A Simple, Heartfelt Concept of Gratitude

Gratitude. It's not a word we hear that often these days. A simple definition is "The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful". It's on our minds this week. For most of us, the Thanksgiving holiday reminds us that despite the ups and downs of daily life, even with the economic problems over the last year, we all have a lot to be grateful for. And while I find that it is easy to express gratitude toward our family and friends, how do you apply gratitude to your business and your business colleagues, employees and professional relationships and vendors?

We use the words, "Thank You", but what do we do to reinforce those words? Do we consistently deliver a top-notch experience to our clients and strive to have a culture in our company that expresses gratitude? Satisfaction creates positive feelings. Satisfied clients and employees and colleagues are likely to show their appreciation through referrals. A referred lead gives you the opportunity to deliver another good client experience. So really, you are in the business of creating good experiences... experiences people will be grateful for because good experiences aren't as common as you might think. When you deliver your product or service "on time, every time, exactly as promised", you create an experience for someone who can turn into a life-long advocate. If you've nurtured someone's gratitude, they're likely to turn around and reward you with a referral and that act makes everyone feel good. And if everyone walks around feeling "good", isn't the environment pleasant and productive?

Work hard to make sure that the experience someone has in becoming a client is just as solid as the experience they will have once they buy. And never, never forget about your source of referrals! They are your advocate for a reason. The very least you can do is to send them a nice thank you note. Maybe you go so far as to offer them a reward of some kind; a coupon or complimentary gift of one of your products, maybe a gift certificate for a local restaurant?

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday you might try something I learned from a company I've done some business with and I'm very grateful for. They turned a whiteboard in a visible spot in their office into their Wall of Gratitude. All employees were invited to write down what they're thankful for at work on one side of the board, and what they're thankful for in our personal life on the other. It was full of amazing and inspiring comments. You might try it. We're going to. And we're going to leave it up until the holidays have passed so it can be added to and will serve as a reminder to us all that there's so much to be thankful for!

As our communication becomes more and more digital, creating "feelings" of true thanks and gratitude is challenging. Not impossible, but challenging. So let's use this time of year and the next few weeks as we roll into the holiday season and the New Year to work on gratitude. Remember the saying, "What goes around comes around." When you're genuinely grateful for the business, make a point of acknowledging your customer. Chances are good that it will come back to you! Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy being grateful. I'm grateful to you as my readers and clients. I truly am.

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