6 ways to thank your customers
8 years ago Shalini B
Customers are the reasons why an entrepreneur comes up with a business solution. Customer is the one who can make or break a business. A smart entrepreneur is the one who recognizes and appreciates customer efforts and tries its best to build a healthy relationship with their target audience.
Customer attraction is one thing, but customer retention is altogether another part of the marketing strategy, which should hold more importance than attraction. The nature of customers to try new things, will definitely bring them to you, but retaining them and making them brand loyal is up to you. Customers are the ones who create sales and bring profits to your startup. Have you ever thought of thanking your customers for these small and big things or as a mere token of appreciation and to show them that they are valued?
Your customers may not say it, but their actions do show it – they wish to be valued. If a customer is not valued and is not shown interest, they will switch brands. The best way to appreciate customer efforts is to thank them for all that they do for your startup. The question now is, how can I thank all my customer? It is not important and practical for you to personally go and thank each of your customer, but there are various other ways in which you can do so. Some of them are –
#1: Give them the right and benefit of the doubt (if any) at pre, during and post customer service
A customer is delighted when he receives extravagant customer service. Greet them well when they come to your store, address their needs properly and attend to their after sales queries. This is the best and easiest way to express your gratitude to a customer who walks in to you store to make a purchase or avail your service.
#2: Free workshops or events
Thank your customers by giving them an opportunity to learn something for free. Bring in experts and organise workshops or webinars on relevant topics so that it is a win-win for both you and your customer. If you are a design startup, how about conducting a workshop on design and strategy so that they learn something new? If you are a fashion startup, how about a free workshop on dressing up or latest trends ?
#3: Offer discounts and offers for complementary products
Wouldn’t you be glad if you were offered three free car services when you go out to purchase a car? Would you not love it if you get discounts for your next visit? Any discount or offer that is related to your product purchase or next purchase, is a chivalrous way to thank your customers for believing in your products and services in the first place. As a token of gratitude offer them something that would please them and would bring them to you next time as well.
#4: Send them a thank you note – either via post or email
Who doesn’t love thank you notes? Imagine the delight of a customer when they receive a thank you note from you just for making a purchase from your store! A simple thank you note without any upfront leads or sales will go a long way. It will leave a positive remark in the minds of customers and it will make the customer feel valued, recognized and appreciated.
#5: Send them birthday wishes
We are pretty sure you have sign up lists and have all your customer’s details. Send them birthday wishes via email or a text message.
#6: Know their interests and send them small gifts (if your budget allows)
If your customer loved reading, it wouldn’t cost you a lot to gift them a novel with a thank you note attached! Or if you know that a customer purchases a particular product at regular intervals, next time before they come to your store for the repeat purchase, ensure that you get the product delivered to their residence. This will allow the customer to know that ‘yes, the company notices and knows the trends and interests of the customer.’ Plus, these small investments made by you to show the customers that they are valued, will bring in fruitful results in the long term.
Customer are indeed one of the most important stakeholders of your business. Keep them happy and half your work is done. With happy customer come loyalty and with loyalty comes new customers, referred by the brand loyal customers. Don’t hesitate to go the extra mile because you never know, how beneficial that one extra mile might turn into!
