Today's Marketing Cookie - Cheerful Message

Today's Marketing Cookie came via Twitter from a good friend of mine Jerry Varner whom I have not seen in probably fifteen years or more. Regardless of geographical distance or the amount of the time that goes by, he is a once-in-a-lifetime friend, who will always be there for me, and I for him. There is a special bond between us and I hope you have a great friend like Jerry in your life too.

Jerry works with teenagers down in Richmond, Virginia, and he is very good at it. Working with teens has been his life long calling and his mission since we first met in college. While he isn't in marketing, and it may not be what he thinks about every day, he knows that marketing is important to me. By sending this fortune cookie to me, Jerry is showing his support for me in my life long mission to be the best I can be in marketing. He not only sent me a cheerful message, he made it relevant to what is important to me. Putting others before themselves is what friends do. Why couldn't companies be more like Jerry?

Marketers spend a lot of time, effort and money, pushing "special" offers to prospects and trying to up-sell customers. What if companies spent more time sharing value, helping others and saying, "thank you"?  Companies like Zappos will sometimes conduct "random acts of kindness" such as shipping shoes overnight for free, even though a loyal customer has selected 10-day ground track and they make lasting "friendships" with their customers. The next time you are looking for a good way to foster stronger relationships with your customers, send them a cheerful message and look for ways to be more relevant to their needs.