{"id":4296,"date":"2012-08-24T03:02:54","date_gmt":"2012-08-24T03:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=4296"},"modified":"2012-08-24T03:02:54","modified_gmt":"2012-08-24T03:02:54","slug":"dont-wait-for-holidays-to-make-people-feel-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/dont-wait-for-holidays-to-make-people-feel-special\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Wait for Holidays to Make People Feel Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day brings back a lot of memories for parents of teens and grown children, and sometimes those memories can be lessons for business relationships as well\u2014namely, don\u2019t wait for holidays!<\/p>\n

A friend told me recently that her eldest daughter bought her a beautiful live orchid for Mother\u2019s Day and a bunch of seeds to plant in her garden. Her youngest daughter (who has no money), picked a big bouquet of flowers from the garden for the table.\u00a0Both were highly appreciated, and gave the mom warm fuzzies\u2014but she pointed out that they would have given her the same feelings anytime, not just Mother\u2019s Day. So the lesson here is toalways\u00a0be thinking up ways to make your customers and\/or individuals in your networks feel special. What can you do for them \u201cjust because?\u201d<\/p>\n

As my friend\u2019s example illustrates, you don\u2019t have to spend lots of money to generate warm feelings\u2014it\u2019s the thought that counts!<\/p>\n

Can you send a gift? A coupon? A free e-book? Some of your time? Sure you can\u2014you just have to decide it is important and make the effort to do so. The important thing to remember when you\u2019re actually sending something, however, is that it should seem to be spontaneous; out of the blue.<\/p>\n

For instance, you could develop a practice of sending thank-you cards to your mailing list when seasons change. We don\u2019t often receive cards in the mail these days, so they get our attention. A nice card that says, \u201cThank-you for being such a great [friend, customer, client, etc.], we hope you\u2019re enjoying the Spring weather!\u201d is sure to give the recipient a lift.<\/p>\n

Birthday cards are another example. Everyone likes receiving birthday cards. If you can hand-write them and stamp them, so much the better. In fact, personally acknowledging any kind of life event with a card is a good practice, whether it\u2019s a positive event or sympathy for a loss. It helps us feel more connected.<\/p>\n

What else can you do? Here are some socially-oriented ideas for individuals:<\/p>\n