Gratitude used to be a big deal. From businesses thanking customers for their patronage to homeowners thanking a plumber for unclogging their toilet, a thank-you showed appreciation. Nowadays, thank-yous gets tossed around willy-nilly. Perhaps it’s because of ecommerce and the streamlining of payments that we are getting thanked a lot more than usual – we receive automated thank you messages after making purchases online or through an app, even using a debit card at a convenience store yields a brief thank you on the digital display.
With people so desensitised to gratitude, it’s time we brought authentic thank-yous back. Not just because it’s good to show proper appreciation, but because it can have strategic benefits to business as well. Join Wordsmith as we explore how to properly demonstrate gratitude!
A social experiment on how expressing and vocalising our gratitude can affect our happiness.
The benefits of looking back
In marketing and business, we are often preoccupied with moving forward. What’s the next project? What’s the next milestone to chase? Who’s the next client we should work for? However, pausing and looking back can potentially create similar opportunities – and by looking back, we mean thinking about the people we’ve worked with and the customers who’ve supported us.
Marketers and retailers, for example, may consider looking back as keeping a list of contacts that they can reach out to, often for the purpose of cold calling, promoting new offers or informing about special discounts. Alternatively, if it’s someone they’ve worked with, they often reach out only when they have a potential job at hand. While these are indeed forms of looking back, ask yourself this:
Have you ever contacted these people for any reason other than work?
Some might argue that contacting your customers and collaborators for non-work-related reasons would be unprofessional, but there are merits to a simple thank you message! According to Jamie Broderick, an Entrepreneur Leadership Network Writer, gratitude has two key business effects:
1. Business is about relationships
“At the heart of every business… is business,” writes Broderick. “Especially for entrepreneurs who are so personally invested in their business as a way of making an impact in the world, the outdated mentality of business as cold, cutthroat and devoid of any personal interaction is being replaced with the understanding that business is personal.”
Life and interaction skills are just as much a part of the workplace as business skills – maintaining positive relations is equally important as making new ones!
2. Relationships flourish when people feel heard and valued
Like with friendships, people that feel valued and cared for are more likely to stick around. If everything were about transactions, there wouldn’t be much of an incentive for customers or collaborators to think of your brand until they needed something.
“If you want to make one sale, it may be enough to give people an excellent product or service, but if you want to establish an ongoing relationship that paves the way for repeat business with loyal customers who will sing praises to their family, friends and the world on social media, give them the knowledge that they matter to you.”
But is gratitude only good for the people who receive it? Not at all! According to a study by Professors Joshua Brown and Joel Wong of Indiana University, test subjects who wrote gratitude letters daily for three weeks reported “significantly better mental health” nearly a month after the sessions. Using more positive words and avoiding their negative counterparts helped to prevent toxic emotions (such as resentment and envy). “When you write about how grateful you are to others and how much other people have blessed your life, it might become considerably harder for you to ruminate on your negative experiences,” explains Professors Brown and Wong.
So how should we go about practicing gratitude?
Genuity in gratitude
Showing gratitude doesn’t need to be an extravagant gesture with flowers, champagne and limousines, but it does need to be genuine. Broderick suggest the following:
A. Be personal
Handwritten notes are perfect for showing gratitude. Considering how quick it is to send a text or email, a handwritten note is an extra step that shows the recipient they are valued. Just the other day, a friend ordered takeout online. Much to her surprise, there was a post-it note attached to the order thanking her for her purchase and bidding her good day. The restaurant didn’t need to do that, but it certainly made her lunch more cheerful!
B. Be clear
Know who you are thanking and consider how you will thank them. In the case of the restaurant and my friend, the restaurant staff didn’t have much to go on other than my friend’s account name, so they personalised the message by addressing it to her.
If you are thanking someone you know, try to sneak in something more personal. Perhaps it was a detail that you particularly appreciated about them when you worked together, or how they clutched the project by providing the key submissions before the deadline. If your daily paths don’t intersect often, why not take the effort to surprise them with a personal greeting and a thank-you?
C. Be generous
When someone does a great job, reward them for their efforts. Broderick points out that “the more gratitude you express, the richer your relationships will be”, but do be careful about offering hefty rewards. It might motivate people to continue working with you for the wrong reasons!
When a Rolex is too much and a thank-you note is too bare bones, a coffee or lunch might be a better option. Spending time together has more impact and is more personal than simply handing a note.
Alternatively, try being creative and attentive with your thank you gift. If you know that a high-performing colleague enjoys tea but has been too bogged down with work to enjoy a moment at a teashop, consider giving them a fancy box of tea bags or leaves. They’ll appreciate the extra thought and be able to enjoy quality tea at work!
D. Be consistent
It’s important to make thanking people part of your routine, otherwise it’s easy to relapse and forget. Make a conscious effort of showing gratitude, and perhaps as Broderick suggests, keep a stash of gifts and mailing supplies ready to avoid having to scramble when it’s time to give a gift.
E. Be public and be strategic
Highlighting the contributions of others online is a fantastic strategy for gaining positive publicity. It helps publicise their efforts while also showing that your brand is appreciative of their help – it’s a win-win situation.
When sending gifts to someone, consider the use of company branded gifts. It’ll help them think of you every time they use the gift.
Gratitude is mostly internalised and transactional these days, but it can have many more practical uses than we give it credit for. Harness the power of gratitude and you’ll find that not only do people want to work with you more, you’ll also develop a more positive mindset!