Creative non traditional Ways To wish your clients collect more lead and boost the growth of the company. Thanksgiving is more than just about the turkey and the stuffing.
It is a time to reflect and give thanks for many great things in our lives.
But while we show gratitude to our family, friends, acquaintances and employees, our customers remain left behind.
But haven’t they in some way, great or small, enriched your life?
Showing appreciation to customers is vital. That’s because, a simple thank you can go far.
Research shows that customer acknowledgement helps further cement excellent business relationships which foster customers to spend 36 times more. (Entrepreneur)
Gary Vaynerchuk social media expert and author of the book The Thank You Economy, stated in a recent Entrepreneur.com column –
“We’re living in what I like to call the ‘Thank You Economy,’ because only the companies that can figure out how to mind their manners in a very old-fashioned way — and do it authentically — are going to have a prayer of competing. I care a great deal about the bottom line, but I care about my customers even more. That’s always been my competitive advantage.’’
So there you go – Customer appreciation is the key! Your path to success and sustainability partially relies on how quickly you can incorporate customer appreciation into your business strategy.
Whether it’s your first year in business or your 20th, make it a point to thank all your customers that keep your dream alive and your business thriving.
Just in case you’re confused on how to approach this, we’ve compiled a quick list of client appreciation ideas below.
Your customers refer their friends and family to your business.
Why don’t you do the opposite this time?
Yep, you read it right! Send referrals to your customers. As an entrepreneur, you have associates and acquaintances in different industry verticals.
See if any of these can be prospects for your customers. If yes, share these contacts with your customers.
Simultaneously promote your customers’ business within your personal and professional network.
Undoubtedly, your customers will reward you for providing referrals and marketing their business.
They will recognize the fact that you value them and their work which will lead to a stronger bond, stronger networking and more business in the future.
Find out the philanthropic activities your customers are involved in. Reach out to them and offer to give a contribution to the charities they are closely associated with such as any food banks, homeless shelters, or other nonprofits.
This collaboration of philanthropic work will be dually beneficial.
Not only will you give back to the community but will also delight your customers, in the best possible way.
They will appreciate your generous gesture and develop a huge amount of respect for you. Also, this will result in a positive word-of-mouth recommendation that in return will bring more leads and sales to your business.
In the era of Facebook and Snapchat, handwritten notes have disappeared — but they still haven’t lost their charm.
This thanksgiving, surprise your customers by going the old-school way.
Write a heartfelt message that conveys your gratitude for your customers’ support, wishes good tidings for the holiday season, and expresses your hope for their continued support in the coming year.
Tip: Do not write a standard message for all. Personalize the messages for each customer by mentioning some special interactions and anecdotes happened while doing business with them. Keep the message short, sweet and sincere. Add your company’s logo and your signature.Keep in mind that you can easily create a professional logo using an online logo maker.
Taking the time and effort to write these special thank you notes will go a long way. It will indicate a deeper level of appreciation and make customers more inclined to stick with you and give you repeat business.
Actions speak louder than words. Follow this rule and go out of your way to reward the most loyal and revered customers with special discounts and benefits. Send a business thank you message to customers, you can do this using the email marketing features in ConvergeHub.
Inform them about the exclusive offers for the holiday season, such as coupons or promotional codes, free shipping, gift cards, free month’s subscription, access to an additional feature at lesser cost and so on.
This is one of the easiest and effective customer appreciation ideas for business. Your customers will feel sufficiently valued and happy to continue their allegiance with you.
Everyone loves to be thanked in a grand way and your customers are no different. Organize a special event for your customers and put them in the spotlight.
Give a short speech thanking your customers for their excellent support and loyalty.
Include some games, dance and music and make the event a fun-filled one.
Also encourage your customers to mingle with one another and meet your team.
This will increase the overall familiarity, strengthen the relationship and unite all into one family.
What better way to thank your customers than by gifting them some goodies.
But before getting started, a note of caution: don’t be boring!
Chances are your customers might receive gifts from other companies as well. If you want to get their attention, send a distinctive thank you gift.
Example: Gourmet baskets, catered lunches, magnet buttons or even custom made coffee mugs with your company logo. Choose any of these to say thanks to your customers in a unique way and solidify their loyalty towards your business.
Tip: If possible, select gifts specific to each customer’s interests and preferences. For instance, if any of your customers recently become a parent, send a baby book. Such personalized gifts will help you nurture the relationship with your customers and get you closer to reaching the goal of maintaining them as customers for life.
Create a video, sincerely thanking your customers for their contribution to your business’ growth and success. It will be quick, easy and an inexpensive way to show customer appreciation.
Customers will recognize the fact that you care about them and hence invested time and energy to say “thank you” on a personal level through the video.
Tip: Keep the video short. Remember, brief and to the point messages will be far more effective than long boring drawn-out speeches and monologues. Post the video to your website and upload it to your social media accounts as well. Inform all your customers about this sweet gesture through email.
Customers love receiving praises and it’s especially meaningful when done publicly. So acknowledge your customers in different social media outlets.
Talk about your wonderful experience of serving them and let your social media fans know about what they do and why they are so great to you.
Announce special discounts, gifts and opportunities for them as an additional gesture of gratitude.
Note: Social platforms are where your customers connect with people who share similar interests, activities and backgrounds. By appreciating your customers in the social sphere, you explicitly show how much you value and care for them and pull the targeted audience towards your business.
Looking for ideas and ways to show your local customers how much you appreciate them?
Do so with a personalized thank you banner. Get a custom designed vinyl banner with a “Happy Thanksgiving” message and hang it outside your storefront (or post your banner on your site).
Create exclusive white papers, eBooks and blogs for the Thanksgiving holiday to send to your customers.
Keep the content informational – something they will like to read and learn during this time of the year. Include a short paragraph on how much you appreciate your customers or what steps you plan to take to improve your offerings.
This will reinforce their loyalty to your brand and your company.
These are just some ideas on how you can show your customers your appreciation for them. Try them out and let us know what stood out to you.
Also, do you have any other idea popping up in your mind? Share it with us below!
Or tweet us – @convergehub 🙂