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The Thank You Economy Author: Gary Vaynerchuk Publisher: Harper Business (2011) ISBN: 978-0-06-191418-8
Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (JFCP) book reviews typically discuss books about some aspect of personal finance including: investment products (Bonds: The Unbeaten Path to Secure Investment Growth, 23(2), 2012), retirement (The Predictable Surprise: The Unraveling of the U.S. Retirement System, 25(2), 2014), debt (Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class and Borrow: The American Way of Debt, 24(1), 2013), financial literacy (Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development, 24(2), 2013 and Financial Literacy and Adult Education, 25(2), 2014), low-income households (Striving to Save, 21(1), 2010 and Broke, USA, 22(1), 2011), financial decision-making (How We Decide, 21(2), 2010 and Nudge, 22(1), 2011), the economy (What's the Economy For, Anyway? and Working Scared (Or Not at All), 25(1), 2014) and the financial services industry (Shortchanged: Life and Debt in the Fringe Economy, 23(1), 2012) and Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, 24(2), 2013). This review is different. The Thank You Economy (TYE) has nothing to do with personal finance content but everything to do with how financial counseling and education services could and should be marketed and delivered. There are many take-aways for JFCP readers if they read it with a "lens" of adapting key concepts from the corporate world to practitioner settings.
Several years ago, my brother, a professional wedding and portrait photographer, started using Facebook to connect with his clients (for examples, see https://www.facebook.com/ oneillfineart?fref=ts). After each wedding, and for five years thereafter on wedding anniversaries, he posts a collage of wedding photos and congratulates the couple (after checking their relationship status updates) with a link to the venue where the wedding was held. When I asked him why he does this, he recommended The Thank You Economy.
Two hundred and forty pages long, The Thank You Economy was written by Gary Vaynerchuk, a self-described "serial entrepreneur" who built his family's liquor store into a national industry leader (WineLibrary.com) with the help of social media (SM). Also CEO of VaynerMedia, Vaynerchuk has consulted with businesses in a variety of fields, including sports and retailing, on the application of TYE principles. Several publications for entrepreneurs named him to their "people to watch" lists and he has over...