#11 - The power of thank you

Hello friends. Welcome to the Nurture Flow podcast, this is our 11th episode. My name is Matt and today let’s talk about two of the most powerful words in the English language.

Those two words are: thank you.

On their own, they’re just small words. But when you use them they have the power to completely change someone’s day. Sharing your appreciation for something that someone else has done will brighten their day. It’ll brighten yours too.

Look at all those wonderful endorphins that you’ve generated from two words. I challenge you to give me two other words that produce as much happiness in the English language.

As I spoke about in an episode recently, we can look at the power of “thank you” from a simple customer service aspect.

We’ve all been in a store and heard a commotion between a customer and a member of staff. Perhaps not so much this year, but then the pandemic has brought along other challenges with it.

Anyway, when we look at the conflict that is occurring in the store, we’ll typically see a customer who believes there’s an error or a problem, and an employee trying to resolve the situation.

How many times have you seen the customer storm off without saying thank you, even after the situation was resolved? For me, it’s too many.

I’m genuinely baffled by the number of adults who don’t treat “thank you” as an important part of their vocabulary.

It’s so much easier for people to criticise rather than to praise others though, isn’t it?

Just look at this year for examples of that. There has been a big increase in the number of online reviews for businesses that were negative during the pandemic. In many countries there were periods of lockdown or disruption, which severely affected the ability for companies to be open, process orders, etc. Delivery companies have struggled too – and that’s something that is well outside the control of the company despatching a product.

It’s crazy that people leave a 1 star review for a product or business because the product that they purchased arrived a day or two later because of a pandemic.

I saw a store recently that sold outdoor products for hikers, walkers, camping etc. Over 50% of their reviews online mentioned items being received a few days late. Unfortunately many of those reviews gave the store a 1 or 2 star rating.

Small businesses can be swamped by this sort of thing and it can severely harm their income. And all of that during a time when retail businesses are struggling and having to adapt? It really does make you question humanity a little.

Really the problem is with bigger companies like Amazon. They’ve got us used to getting really fast delivery and even deliveries on Sundays – which was almost unheard of here in the UK, prior to Amazon making the change.

Unrealistic expectations cause people’s attitudes towards kindness and thankfulness to change. For some, it may be impossible to ever be happy with the service that they receive.

As a business owner, you’ve more than likely had at least one occasion where a client has been unpleasant or ungrateful for your efforts. It may have felt like they tried to find problems and issues, even where there weren’t any.

Of course it is part of doing business to have moments like this. Some might even call it a rite of passage!

And we can turn these moments into a positive rather than let them be negative. They allow you to really understand, appreciate and enjoy the better times. Once you think of them that way, you’ll let them wash over you a lot faster.

No-one is immune to it though.

Mel and I have had many occasions since we launched Funnel Packs in April 2019, where we dropped everything to help a customer, resolving any issue or question they had…. and then silence.

We do get it, we’re adults and we understand that everyone has a different priority in their lives.

But saying “thank you” helps to validate our decision and choice to spend time immediately helping the person. Again, it’s just two little words but to us it could mean the difference between high-fiving each other… or arguing because we’re in a more negative mood now. That’s the fun of working closely with your partner by the way – fireworks in every direction!

It’s not really about us though. It’s about everyone.

There are many businesses right now who are putting together Black Friday sales or trying to generate some additional revenue after a difficult year that has caused chaos for so many.

The year isn’t normal. What we’re seeing happen to us keeps getting referred to as a “new normal”. I hate this term. The same with “unprecedented times”. It’s like people had a discussion and tried to pick two of the worst words to put together and then make it go viral.

Thankfully the recent news about progress with vaccines is giving us hope for the future. There are better things to come.

But the businesses right now? The ones like mine and yours. The ones in your local town. The ones you see advertising to you on Facebook.

They need our help right now.

Even if you’re not in a position to buy something – either financially or just not having a need, please be kind to them.

Every business owner right now wants to see their business thrive and survive. They’re putting their heart and soul into what they’re doing. Trying to ensure that every customer has a wonderful experience.

If someone delivers a product a day late or they make a mistake, please think twice before being negative. Maybe give them the benefit of the doubt. Mistakes happen – we all know this. Late deliveries are not always the fault of the business – sometimes things are a bit slower because there’s a global pandemic.

I never thought I’d say a sentence like that last one in my lifetime. Still not able to comprehend just how massive all this stuff is. Even after sitting at home for 9 months in my pyjamas.

When a business or a person gets something right. Or when they solve your problem. Or when they do something that makes your day better… take two seconds to say thank you.

It really is just a moment of your time but I promise you, hand on heart, that it means the absolute world to the person that you’re saying it to.

Mel and I have had so many Facebook messages, emails, social media comments etc where people have said thank you. They’ve appreciated something that we’ve done. Or even just said they love what we’re doing.

It means SO MUCH when someone does this.

We’ve had days where we’ve literally been on the floor through tiredness or not feeling well. Yet a kind email has filled us with energy and given us a lift that enabled us to carry on. It’s so empowering.

Thank you so much if you’re one of those people.

We’re on the eleventh episode here today. I’ve never had a podcast before. I’ve never marketed a podcast before. This is all an entirely new experience and honestly, sometimes a little bewildering.

My friends that have podcasts say that the download numbers I’m getting are great and that things are going well, to just keep on going etc. It’s hard though. So easy to look at the number of downloads and think you’re failing because a certain episode doesn’t have as many downloads as another.

To the people that have left a review, comment or sent an email about this podcast. Thank you for doing that. It’s just a little part of your day, but seeing your words means so much to me.

Hopefully this helps to put into perspective just how important a few simple words can be to someone.

And let’s not forget every one of you listening… I want to share with you something that I recently sent out in an email to our Funnel Packs customers…

People really don’t say thank you or appreciate others as much as they should in this world. So today, I’m going to change that.

I want you to know that without any agenda or motive, I am genuinely proud of you.

You’re running a business and creating a better life for yourself and your family.

You’re selling products and services that are changing people’s lives.

Your work creates jobs and supports local businesses all around the world.

You’re strong and you refuse to give up, even when the world does its best to fall apart.
Those of you who are digital agency owners, designers and marketers… you’re part of the digital revolution that we’re going to be experiencing over the coming years.

You’ll be helping businesses to reach their customers more effectively. This year alone, we’ve seen so many businesses finally realising that they need to have an online presence or a pivot to utilising the Internet more effectively.

Thank you for everything that you do in this world. You are appreciated, loved and special. You’re more important than perhaps you’ll ever know. Keep doing what you’re doing and together we’ll change the world.

Apologies that the episode is a little shorter this week. I was up for 26 hours in a row working on finalising some of the elements for our Funnel Packs Black Friday sale which we call Funnelventura.

Although it went live yesterday, I’m still a little exhausted from it. I’ll put a link in the show notes and you can check out what we’re doing. The big thing is the return of the Founder Offer, that we’ve had over 200 requests for since May 31st 2019.

Let’s talk again next week.

For now, please use the power of “thank you” wildly and everywhere. Let people know that they’re appreciated. You can change the course of someone’s day and even their life, with those two words. Make them count… and make them count many times over.

Thank you.

If you found this episode helpful, please feel free to subscribe in your podcast player of choice. I’d also be honoured if you’d consider leaving a rating or a review if you feel that the content is valuable to you.

Have a great day ahead, you’re awesome. Take care!