Grateful Brands

I've always believed that brands are like people and the other way around.  People and brands have personalities, behavioral traits and like us humans, brands are judged by what they say and do.  I know this is hardly rocket science, but then again nothing about marketing is rocket science...it's much more muddy and messy.  It's about human stuff.

Since leaving my old job, I am quite aware that the process of networking, speaking and even writing this blog is really the process of building a new brand for me in a new life.  It's the biggest brand relaunch I've ever done.  Exciting, scary and frankly sometimes it is down right exhausting.

Today it occurred to me that one of the key attributes of the new "brand called me" is that I am a grateful brand....I find myself saying "thank you" a lot.  I've learned to be this way because I've noticed that the people who have stuck with me through these changes are the people I was smart enough to be kind and empathetic towards in the past.  And now, as I need them, and even more friends, I do what I can - which is mainly say "thank you"...multiple times a day.  It's a little thing, but it really seems to make a big difference.  It fosters loyalty and it make me feel better about myself...and when I feel better about myself I behave better.  Gratitude is a great brand building tool.

So I sit and wonder, how many brands say "thank you"?  How many operate out of a place of empathy and genuine gratitude towards their customers?  I don't mean an opportunistic "thank you" attached to a store opening. You know....free balloons, hot dogs and three dollars off some junk you'd never normally buy.  I'm talking about ensuring that a sense of gratitude is built right into the core attributes of the brand.  I know brands that are confident, entertaining, approachable (whatever that means) and even innovative.  Apple use to be the underdog brand...but I don't think it was ever grateful.

Are there grateful, empathetic brands that have found inventive ways to be thankful for their success?  Are there brands that have turned gratitude into a strategy that builds customer loyalty with actionable programs and measurements?  Maybe this is where the metaphor of brands being like people breaks down.  Maybe being grateful doesn't pay the bills...or maybe it does!

I sure hope so.