How Can You Use Kindness in Your Marketing

As we enter this special time that symbolizes the end of the year, it's a great time to think about way to incorporate more ways to be kind through marketing. 

I recently had the opportunity to read Linda M. Cohen's new book "The Economy of Happiness" - if you've follow Linda on LinkedIn, you can see she's a big believer in sharing Kindness in the world. (mention her previous book and movement)

In her book, Linda begins her book by sharing what many of us experienced during the pandemic, the waves of kindness, especially to neighbors and to healthcare workers and frontline folks and stories that were spread on the news.

One story that stood out is how to be a Kindness Catalyst, Linda told the story of renting a van for a family vacation that could have been frustrating.

She noted that originally the van rental pickup was going to be 9am, but she received a call beforehand that the pickup would actually be 1pm. Because of that message, Linda and her family were able to change their plans for the day. During lunch, the car rental called Linda and said the van wouldn't be ready until 4pm. Linda's family was a bit disappointed but were able to accommodate and make the best of it. At 3pm, the rental car company called the 3rd time and confirmed the van pick up to be 4pm.

When Linda arrived that day to pick up the van, she asked the manager about the employee who called her with the updates throughout the day. The manager was worried that Linda was upset. Linda said - quite the opposite, she wanted to praise the employee for the consistent communication and thank them.  It's a great lesson as a business owner if you can't deliver what you promised, be transparent and kind and communicate clearly so the client isn't left in the dark.

Linda also provides pro-tips in her book like keeping a stash of cards around to spread kindness. Send someone a message via a card, it only takes a few minutes and can make a huge impression!

In the last 5 years, I started sending notes to folks I've met and I'm tickled pink to hear that people love to get them. In this sense, building relationships is a big part of building into your marketing system.

Right now, social media is the most popular, loudest way method of marketing, however I'd like to offer building and cultivating relationships can be a powerful way as well.  If you find yourself leaning more introverted or empathy driven, it could feel a lot more powerful and in line with your values.

I've successfully have done a few handwritten card campaigns in the last few years and they have strengthened the bond I have with colleagues, clients, and referral partners while still maintaining and making it personal to each person.

One of my marketing heroes captures this best -  Seth Godin, who has studied and written about marketing for years and agrees that for 50 years marketing and advertising were the same thing (pre-digital world). Now they are very far apart and the difference is earned attention (marketing) and the other bought (advertising). Both are important, however advertising is not the right answer for every business.

“Marketing is everything – it’s how you answer the phone, the prices you charge, what you do for your employees, your ability to exceed expectations, and much more.

The marketers job in the new normal is to make the organization work for its customers. That requires you to have a say and a critical input,” says Godin.

It also can be done with a bit of kindness to make a greater impact.