This Thanksgiving, Your Best Marketing Strategy Is at the Table With You
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
No gifts to stress over. No elaborate decorations. Just food, football, and the people who matter most.
But here's something I've been thinking about as I've built businesses over the past 25+ years: the relationships that matter most to your business aren't that different from the ones gathered around your table today.
The Marketing Lesson Hidden in Every Thanksgiving
Think about who's at your Thanksgiving table. Some people have been there for decades. Others are newer—a spouse's family member, a friend who didn't have anywhere else to go, a neighbor you've gotten to know over the years.
Your best customers work the same way.
Some have been with you forever. They don't need convincing anymore—they just show up. Others are newer to your world, still figuring out if they belong at your table.
The mistake most businesses make? They spend all their energy chasing new guests while ignoring the ones who've been showing up faithfully for years.
Retention Is the Turkey. Acquisition Is the Gravy.
I've watched companies pour millions into customer acquisition while their existing customers quietly slip away. It's like hosting Thanksgiving dinner and spending all your time at the door greeting strangers while your family sits ignored at the table.
Your existing customers—the ones who already trust you, already buy from you, already refer you—are the foundation of everything. New customers are great. But they're gravy.
This time of year is a good reminder to ask: When's the last time you reached out to a long-time customer just to say thank you? Not to upsell. Not to ask for a referral. Just genuine appreciation.
The Referral That Doesn't Feel Like a Referral
Here's another Thanksgiving truth: nobody at your table is there because of an ad campaign.
They're there because someone invited them. Someone vouched for them. Someone said, "You'd fit right in with this group."
That's how the best business relationships work too. The highest-converting "marketing channel" isn't Google Ads or LinkedIn or even SEO. It's the personal recommendation from someone who's already at the table.
The businesses that win long-term aren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They're the ones that make every customer feel like family—so much so that those customers can't help but invite others to join.
My Thanksgiving Wish for Your Business
Today, I hope you get to unplug. Eat too much. Watch some football. Argue about something trivial with someone you love.
And tomorrow—or maybe Monday—I hope you take five minutes to reach out to a customer who's been with you for a while. Not a sales pitch. Just a genuine thank you.
That small act of appreciation? It's worth more than any marketing campaign you'll run this quarter.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at TexasCMO.
Wisdom from an Experienced Fractional CMO
