If it wasn’t for your wonderful customers, you wouldn’t have made it through your first unsteady year of business operations or gotten through the turbulent sales periods as you grew your company. They were there for the good and the bad times. Your business has, time and time again, benefited from the customers’ orders and even from their complaints as you were able to improve offered products and services to fit their needs.
Letting your customers know just how much you appreciate them not only is the polite and grateful thing to do, it also makes sound business sense. When a customer feels appreciated, they may be more inclined to continue to purchase products and services from your company. You create loyal customers and a more competitive advantage by giving a simple and occasional, “thank you.” So take the time to thank your customers regularly as here are several creative methods to get your sincere message across.
Specific Hand-Written Thank You Notes
This is the day and age of instant email confirmation messages when a customer places an order. Customers see this kind of thank you message so often that they don’t even skim the content before deleting the email. Instead, consider hand-written thank you notes that are personalized to each customer. Thank them for filling out surveys, for placing specific orders, or for even leaving a complaint that allowed you to improve your business. Receiving a message via snail mail makes your message sound sincere because a customer understands it took you more time and effort to send it their way.
Special Occasion Emails
Of course, sending a special occasion email is still a great way to connect to your customers. Let your customers know that you are thinking about them during holidays, business anniversaries, and birthdays. By thanking a customer for their continued business during these special times of the year, these reminders will keep your business name and brand fresh in the customer’s mind as they may be inclined to place another order in the immediate future.
Video Thank You Notes
While written communication is often the sure-fire way to reach and thank customers, don’t leave out the personal touch of a video. Creating a video on You-Tube to place on your website, include in an email link, and highlight on your social media page can allow your customers to hear and see your message. Customers can see how appreciative you really are.
Social Media Thank You Blasts
Using social media to get your message to customers can have a dual benefit. You can reach the widest audience as they can further connect and interact with your company online. It also allows potential customers to see your appreciation, as they may be drawn to make their first purchase with your company based on how you treat your existing customers.
Free In-Store Events or Online Promotions
Nothing says thank-you better than getting free items or special discounts. Customers will eagerly jump on a sale event whenever you thank them for their patronage. You can host an event to thank all of your customers all at the same time, or make it more personalized by thanking your long-term customers who have done business with you for a certain number of years. You don’t have to go overboard with the free item or special discounts. You can give away simple things such as free shipping, promotional items such as mugs or shirts, or a certain percentage off for their next purchase.
Thank Them with a Simple Call
Call and thank your customers without cross-selling or up-selling products or services. You will hear the surprise over the phone when your customers take the call to hear how you appreciate doing business with them now and in the future. You don’t have to talk directly with someone, as you can leave a voice mail message that they can listen to later on. Try to avoid sending a SMS message unless your customers have opted into receiving such communication from your business. You don’t want to cause any unwanted messaging costs with their phone service provider.
It only takes a couple minutes to really let a customer know how much you appreciate them. One more way you can cement yourself as a dedicated resource is by setting up a 24 hour customer support call center service that ensures you are always available for them whenever they reach out.
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