How Gratitude Builds Long-Term Business

Most businesses treat PR as either advertising or getting noticed. Both are wrong. The PR strategy that actually wins long-term business is the one nobody talks about: showing up for the people who show up for you. In this video, I break down how to build a PR approach that generates real, compounding results. First, I cover the two types of PR most businesses don't understand: the kind that brings in new business, and the kind that reminds people you exist (think Apple's iPhone billboards or IBM's ongoing industry presence). Knowing which one you need at each stage of your company changes everything. Second, I walk through the concept of "hakaras hatov," or recognizing the good someone has done for you. I share a teaching about folding torn clothing before throwing it out as an act of internal gratitude, and why that same principle drives every business decision we make about showing up for the people who've referred us work. To make this concrete: this year's EDN Conference, the Executive Directors Network event for religious school administrators, landed right in the middle of my one week of vacation. My wife thought I was crazy. I'm flying back for it anyway, because that network has referred an enormous amount of work to us over the years, and being there for them isn't optional. It's the point. If you want a PR strategy that actually builds business, this is how you do it. Timestamps: 0:00 Why I'm flying back from vacation 0:22 What the EDN actually is 1:03 Two types of PR most businesses miss 1:23 Reminding people you exist (Apple, IBM, Google) 2:29 The concept of hakaras hatov 2:53 The torn clothing teaching 4:18 Why we show up, no matter what 5:00 Cutting my vacation short #BusinessGrowth #PublicRelations #Leadership #Gratitude #Networking #Overbuilt