Let’s be honest, we’re all in business to make money. And in our quest to continuously fill our pipelines with opportunities and our coffers with money, it’s easy to forget about the most important people who keep our businesses alive – our customers!
Yep, our customers have that much power. When we take them for granted, the punishment can be swift and severe. Luckily, there’s a way to avoid this…
THANK YOUR CUSTOMERS!
How?
One easy way to start is to think about your own experiences (good and bad) with different businesses that you patronize. What is it that they do to make you feel (or not feel) appreciated?
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Dr. Maya Angelou
You see, it’s one thing to have a great product or service, but its how your customers feel about you and your product or service that ultimately determines whether or not they will reward you with more business.
Here are 7 ways you can thank your customers and make them feel appreciated:
| 1 | Solicit their feedback | Surveys and focus groups are great ways to give customers the opportunity to provide candid feedback and to let them know that their opinion matters. |
| 2 | Listen and pay attention to them | Whether you realize it or not, customers ALWAYS let us know how they feel about our products or services no matter how happy or angry they are. Some verbal and non-verbal cues they give include: referrals, blog comments, star-rated reviews, tone and inflection of voice, crossed arms when talking to you, awkward stares and even silence. Acknowledging these cues can save you from disaster! |
| 3 | Send handwritten thank-you notes | In this digital age, handwritten notes are cherished. Receiving handwritten thank you notes tells your customers that you care enough about them to take the time to personally write a note. |
| 4 | Provide special offers | Find ways to reward your customers for doing business with you through incentives that are mutually beneficial. |
| 5 | Give special recognition | Put the spotlight on your best customers. E-newsletters, testimonials with pictures, case studies and blog profiles are some ways to show your other customers how much your product or service benefits these profiled customers. It also gives your profiled customers exposure to a new audience. |
| 6 | Extend invitations to test/try new products and services |
This might be the next best thing to offering an exclusive membership offering to your customers. This is not only a great way for you to test the feasibility of your new product or service but it also grants your existing customers with the opportunity to try or see something that is not currently open to the masses. Many of your customers like the thought of exclusivity and early adoption. |
| 7 | Change processes | Show your customers how valuable their feedback is through changes you make to your product or service based on their feedback. This includes changing existing processes to better accommodate customers, providing training to ensure product and service consistency and creating new products and services. |
The following presentation provides examples of each of the above 7 ideas for thanking customers:
BONUS TIP FOR THANKING CUSTOMERS
#8. Speak their language. I’m fortunate to work and interact with customers around the world. I always make it a point to learn how to say and spell “thank you” in their native tongues. It’s a small, yet incredibly powerful gesture to show how my respect and appreciation for my customers.
The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more. – Jonas Salk
An appreciated customer is a loyal customer. Loyal customers are your free salespeople! Having customers tout about how great you are is priceless! So start showing them some love by thanking them.
How do you thank your customers? Let us know in the comments below.
