“Should I write blog posts that increase my traffic or that help shift the way (a few) people think”? My HERO, Seth Godin opened his daily blog today asking this question. It helped clarify my purpose in sub-titling  my blog, Jim Cecil’s Journal. Nearly every day I read or hear some true wisdom and clear insights into this phenomenon of Nurture Marketing. I find it a way to discipline myself to capture, archive and share my as well as your thoughts and feelings about nurturing.
Naturally, your comments and other tips you have seen is a very important piece of the direction this blog will take going forward.

I recently read a story in CRMAdvocate, published Gary Lemke, it was written by Kevin Stirtz relating to the current nurturing theme of giving a little something extra to customers. He writes:
"As I gave my cabbie his fare and a tip he did something that surprised me. He gave me my tip back. It's called "tipping back." London cabbies often do it when they've enjoyed having someone as a customer. It's not about offering a discount. It's about making a statement in a tangible and memorable way. Tipping back a customer means finding a way to let them know you appreciate them. You've enjoyed working with them. It's your way of telling a customer they are special."
 I had never heard of the practice before but I think it is clever. Many customer experiences do not involve an actual gratuity but that doesn't mean you can't "tip back." However, the example can be translated to many customer experiences beyond simply giving back a gratuity.
How can you "tip back" to your best customers? Share your clever suggestions on how to tell customers they are appreciated and special.
Gary Lemke, Publisher

Good Nurturing

Jim