The Thank You Economy
This book came out in 2011 and Gary Vaynerchuk stressed the importance of all businesses to have an online presence, more importantly, a social presence. Most of the businesses then were on the fence. Now with the Covid and everything that’s going on, it’s more important now than ever to be present online.
GaryVee goes on to say that Social Media is a big part of today’s business and is only going to grow in the future. Social Media allows businesses and consumers to connect on a deep personal level.
In The Thank You Economy, it’s essential for businesses to be humane and interact with customers on a one-on-one level. It’s important for businesses to reach out to their customers and build genuine, caring relationships.
It’s not merely pushing out your products, it’s more about pulling in the consumers by providing value and memorable experiences. You won’t gain anything of value if you don’t put something of value.
Paying close attention to consumers on social networking sites can pay off big. You can build a loyal following with your consumers by constantly engaging and conversing with them. The intent has to be good though, Good intent shows and draws people to you. Good intent creates a pull.
Examples of The Thank You Economy
He shares many examples in his book where putting the principles of The Thank You Economy gave significant results. Gary Vaynerchuk when he first started winelibrary.com spent an absurd amount of time every day just to provide free wine consultancy to people on twitter.
He never asked people to visit his site or buy his wine. He just gave away free value, expecting nothing in return, and soon enough word-of-mouth spread. People saw him as an authoritative figure and a genuine relationship was formed. Those satisfied with his recommendations suggested him to their friend’s.
Satisfied customers will later turn out to be advocates of your brand. Social Media is a marathon and not a sprint, it took GaryVee nearly 4 years to get recognized. You cannot as a brand or individual reach the finish line without patience and determination.
John Pepper, The CEO of Boloco, a Boston-based burrito chain has followed the principles of the Thank You Economy to the T.
Once a customer complained that the music was too loud. He alerted the manager, who immediately lowered the volume and then came out to make sure that everything was up to the customer’s satisfaction.
The customer was so pleased with what had happened and sent out a tweet praising Boloco for its customer service, and word-of-mouth spread.
Zappos has done an outstanding job of creating an employee-centered company culture. They aim to deliver happy and fulfilled customers. Zappos is a customer-obsessed company, and no one out cares like Zappos.
You don’t have to grow at the expense of your customers. Don’t make short-term decisions that affect long-term relationships. Valuing every single customer in The Thank You Economy is mandatory. Social media gives the tool’s to do just that in a very scalable way.
Social Media equals The Thank You Economy
Social Media is a bit like a kidney you can survive with just one but your chances of making it into old age are a lot better with two.
Social Media is here to stay and is not just another trend that will pass. Relationships take time. You can’t buy them. Be genuine and more caring. When conversing with consumers, be personal, honest, and accommodating.
Businesses must now realize to invest in people and not platforms and show that they actually care.
