging $1000 per week in sales to a territory averaging over $3000 per week in sales by using gratitude as a marketing tool. I had several excellent weeks where I beat sales projections and as a result was awarded at quarterly sales meetings.
If you are in a leadership role in your business or charitable organization it is important to show your people that they are appreciated. I recently had the opportunity to work with a team from Walmart as part of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton. I made it a point to tell everyone who helped to raise the $460 that I appreciate their effort. I completed the thank you cards today and will be personally delivering them to the people who helped tomorrow and Friday. In incorporating gratitude as a marketing strategy you are able to achieve more because people who feel appreciated will continue to support you. In your dealings with people remember that to important words, Thank You, can have a tremendous impact on your success.
When you express gratitude people feel better and are more inclined to do business with you or support your charitable endeavor. I like to say thank you and GOD Bless You when I encounter people and this leaves an impression with them. I recommend you find ways to show appreciation for those who help you to achieve the greatness and the successes that you enjoy today. Show gratitude and stay positive.
