Strengthen relationships with your customers by saying thank you on purpose! Customer appreciation is a great way to express your gratitude to your customers. It helps them to feel seen, heard and valued. Showing your customers that you appreciate them results in brand loyalty, increased customer retention rates and referrals.
As a season of economic disruption currently presents itself, extending thanks and appreciation to your customers should be a critical part of your overall sales strategy. Of course, there are so many ways you can say thank you but some ideas are more costly than others.
If your budget is tight, or you are feeling the financial crunch right now, just remember the most affordable ways to say thank you to your customers often have the most impact. Here are a few budget friendly and meaningful ways you show your customers you appreciate them.
Affordable Ways to Thank Your Customers! Listen to the episode here.
Say Thank You With Handwritten Notes and Cards
Handwritten thank you notes and cards are a powerful tool for developing meaningful relationships with your customers. Handwritten thank you notes are very common for nonprofit organizations. However all companies should consider handwritten notes as a way to build relationships with your customers.
Depending on the size of your customer or client base, take the time to get to know each customer before writing their letter.
- What was the pain point or problem the customer needed to solve through your products and services?
- What was the result they experienced after using your services or products?
- Did the customer send any referrals?
Personalize your thank you note by highlighting the problem they needed to solve with your services or products. Be sure to celebrate their successes as well. Remind them how thankful you are for their referrals. If their purchase made it possible for you to add value to future services be sure to share how they are impacting the future of your business and the ability to continue helping them.
Start a Customer Loyalty Program
Did you know it costs your company more money to find a new customer than it does to retain your current customers. Customer retention is becoming more difficult as the opportunity to shop around has become easier in the digital age. Loyalty programs are a tried and true way to foster loyalty to your brand, services and products. Here are a few ways to incorporate a loyalty program that will reward your customers for their repeat business.
- Develop a membership option that has increased value and costs savings to the customer.
- Offer a points system that rewards customers with FREE products and services when reaching specific buyer levels.
- Extend discounts and offers that are not available to the public.
- Provide exclusive access to offers, services or products that are only available to loyal customers.
Not only will a loyalty program encourage customer retention, but it will also reach new customers that are looking for ways to save money on services and products they are buying anyway.
Send A Gift Card
There is nothing worse than sending out branded merchandise or printed promotional material that is much more likely to end up in the trash. After spending hundreds of dollars on merchandise you want to be sure that your customer is going to wear that t-shirt or use the coffee mug right? Of course, I am a total believer in having branded merchandise on hand. It’s brilliant marketing. But, if your budget is a little tight right now, consider sending a gift card or a to your customers as a way of extending thanks for their loyalty. A gift card has the ability to bring your customer back and create a new experience. Everybody wins with gift cards.
Appreciate Your Customers – The Little Things Go A Long Way
Simply saying thank you will go a long way. You would be surprised by the smallest gestures that are the most sincere. Simply sending handwritten notes, developing customer loyalty programs or sending out gift cards to your most loyal customers is a great way to remind your customers that they are valued. Even going the extra mile to schedule lunch or coffee dates with some of your most dedicated customers can make a huge impact and foster long lasting relationships.
