With Thanksgiving almost here, my thoughts are centered on the party-of-two celebration my husband and I will soon enjoy — and how being thankful can require effort.

This year — this crazy, hope-it-never-happens-again-like-this year — I had to remind myself a few times that there’s (still) a lot to be thankful for. My extended family is healthy, though a few struggle with aging-related or other health concerns.

My marketing consulting business thrived in 2020, even though I lost two clients to what I’d call pandemic-related issues.

I continue to be thankful we moved to Arizona three years ago.

For sure, there’s a lot to be thankful for in this unusual, challenging year.

Is Your Business Grateful?

If I’m thankful, does that mean I’m also grateful? Is there a difference?

I’ve heard that being thankful is a feeling, and being grateful is an action. I love that distinction.

As humans, we can feel thankful and act grateful. A business can, too. I remember the companies who thanked me over the last year. (I save favorite marketing emails.) Far fewer took action to show they’re grateful for my patronage.

As small-business owners, we don’t need deep pockets to fund a generosity effort. There are small things we can do. Some cost money. Some, just our time.

An Attitude of Gratitude

Do your clients know you’re thankful for them? Do they experience your gratitude?

I can be a little hit and miss on this and know I need to be more consistent. If you do, too, here are things we can do to get our gratitude game going.

Snail-mail a thank-you message

We all get marketing emails from companies. But when was the last time a company said thank you by mail? In our digitally driven world, a snail-mailed, “I appreciate you!” stands out.

I have a stack of cards and postcards I bought for my business, but I bet I only mailed one in the last few months. But earlier in 2020, I mailed postcards to two dozen networking contacts I’d just met. Since then, a few have mentioned they appreciated the handwritten card, and three became clients.

Call someone to say thanks

I email “thank yous” to clients, but it’s typically when I send an invoice. But I can’t think of a time I called a client to express my appreciation and gratitude for our relationship.

We have so much tech at our disposal that it can feel awkward or at least intrusive to make an out-of-the-blue phone call. But I bet that hearing, I just called to say thank you on the other end of the phone would make any client smile.

Give a discount or comp

I love a good bargain and can spot a so-so one from a great offer. Just 10% off? Pffft! 30% off starts to get my attention, and BOGOs make my heart race.

Business owners, particularly those who offer a service, may find it complicated or undesirable to discount prices. But a well-timed offer or unexpected freebie (“I won’t charge you for that this time”) is a powerful way to show our gratitude.

Be a Cheerful Giver

Words of appreciation are great. Something tangible takes gratitude up a notch. I know one business owner who has a formula for thanking clients at year-end with an edible gift. I didn’t want to be nosy and ask for the details, but I bet it’s a “spend X with me, get Y” thing. This practice is embedded in his business’ marketing efforts. This shows its importance to him, and you can bet his clients value it, too.

business partners deserve kudos, too

Our businesses rely on other people and companies, and it can be easy to take those relationships for granted. Typically, we’re paying them, and our money does the thanking.

Good service and good partners can be hard to come by. We could take action with one of my earlier ideas or give them a Google review, LinkedIn recommendation or testimonial. These small acts of gratitude send a big message: I value you.

Go Forth with Gratitude

None of the ideas I shared are original or earth-shattering, but our clients will still appreciate them. Given how busy we are, we’ll need a system to keep spontaneous acts of gratitude top-of-mind.

We can use a reminder method or tool we use elsewhere. For me, it would be the weekly priorities I write out each Monday morning. (Sunday night, if I’m on top of things). My list already includes marketing tasks, so just now I added Show gratitude to someone to it. Starting next week, it’ll be one of the tasks I complete and then carry over to the following Monday’s list, just like my recurring task to update the bottom part of my home page. (See it here.)

Are you ready to take more action from now on, thanking and showing gratitude to our great clients and partners? I am.

Thank you for reading this message! I wish you a great Thanksgiving — or wonderful day, whenever you happen to read this.

IMAGE CREDITS: ISABELLA ROSE (Gratitude) and L. COLGAN (Boulder) via Shutterstock