Our agency is frequently called upon to brand or rebrand organizations, which entails creating or defining their brand vision with the goal of creating brand loyalty. We've found that one of the easiest ways to increase brand loyalty is to be kind. I've found this to be so impactful that I recently directed a feature-length documentary called Kindness Is Contagious about the benefits of being nice.
Now, let’s back up a second. In our agency, the first thing we do when starting any project is to look for easy changes that will have a massive impact. It’s not because we are lazy (which we are); it’s more about good business. If we make simple, impactful changes, we come off as the hero, which increases our brand loyalty, and our clients make more money faster, which leads to more work.
Our secret weapon? Make kindness a part of your brand vision. Many people think their logo is the foundation of their brand. That's not only wrong, it’s also short-sighted.
Why make kindness a foundation of your brand?
In our industry, savvy marketers typically define branding as the promise you make to your customers. According to research, which we'll get into below, kindness can spark two important tenets of good marketing: virality and reach.
Let’s start with virality. Scientists James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis have scientifically proven that if you do something nice for someone, they will do something nice for four people, and each of them will do something nice for four other people, and so on.
From a communications perspective, this is huge. Fowler and Christakis have scientifically proven that karma actually exists. And these guys are no slouches: Fowler hails from UCSD and Christakis from Harvard.
Sure, I’m in marketing, but this is a powerful tool that any organization can use. If your organization makes kindness a part of its brand vision, then it's likely that each of the people who respond to your messaging will pass it on to other people, and each of them to more people and so on.
There are many ways to integrate kindness into your brand, and it doesn't cost much. Consider a thoughtful gift to a random customer, a sincere compliment to an employee or a shoutout to a newcomer in your field. Word gets around quickly.
Kleenex, Hallmark and Liberty Mutual are just a few examples of well-known brands that understand the power of kindness and have integrated it into their brand campaigns.
Reach
Now let’s talk about reach. In the 60s, Stanley Milgram, a scientist from Harvard, did an experiment called the Small-World Phenomenon, more commonly known as six degrees of separation.
It worked like this: Milgram gave letters to people in Omaha, Nebraska, with the instructions to get the letters to specific people in Boston who they did not know. The catch was they could only send the letters to a personal friend who they thought might know the target.
The interesting thing is that when Milgram looked at the letters that arrived, he found they had changed hands only about six times. In the 90s, Duncan Watts, a researcher at Yahoo, took this even further using email. He had people in California send emails to people they knew with the goal of reaching people in Indonesia, Africa and all around the world. His findings were the same, taking an average of six steps to reach their targets.
What's important to understand is that the foundation for these connections in this six degrees of separation network is kindness. When you boil it down to the lowest common denominator, it's as simple as this: We do things for people because they do things for us. See how this works for your brand: Be kind and see how it can increase your access to your network.
Many people think that nice guys finish last. But scientific studies show the exact opposite. Kindness can also foster trust, assist in negotiation, fuel learning and innovation, promote high-quality service and brand loyalty and improve business performance. On so many levels, you cannot go wrong with kindness as part of your brand. Here are a few ways to put kindness into action for your business:
• Exceed expectations. Always give your clients a little more than they asked for.
• Do pro-bono work. We get tons of leads for this one.
• Make referrals. If you don't have what your customer needs or are too busy to take on a job, refer them to someone who can help them, even if it is from a competitor. They will remember you, and so will your competitor. Reciprocity is a powerful business tool.
• Treat your employees well. They will likely transfer this enthusiasm to your customers and clients. Tell them you appreciate their work and thank them for a job well done. Mentor them, show compassion. Even a small gift card at Christmas or on their birthday can make a difference. One small thing that made a big impact on me was when my former boss (the CEO of the company) sent a thank-you note to my wife when I joined the company. He thanked her for her support and understanding for the long hours I was about to give to my job. This cost no money and absolutely blew me away.
• If you can, donate a portion of your profits to a favorite local charity. And be visible about it. Put it on your website. Anonymous donations are great but so are visible ones. Kindness is contagious, and your donation can inspire others to give as well.
Beyond all of the above, being kind can even make you live longer, make you happier, reduce stress, improve relationships and lower your blood pressure.
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