It’s Christmas Eve — a good time to reflect on the year. My marketing services firm got off the ground this year, we sold our Hilton Head house (at a huge loss), and I attended a world class conference in my hometown, among other things. On this last note, Big Omaha has wisely archived some of the better presentations from last May. Here’s one that’s well worth revisiting:
At 12 minutes and 50 seconds in, Gary Vaynerchuk begins to discuss his new book The Thank You Economy, which is available for pre-order now. He says he believes it’s possible to scale one-to-one relationships, that he’s obsessed by this pursuit and the success of his first book, Crush It is a result of people wanting to thank him for all the free content provided on WineLibraryTV and elsewhere.
“The problem is people don’t give a fuck enough. That’s the problem. Brands, companies and celebrities, they just don’t care enough. They want to convert and they’re definitely not patient. For all my chaos and insanity, I think I’m outrageously patient. Everybody’s trying to close too fast. The reason people don’t want to follow people on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else is because people are pitching and selling every fucking second, everybody wants to close. Everybody’s acting like 19 year-old dudes up in here. You know? I just think that real relationships are important. I see a lot of people, I would say 99% of the people, the brands and companies are all acting like their trying to hook up. I think there’s a lot more value in marriage. In this world you can actually marry everybody. I think scaling one-on-one relationships is what this whole platform, this whole universe that we’re in, that’s what’s interesting. That we have different feelings. That brands can care. Caring is the game. Actually giving a fuck. Why does American Express do well in certain spots? Personal concierge. Why in the world can’t every business do that? You can, you just don’t believe in it. I’m trying to get people to believe in it and show them the metrics.”
The impact of what Vaynerchuk is saying above is still washing over me, seven months after I was in the room to hear him say it. Care! Or to use his vernacular, give a fuck. Not about your customers or prospects in aggregate, about each one as an individual. That’s his message and that’s his way. It works for him because he’s willing to answer the 600 emails in his inbox, to @reply his fans on Twitter and to stand and greet everyone lined up to meet him when he comes off stage. Are you? Am I?
Vaynerchuk learned about customer service as a teenager in his dad’s liquor store. Now that he’s working with big brands at Vayner Media, nothing’s changed. He wants to provide the same level of high touch service to his clients’ customers that people at Wine Library get. It sounds like a hard sell, but doing the right thing often is.
Previously on AdPulp: Big Omaha Is A Big Deal | Big Omaha Has Heart, Like The City And Scene It Serves