The Thank You Economy You Need To Know This !

Obtuse title I know but I just got through watching a video from Gary Vaynerchuk and I gotta share this with you because if you ‘get it’ soon before the others that will come along in the next couple of years you are bound to profit from it.

What is the Thank You Economy ?

Gary explains it much better than me in his video but I will give it a go anyway…..

The thank you economy is happening right now on the Internet. Loads of people (and I say people because this is a ‘people‘ driven thing NOT a corporate driven thing) are giving away fantastic advice and even products and services for free or for a nominal fee.

The information / products / services that many are giving out are Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y.

So what’s in it for them ?

Three major things and if you do not get this immediately then you better start to understand it quick or you are going to be yesterday’s winner and tomorrow’s loser.

• They are building their brand and their following
• They are positioning themselves as experts
• They are building credits in what guru Marketing Psychologist Professor Robert Cialdini calls Reciprocity

I won’t go into items 1 and 2. The benefits are obvious.

What better way to build your brand and your following than by giving people a taste of the value you add with no cost and no risk to them ?

The fact is they will just keep following you to get the next lot of freebies or the next piece of incisive advice.

One note of caution though ! Be honest. Give away quality.

Give away your best stuff. Position yourself as an expert not an also ran. If you give away rubbish if will indicate that your content is rubbish and not worth having and what will that do for your personal brand and your business ?

What about the big word you used then Kirk ? R-e-c-i-p-r-o-c-i-t-y. What’s the go here ?

Well, the way Professor Cialdini explains it (or at least my understanding of it – sorry Prof).

Human beings are culturally evolved for reciprocity – one good turn deserves another – the great aussie ’shout’ etc.

Long ago when the human race was still forming small communities a division of labor became necessary. Some would go out and hunt, some would search for fruits, berries and root vegetables, wild grains etc, some would tend the very young and infirm. You get the picture.

Reciprocity evolved as a social custom to ensure that the group’s needs were all met. The person out hunting needed to have the root vegetables, berries etc as well for a balanced diet and for when the hunt returned with nothing to show for their efforts and to have their young cared for. The carers needed food and so on and so forth.

Reciprocity was a way of ensuring that all received what was needed without having to do it all themselves which was becoming impossible.

This has evolved as society has evolved and we have all become far more specialized.

So, in other words, if I give you something of value for free, you will likely culturally feel indebted to repay me in some way at some point in time.

If I subsequently come out with something else of value and there is a charge associated with that product or service and you are in the market for such a thing then you will be pre-disposed to purchase it from me versus my competition. Reciprocity at work.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, you will have been following me via my website’s RSS feed, via a subscription to my email list or via social media because you are awaiting the next ‘gem’.

So you will know when I release the new item that requires a monetary investment from you and you will be more likely to check it out because I have already positioned myself as a supplier of products and services that are of value to you PLUS are great value for money.

So, enough of me gabbing away. Watch Gray and his video Gary Vaynerchuk talks about The Thank You Economy.

It is good stuff and will only take a few minutes of your time.