Of the many, many movie versions of “A Christmas Carol,” my favorite is “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” for two reasons. One is that I’ve been a fan of the Muppets for as long as I can remember. The other is that this is the only version that inspired me to read the book, which is now one of my favorites.
The movie has many wonderful scenes, but one, in particular, stands out when I think about generosity. It’s after Scrooge is transformed, and he runs into two men (in this version, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew) who had been rebuffed when asking Scrooge for a charitable donation the day before.
Now, though, Scrooge offers a donation, one so large he has to whisper it.
That’s not the generous part, though. The generosity comes when Beaker is inspired to give his own scarf to Scrooge.
Scrooge, played by a wonderful Michael Caine, takes the scarf with a look of wonder. “A gift for me?” he asks. It’s clear that he hasn’t received much generosity in a long while, and he’s almost overcome. “Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you!”
This exchange captures one of the best things about generosity. It often inspires more generosity, turning it into a positive feedback loop.
This spirit of generosity is something we hear a lot about around the holidays, but it’s important all year round. And it’s something to pay attention to in business as well as our personal lives, for a few reasons.
Reciprocity
Just like with Scrooge and Beaker, when you give someone something, they want to give something back. It doesn’t have to be worth the same amount, but they want to return the favor.
From a marketing perspective, if you’re generous with your content and ideas, and sometimes even your services or products, your prospects begin to trust you and feel a sense of loyalty. When you offer them something to buy, they’re more likely to do that, both because they know the quality of what you offer, and because they want to “give back,” as it were.
It’s true that not everyone does this. Some people simply take your free content without ever buying anything. But the majority will want to reciprocate and buy something from you later.
Spreading the Word
Word of mouth is still an important way of reaching prospects, but these days, that’s often done on social media. Sometimes your customers will be so excited about what you’re doing that they’ll mention you and your product or service, and it can help to respond to that with more generosity.
For example, you could personally acknowledge and thank them, something we all appreciate. You could give a discount when someone uses your hashtag, or offer a free product in thanks for sharing information on social media.
This is another way of reciprocating, but this can add up even more since it raises awareness of what you do with a much wider audience.
Shows Social Commitment
Another way of being generous with your business is by donating some part of each sale to a specific cause, or by offering a free product or service for each purchase to those in need.
Doing this demonstrates that you’re not only about the bottom line, that you want to live up to your values, which is very important.
You may also be surprised at how this plays out. Giving away some of your proceeds or products can feel like you’re cutting into the profitability of your business, but the flip side is that prospects may be even more inclined to make a purchase if they know that some good comes from it. These purchases can more than offset anything you’ve lost by your donation, making it a win all around.
Generosity Comes Back Around
The holidays are a natural time to think about generosity, but it’s not the only time to think about it. Finding ways year-round to incorporate generosity into your business – and your personal life – will keep you in the holiday spirit, and most of the time, it will come back around to you in positive ways you wouldn’t expect.