Expressing Customer Appreciation is something your business should be committed to doing on a regular basis.
Telling your customers thank you without trying to sell them something should become a part of what you do now and for the lifetime of your customer.
Large companies often have a department that is dedicated to customer service which usually ends up being a group of people who answer complaints. This is not customer appreciation.
Maybe if they changed their approach and developed ways to show their customers how much they appreciate their devotion to them and their business, they wouldn’t have so many complaints.
Why Customer Appreciation?
Real Estate Example: Imagine, you just purchased your first home and were so excited to receive the realtors card and gifts to help you celebrate.
Then a year later and the only time you hear from that realtor is when you see them in the local grocery store, they send you a form letter about trends in real estate or you see one of their advertisements.
Now switch the story and imagine that you not only receive the first card and gift after closing the purchase of your new home and moving in, now it’s a year later and you receive a beautiful card with a photo having of you & your family having fun at home from your realtor.
Or maybe you get a card with a photo of your new baby and a congratulation gift. A Happy Birthday card & gift arrives from that same realtor and you are impressed and happy that they remembered your special day.
Then throughout the year you receive a card celebrating life events and holiday celebration cards. What a difference that can make!
You now have a relationship with your realtor and are feeling how much he or she really cares about you and your family. The next time they want to move or upgrade their home they will certainly call “their realtor”.
Customer Appreciation is an Important Part of Relationship Marketing
So often in business we get focused on the marketing part of growing and forget about the building of relationships. When we express appreciation to our customers without selling, we are not only telling them how we feel about them, we are also cementing a good foundation for repeat business and referrals.
After all, we like doing business with people we know, like and trust!
Caution: We should not express customer appreciation unless we really mean it. People can feel insincerity.
Do not make expressing appreciation part of a checklist for growing your business. Those that do this are not usually consistent with their relationship marketing program and begin to eliminate people who have not given them a referral. This type of attitude is more about what you can get from people rather than what you can give.
Be sincere in showering your customers with appreciation and they will feel how much you care!
How to Express Appreciation
This is one way to send a thank you, however it should not be your only way to say this important sentiment. Sometimes that email never gets read.
Social Media
Posting on social media is another way to say thank you, however it is not very personal.
Gifts
Special delivery of gifts is also one method used to show appreciation. It is often used for sales of high ticket items. This method is expensive and usually not sustainable over time.
Send a Card
This is called a “Tangible Touch” and it is the best way to say thank you, happy birthday or congratulations in the form of a greeting card sent through the mail.
What is a Tangible Touch?
It is just what the word implies. Something you can hold and look at, sometimes eat! It starts with a greeting card and may include a gift.
A personal tangible touch includes photos with friends or family on the card with your personal handwritten greeting. When you send this to your customers they will know that it took you time, effort and ability to create it and send it to them.
WOW! What a special feeling we get! When you open a card that has your picture on it with your children, significant other or your friends & family after a special occasion, that card is kept and shared forever. Sometimes it even gets framed.
How to Build Your Customer Appreciation Program
Setting up an Appreciation Marketing program with automation will help you in many ways. You won’t miss celebrating events in a timely manner and prevent opportunities from falling through the cracks because you were not top of mind.
I work with sales professionals, independent business owners, entrepreneurs & executives to set up their systems and keep them relavant. My combination of expertise and experience in helping others create abundance through the lost art of showing appreciation and gratitude covers all aspects of life and business.
I believe in the philosophy of showing Customer Appreciation in business and appreciation in our personal lives. If you embrace this philosophy and want to create a mindset and daily work habit that fosters this in your business, contact me to learn how you can have a system that is easy to use anywhere, anytime.