Make your fingerprints visible

Let people know their business matters to you

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to make your fingerprints visible. Let people know
that you are the person behind the product or service

(00:24):
you're providing, and they will probably feel more excited about
the transaction in general. So every now and then, when
I order something from a small business, I receive a
handwritten note from the owner. It is always a delight
to know that somebody actually cares that I have ordered

(00:44):
something from them. Even if I've never met this person,
I immediately feel like we are friends. I doubt I'm
the only one to have this reaction. So if you
are in the business of providing products or service says
to people, go ahead and make your fingerprints visible. Include

(01:05):
a note when you ship a product to people. If
you have provided a service, write a note to the
people who purchased it and thank them for doing business
with you. Sign your books or artwork and put a
note in there thanking people for supporting you. If you've
got a website about your offerings, tell a little bit
about yourself and put a photo on there. Let people

(01:29):
know who you are and that you are making your
products or selling your services with their happiness in mind.
If you run a business, you know that every customer counts,
but your customers don't always realize that making your fingerprints
visible reminds people that a lot of things don't come

(01:50):
from some big and personal factory. There's a person on
the other end, and that person is happy that you
decided to spend money with the same principle holds if
you're a leader of let's say a small nonprofit. You
know that every dollar counts, and sure you'll probably send

(02:10):
boilerplate gift acknowledgments. But in addition to that, you can
write personal notes, emails, or texts, and you can pick
up the phone and call to let donors and other
supporters know how much their support means. When you let
supporters know that you really do notice and value their engagement,

(02:31):
you'll increase their sense of connection to you and to
the organization. I might forget to donate to a group
I just get mail from, but when Janice personally has
reached out to thank me, that is a different matter.
I realize that people leading small businesses and nonprofits are
often working very hard doing their basic core work, but

(02:55):
just a little time spent personalizing interactions with customers and
supporters can have a big impact future Engagement is, after all,
an important driver of long term success. If you try
making your fingerprints visible, I'd love to hear how you
do it. You can reach me at Laura at Laura

(03:17):
vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

(03:38):
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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