Marketing with Kindness – The hair stylist by Pat Rullo
These past few years have been tricky. People are on edge. Uncertainty has a way of changing behavior, and not always in a good way. So I decided to double down on what I have always done naturally. And that is to give people my interest. Only a few people do that. We have no idea what is going on in someone’s back story. That is why an unexpected and heartfelt word or two from a stranger has the potential to change a life.
I have always tried to treat marketing like a relationship. I like to initiate and return emails with genuine compliments or a quick personal story. Or tweet out other people’s posts and truly engage with them. I make it a point to tell people that I appreciate them. “I appreciate you.” Now there’s a shocker! No one expects to hear that. But typing or saying those words causes me to pause and think about why I appreciate that person. It’s a little gift for both of us.
True story – a woman went to her hairdresser to get a refresh. Her stylist took the time to listen, asked questions, made the woman look pretty, and told her so. “You look absolutely lovely, Hope.” Then, as the woman left, the stylist hugged her and gave her a free lip balm sample. Two months later, Hope returned to the salon and told the stylist that she only got her hair done the last time because she planned to end her life that afternoon and wanted to look good. But because the stylist showed kindness, took the time to hold a conversation, and told her she looked lovely, Hope went home to rethink her decision.
Wow!
And I don’t think Hope will ever switch salons or stylists. Do you?
PR
Surprise and Delight – The mean Twitter man
To piggyback on the previous Marketing With Kindness post, here’s what I do when people are rude to me. Sometimes I receive an unkind response from someone that makes me want to dash off some word vomit. Happily, I’ve learned to rethink that approach. And that is where the art of Surprise and Delight comes in. Of course, it takes me a moment or ten to get over the hurt, but eventually, I craft a response that shocks the recipient. First, I stop to assess what the person had to say. Is there any truth in it that I don’t want to face? Did something get lost in their message? Or does the person lack class?
Once, a man sent me a direct message on Twitter and told me that a particular page on our website sucked! It was too much for him to read. Well – I’ll be! My thoughts swirled as I began to whip up a hasty response. But then, something caused me to stop. I headed over to the web page in question and read it as if for the first time. I’ll be darned. He was right. So I replied, “Hi Joe, thank you for the note. You are right. The page is a mess. I am going to fix it right away. Thank you for caring and daring to say so. My best, Pat.”
Did I shock him? Why yes, I did. He returned with a fumbling, mumbling, you could tell he was at a loss for words for a response. It didn’t cost me one thing to Surprise and Delight this poorly-behaved man. I also have a better-looking web page too.
We both won!
Now if he keeps it up, I may have to rethink this again.
PR
