Where would we be without our clients or customers? Not owning our own business, that’s for sure! Do you make it a practice to thank your customers for their business? I don’t mean the “Thank you, have a nice day!” end-of-transaction farewell. What I’m talking about is something deeper and more meaningful. Do you express your gratitude for your clients as much as you could?
If you’re like most people, probably not. Entrepreneurs are busy people! I get it. When would you have time to create a meaningful expression of thanks? What can you do that demonstrates your true and honest gratitude without seeming shallow or self-serving?
I’ve got a few ideas.
5 Simple, Yet Effective Ways To Express Gratitude To Clients And Customers
- Pick. Up. The. Phone. Yes, you’ve heard this from me before. This is my advice for dealing with most client issues whether it’s how to stand out, build relationships, make sales, etc. Get on that phone and talk to people! You are missing out on so many opportunities if you don’t. And this is the easiest call to make! You’re simply calling to say “Thank you for being a client and supporting my business.” That’s it. Embellish your message if you want to, but you really don’t need to go overboard. Receiving a personal phone call from you will stand out in their minds regardless of the specific words of gratitude that are used.
- I always overdeliver. No matter what you ever buy from me, I’ll always give you more than you expect. It may be something simple like a free download or ebook but it changes depending on how high-end the program is. I have two reasons for doing this:
- Reason 1 – It trains people to associate value with you. I start this as soon as someone signs up for my email list. They think they’re getting something for free, but I actually will deliver 3 free things. I do this for every single transaction for every single client. In this day and age of Internet Marketers trying to make a quick buck, it’s become scary to spend money. It takes a certain level of trust to buy something without being able to see it first. That’s why teaching your audience that you overdeliver is so crucial as they begin to buy higher end products and services with you.
- Reason 2 – They will become your champions. Champions are people who recommend you. People LOVE to be “In-The-Know” and to be able to recommend someone awesome to their friends. If you overdeliver they will become free salespeople for you.
- Give your customers free stuff! It doesn’t have to be something expensive. I make sure to giveaway free stuff to my email subscribers several times per month. It’s usually something I create once but can use over and over. I always make sure it offers incredible value and is professionally designed so it’s visually appealing. Don’t think of it as just giving away something for free so it doesn’t matter how it looks. You are showing people what you offer. Make it count.
- Send Branded Stuff In The Mail. You don’t have to go crazy with this, nor should you. No one wants junk mail, but a little something every once in a while is a nice way to let customers know that you’re thinking of them. Everyone who makes a purchase from me, no matter how small, gets a card, at the very least. Higher end clients get branded iPhone chargers. Sometimes I’ll send out books to everyone who’s ever purchased from me. My advice here is don’t go bankrupt doing this. The idea is to send something that makes sense – you don’t want to send a new flatscreen TV to someone who bought a $1 ebook. You will go out of business very quickly that way.
- Customer Appreciation Events. Ah, the good ol’ days. Do you remember when business would hold open houses of sorts and welcome all of their customers in for a customer appreciation day? Maybe someone would be manning the grill. Another person running games. Someone else would hand out goodie bags. Businesses still hold customer appreciation events, but today they are just as likely to be at a craft pub as the storefront location. These kinds of events are not suitable for every business, but if it would work for yours and you have a lot of local customers, why not host one?
Now I’m curious. Have you tried any of these things? How do you express gratitude to your customers? Do you think it has an impact on them?
