Graham McGregor: The marketing value of appreciation

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Appreciation is something we all value getting and can also be a powerful ingredient to include in many of your marketing activities as well.

I recall getting an unexpected letter in the mail many years ago from a car dealer.
The letter came three weeks after I had purchased a new car from this dealership and it thanked me for being a client.

There was a double movie pass included with this letter and the letter explained that this was to say 'thank you' for being one of their valued clients.

I was very impressed and over the next few years told hundreds of people about my delightful letter and free movie pass from this car dealership.

And 20 years later I still remember this car dealership positively.

It was a good example of the power of sharing appreciation.

Here a simple appreciation marketing strategy you might like to use in your own business.

(And a good time to use this strategy is in December a week or two before Xmas.)
I call it the 'Top 20 Appreciation Strategy' and here's how it works.

Step One:

Identify the top 20 businesses that have been most helpful to you over the last 12 months. And write down the name of one person who is your main contact in each of these 20 businesses.

Your top 20 list could include...
Businesses who have referred new clients to you
Businesses who have made your life easier in some way
Businesses who have helped you to solve a problem
Businesses who have made you more successful
Businesses who may have spent money with you
Businesses who have encouraged and inspired you
Businesses who are your favourite suppliers
Etc

Creating a list like this should take you 5-10 minutes

Step Two:

Send a short personal letter to the contact person in each business. Do this by 'snail mail' and make the letter distinctive in some way. (Perhaps sent it out in a coloured envelope so it stands out from the other mail this person will normally receive.)

Do three things in this personal letter:
A: Thank them for their help and support over the last 12 months.
B: Give them an inexpensive (but memorable) gift to show your appreciation
C: Wish them well for the brand new year starting soon.

Ideally your memorable gift should be something that you think they will value highly. I suggest you invest somewhere between $15 and $30 for each person.

And you might also look at trying to come up with a gift that is quite different from other things they may be getting.

So I don't recommend things like a calendar or bottle of wine because these are very common at this time of the year.

Find something that is 'out of the ordinary' if you like.

Step Three:

Send your letter and gift with no expectation of getting anything in return. Obviously it would be nice if each person you did this for contacted you and told them how much they appreciated your letter and gift. (The reality is that some people will do this and some won't.)

Your goal here is to simply identify 20 key people in business that you would like to say 'thank you' to and then do something tangible to show your appreciation.

There are three helpful benefits from using something like the top 20 appreciation strategy...

Benefit One:
You've quickly created 20 people in business who know and remember you in a very positive way. Some of these people will usually recommend your business to several of their friends and colleagues which will produce new sales for you.

Benefit Two:
You have instantly differentiated your business from many others because you have done something a little bit different at this time of the year. (Many people send Xmas and holiday greeting cards. However you are doing something different from this.)

Benefit Three:
When you do something positive like this for 20 other people you actually feel pretty good about yourself at the same time.

Sharing genuine appreciation with people that have been important to your business is something we sometimes forget to do. (And right now is a good time to consider doing it.)

'The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.' - William James

Action Exercise:
What can you do in the next week or so to show appreciation to the people that have helped your business this year?

Graham McGregor is a consultant specialising in memorable marketing. You can download his 396 page 'Unfair Business Advantage' Ebook at no charge from www.theunfairbusinessadvantage.com