WEBVTT - Make your fingerprints visible

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make your fingerprints visible. Let people know

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<v Speaker 1>that you are the person behind the product or service

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<v Speaker 1>you're providing, and they will probably feel more excited about

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<v Speaker 1>the transaction in general. So every now and then, when

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<v Speaker 1>I order something from a small business, I receive a

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<v Speaker 1>handwritten note from the owner. It is always a delight

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<v Speaker 1>to know that somebody actually cares that I have ordered

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<v Speaker 1>something from them. Even if I've never met this person,

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<v Speaker 1>I immediately feel like we are friends. I doubt I'm

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<v Speaker 1>the only one to have this reaction. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>are in the business of providing products or service says

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<v Speaker 1>to people, go ahead and make your fingerprints visible. Include

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<v Speaker 1>a note when you ship a product to people. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have provided a service, write a note to the

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<v Speaker 1>people who purchased it and thank them for doing business

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<v Speaker 1>with you. Sign your books or artwork and put a

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<v Speaker 1>note in there thanking people for supporting you. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got a website about your offerings, tell a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>about yourself and put a photo on there. Let people

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<v Speaker 1>know who you are and that you are making your

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<v Speaker 1>products or selling your services with their happiness in mind.

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<v Speaker 1>If you run a business, you know that every customer counts,

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<v Speaker 1>but your customers don't always realize that making your fingerprints

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<v Speaker 1>visible reminds people that a lot of things don't come

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<v Speaker 1>from some big and personal factory. There's a person on

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<v Speaker 1>the other end, and that person is happy that you

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<v Speaker 1>decided to spend money with the same principle holds if

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<v Speaker 1>you're a leader of let's say a small nonprofit. You

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<v Speaker 1>know that every dollar counts, and sure you'll probably send

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<v Speaker 1>boilerplate gift acknowledgments. But in addition to that, you can

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<v Speaker 1>write personal notes, emails, or texts, and you can pick

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<v Speaker 1>up the phone and call to let donors and other

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<v Speaker 1>supporters know how much their support means. When you let

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<v Speaker 1>supporters know that you really do notice and value their engagement,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll increase their sense of connection to you and to

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<v Speaker 1>the organization. I might forget to donate to a group

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<v Speaker 1>I just get mail from, but when Janice personally has

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<v Speaker 1>reached out to thank me, that is a different matter.

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<v Speaker 1>I realize that people leading small businesses and nonprofits are

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<v Speaker 1>often working very hard doing their basic core work, but

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<v Speaker 1>just a little time spent personalizing interactions with customers and

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<v Speaker 1>supporters can have a big impact future Engagement is, after all,

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<v Speaker 1>an important driver of long term success. If you try

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<v Speaker 1>making your fingerprints visible, I'd love to hear how you

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<v Speaker 1>do it. You can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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