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Being irrationally kind to people pays off

Being irrationally kind to other folks pays off in unexpected ways. Irrational as in - being nice to someone else above and beyond what seems logical and not expecting anything back but just because it's the right thing to do.

I decided to reach out to one of my customers and found out they were local. I showed up at their office with coffee just to thank them.

They've now sent me through all of their social media networks and have generated more sales than the $700 I just spent on paid advertising.

  1. 5

    Totally! Kind is the future and the world I love living in. I'm a big believer in it!

    Infact, my focus with Ministry of Testing was always doing AND creating good things. As a result my business grew mostly by word of mouth, natural (and not very good) SEO and my hard manual efforts in 'social media'.

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      Wow, just checked out Ministry of Testing. That's incredible, congrats on your success. Gives me something to aspire to... :)

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        Thanks, I think being human and kind is very much under rated. I think it can be scalable to a certain extent if it is embedded within the culture of your community/business.

  2. 1

    Wow, that's so inspiring. I have reservations about going the extra mile, I should work on that.

  3. 1

    Great! I wonder about what kind of visit you made?
    I mean you just suddenly appear at their office and ask if you can have a coffee and a social chatting, or you contacted them and made an appointment?

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      Haha no I reached out via email, found that they were in van, and told them I'd swing by :)

  4. 1

    What some call "obligation marketing" :)

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      Such scary connotations in those two words together. I take it to mean some sort of pressure for others to market for you as a form of repayment, like how street vendors in major cities will often hand you something seemingly as a gift, but then suggest that payment would be kind in return. Is that about accurate? I can’t seem to find much on Google about that phrase.

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        Not quite, since you don't ask for or imply repayment. The idea is to stand out from the crowd, show commitment, & create goodwill, as a general strategy, rather than expecting an immediate return from every prospect.

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        I don't think "irrational" was the best word to describe it because it usually has a negative connotation. Maybe 'exceedingly or exceptionally' kind or anything less negative sounding? This word might have triggered any negativity.

        The customer doesn't have any reason to be suspicious of anything because there is a universal understanding between businesses and their clients. If a street vendor hands you a gift, the guy is homeless, isn't it a given that he wants something in return? He's not doing anything wrong, he's mentally disabled and just doing his best. Just like a street musician would be very thankful for any tips you put in his guitar case, you don't get angry with him for using this profit seeking scheme unless you have a generally negative or critical perspective on things.

        Sales people doing nice things for their clients is both a 'thank you for your loyalty' and a 'give me more business if you're happy.' That's why the guy automatically knew how to repay him, with referrals.

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