The Power of a Smile

If you follow this blog regularly then you likely know far too much about me:  Where I was married and how many animals I have, I'm a terrible poet ... and play write, my favorite TV show,  favorite coffee, and even what I drive.  Most of all, I pray that you can see how important marketing is to me.

You've probably also picked up that I'm runner.  It's my stress relief and the source of many of my best ideas.  Last week, while on a 10-miler, I discovered something really cool.  Well, a few things, really.  Have you ever noticed that runners are rarely smiling?!?!  Seriously, we usually look like we're on some sort of death-march against our will.  On this particular morning, I had the same look.  I was tired and slow and everything was aching.  But I know to never give up in the first mile.  When mile number  one of a 10-miler sucks, then you start to do some darn quick self-reflexion.  And I noticed that I wasn't smiling (well, duh!).  So I tried a bizarre idea ... I made myself smile.  Simply turned that frown upside down.  It was a beautiful day.  I was doing what I love.  I got to see hot women in spandex... well, I had reasons to smile.

Here's the cool part.  After a while of the glass-half-full method of running, I started running faster ... and easier ... and the smile got bigger.

Here's the REALLY cool part.
When other runners see a fellow death-marcher smiling, they look at you like you forgot your running shorts.  It's odd ... jarring.  But after the initial shock passes, they usually return the smile.  Now, I'm not sure, but I would swear that, when they smiled back, they sped up too.

Could it be true ... the most important muscles on my run are in my cheeks?!?!

While it sounds crazy, it may not be.  I found an article siting the 15 Health Benefits of Smiling.  And I believe every single one of them:

• Lower heart rate
• Reduce stress
• Better mood
• Increase productivity
• Encourage trust
• Produce empathy
• Avoid regret
• Kill pain
• Increase attention
• Contagious 
• Build attraction
• Earn success
• Look younger
• Longevity
• Boost immune system

Many of these benefits will help professionally too.  Increase productivity, encourage trust, make the smile contagious, increase attention, earn success.  Maybe the fastest thing that we can do to make sure our companies thrive is focus on hiring optimistic people and dedicate ourselves to making sure they are happy at work.

The power of the smile is obvious when its face-to-face, but you can hear it over the phone too.  It's not just a look, but a mindset.  An ingrained philosophy.

There is ALWAYS a positive ROI on a smile ... give it a try.

We bring these marketing philosophies to credit unions and community banks nationwide, and would love to bring them to your institution too. Contact us to see how.

Nearing 245,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues. Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

MarketMatch is also a nationally and internationally requested speaker. Contact us to bring our marketing ideas to your next conference.

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Never give up in the first mile.

This morning, I rolled out of bed, laced up my New Balance, zombie-walked through the hotel lobby and started yet another self-guided tour of a strange city. And, like so many runs lately, I had no idea how far I would go.

You see, I have hundreds of track and cross country miles on a young, energetic body and on my less-young, less-energetic body, I have multiple marathons, ultra-marathons, a triathlon and countless trail races. I've trained to injuries and through injuries and, after 41 years, I've decided it's finally time for my body to have a loud vote in my training.

I, of course, had a minimum and a stretch goal in mind heading out the door, but there was nothing serious driving either. After 3 minutes, my body's loud vote was screaming that the minimum goal was looking pretty darn good. My legs were heavy, I was still waking up and I was ready to bail on the run.

Luckily, I have a basic rule ... 

Never make any significant decisions in the first mile.

The same holds true for your marketing plans and campaigns. You should go in with a minimum and stretch goal, but don't ever bail in the first mile. Just as you need to give your muscles and chance to warm up, you also need to give your plans a chance to take root.  

Budgets are limited and time lines are tight. But if you've done your upfront homework and your strategy is sound - give your plan time to work. You should monitor and tweak where necessary to hit or destroy your goals, but never bail in the first mile.  

This morning, I adjusted my pace, fell into a good stride and easily passed my stretch goal ... and you can too.

Run on my marketing friends.

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With more than 180,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues.  Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

We bring these marketing philosophies to community banks and credit unions nationwide, and would love to bring them to your institution too.  Contact us to see how.

MarketMatch is also a nationally and internationally requested speaker.  Contact us to bring our marketing ideas to your next conference.

Here are the conferences where you can find MarketMatch.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848