“Thank you” is more than a polite expression. It’s a recognition that you appreciate and respect the support you get from your clients. Your gratitude should feel real and honest since clients are the main engine of your business.
Once you grasp this simple concept, every conversation and choice revolves around the consumer. So here’s all you need to know about customer appreciation and how to put it on your team’s priority list.
This article will cover the following points:
- Why express gratitude to customers?
- How to thank your customers
- Best ways to thank your customer
Why express gratitude to customers?
The art of expressing gratitude to your consumers is known as customer appreciation. It’s a constant and sincere way to connect with customers, demonstrating how much you care about them. This might include handwritten thank you notes with first orders and special incentives to loyal consumers.
A simple statement of gratitude can boost a client’s perception of your business and generate a positive customer experience. You can see this in the form of purchases. In fact, 86% of customers are willing to spend more money for a positive customer experience.
Businesses can strengthen client relationships by thanking them daily, improving retention and referral rates.
When it comes to customer appreciation, there are three goals to keep in mind:
- Make customers stay around: According to Harvard Business Review, gaining new customers might cost five to twenty-five times more. As a result, try to keep as many consumers as possible.
- Increase the number of profitable customers: Satisfied customers spend more money on average and have less inconvenience. According to a study, a 5% improvement in retention can boost profitability by 25% to 95%.
- Your customers should talk about your company positively: About 92% of customers perceive suggestions from family and friends as the most reliable way of marketing, resulting in increased referral rates for your company.
There’s no denying that businesses that provide good customer service stay ahead of their competitors. Gratitude is a simple and effective technique to develop deep relationships with clients and make them feel appreciated.
How to show appreciation to your customers
It’s not difficult to send the perfect thank you note. In truth, most customers have modest expectations when it comes to gratitude. According to a study, 60% of consumers believe appreciation should be expressed by saying thank you directly to a person, and 44% believe thank yous should be tailored.
The most important thing to remember is to show customers that there is a real person behind every expression of gratitude.
You should thank your customers without expecting anything in return. For example, don’t ask people to “post it online” and then pressure them to purchase in the same sentence. Instead, simply show them your gratitude for being a consumer and putting trust in your company in a personal and interactive manner. That’s all it takes to make a connection.
Here is a small guide on how your small business can thank its customers.
1. Who are you expressing gratitude to?
It may seem attractive to thank every consumer after each purchase individually, but it will become hard to manage on your own as your company grows. As a result, segmenting clients into the categories you want to emphasize can be helpful.
Here are some ideas for how to divide your clients into several thank-you levels:
- Every customer
- Every returning customer
- Anybody who has written in to express their support
- Customers who are celebrating their birthday
- Customers with a high perceived value
- Members of the customer loyalty program
2. Establish a reasonable budget
The cost of your thank-you strategy will be proportional to the number of clients you choose to contact. So even if you want to express gratitude to every consumer, creating moments of happiness doesn’t have to be expensive.
Giving out a fancy gift package with each order, for instance, is a proven way to waste your funds. However, regular and loyal clients can be segmented and sent a personalized note with a customized gift to strengthen an already excellent relationship.
“It’s not the money that makes these efforts shocking and awesome. It’s the care and creativity involved,” Gary Vaynerchuk says in The Thank You Economy. Simple surprises are frequently just as powerful in developing that bond.
3. Create a repetitive system
Determine a consistent strategy to get those thank yous into the palms of your consumers, based on whether you’re including a ‘’thank you’’ in every package or only sometimes giving out gifts. It does not have to always be the same; nonetheless, organizing the process will guarantee that it happens.
You don’t need to spend a fortune to create genuine moments of joy. For example, if you have a team of people working for you, make it simple for them to thank customers. It may be a Google form or an occasion spent crafting handmade cards on a Friday evening.
Including your entire squad in these situations of joy builds a culture of client gratitude.
Six best ways to thank your customer
While artistic preparation and wise decision-making pave the way for delight, you’ll still need a few easy ideas to act on at the end of each day. So if you’re looking for some motivation, here are six ways to show your appreciation. You’ll also find companies that go above and beyond for their clients.
- Deliver handwritten thank you letters
- Incorporate package inserts
- Give away freebies or samples
- Use video to make personal connections
- Provide discounts after the purchase
- Draw more attention to your clients
1. Deliver handwritten thank you letters
This is a proven way to express gratitude to your customers. Composing a personal thank you message demonstrates that there is a real person behind the company who cares about its customers.
Since thank you notes are a forgotten art, they can be quite powerful. When was the last time you wrote a handwritten thank you note instead of sending an email? Probably a while ago. Digital messages are highly efficient, but a handwritten card surpasses the fleeting nature of our online inboxes by creating something genuine and meaningful.
Make sure to share exactly what you’re grateful for and be open about how much it means to you personally. Companies are made up of people; emphasizing how their presence affects you as a person, rather than just your business or organization, is very valuable.
When drafting the ideal thank you note, keep these stages in mind:
Let’s have a look at specific great handwritten customer notes.
Make it sweet and honest.
A simple yet effective thank you card. You can see that it is genuine and contains information that only the customer and company know.
Include details in your handwritten thank you notes
One of the most effective ways to express gratitude to consumers is to send a customized note. Be precise about what you’re grateful for and how your customer’s contributions can help you.
2. Incorporate package inserts
Adding a modest token of appreciation to orders is a fantastic way to express gratitude. Because you’ve already paid for delivery and the package, this is one of the most budget-friendly methods to please your customers.
Surpassing client expectations is the goal of packaging inserts. Unboxing is a thrilling event on its own, and shoppers eagerly anticipate the moment they can feel their new purchase in their hands. With some extra work, they are set to be “overjoyed.” It’s also a chance to introduce value to the order by including gorgeous how-to guides and promotions.
Here is a notable example of a retailer who recognizes the benefit of offering a minor surprise.
Grilla Grills
Package inserts can be as specific or as broad as you want. Simply have a handful of these beside your order pack and put one into each box.
3. Give away freebies or samples
What could be more appealing to customers than a free sample? Giving them a tiny sample or a present with their purchase is a terrific way to say “Thank you for your purchase.”
Freebies are an excellent method to not only surprise and please your consumers but also display something they haven’t tried before. If they enjoy it, they may include it in their future order. But make sure to align the sample as closely as possible to your client’s profile to ensure it’s something they would use.
Smiley360
For what this company calls “missions,” Smiley360 sends out packages of free samples as well as free full-sized merchandise.
4. Use video to make personal connections
Try making a customized thank you video for your consumers if you want to move things to another level. The beautiful thing about videos is that you can’t pretend to be intimate. The customer is aware of how much effort you’ve put in.
Because they take a while to produce, made personally, customized videos appear to be incredibly caring. Send videos as part of a post-purchase reply or as a stand-alone interaction. In addition, videos are beneficial for special events and celebrations, as they allow you to be more creative with the topic.
Kroger
This video illustrates how to express gratitude to customers and associates for their assistance during the epidemic. It’s also an excellent illustration of how to assure them that your company is still pretty stable.
Nevertheless, since this is a big company, they have the budget to produce high-quality videos and reach a broad audience. Even if your business is small, you can still achieve this by personalizing your video and sending it directly to your customers.
5. Provide discounts after the purchase
Discounts and vouchers for regular clients are a fantastic way to keep them returning while appreciating them for their business. While you should use discounts with caution since they can teach customers to wait for special offers, offering a discount to a new client is generally a cost-effective approach to entice them to come back and do another transaction.
Photobox
Here’s an example of a Photobox post-purchase discount. After the consumer got their first item, the email was sent out with a tempting (50% discount) deal with a stated expiration date.
6. Draw more attention to your clients
Putting your customers in the spotlight is a friendly approach to show them how much you value them.
In the creative fields, user-generated content is helpful because your clients depend on visibility to create their following. Hairstylists, for instance, enjoy being highlighted on Instagram. Likewise, small businesses adore being mentioned on Twitter or in a blog post. It can assist them in gaining credibility and customers. It also helps you and them form a relationship.
Luxy Hair
Luxy Hair’s user-generated content has many benefits, including showcasing its product. It also assists its clients in developing their brands by sharing gorgeous photographs.
Related Content
- 10 Tips to Create the Best Customer Service Emails
- 5 Expert Ways to Increase Your eCommerce Customer Service
- Why Actually Listening to Customers is Important (And How to Do it)
Conclusion
There are a lot of possibilities to express gratitude and please your consumers after they’ve made a purchase. Remember, the most important thing is to be authentic, considerate, and personal. Customers appreciate honest gratitude but despise insincerity.
Building relationships with customers comes naturally when you have an appreciative mindset. Developing these consumer ties allows you to set your company apart from the competition.
We saw that the best ways to thank your customers are to incorporate handwritten thank you notes, add a simple act of appreciation, give your customers free items and samples, express your gratitude through videos, give discounts and give special attention to your customers like posting a picture of them with your product!
If you employ any of these methods, you are on the right path to getting gratitude and respect from your customers.
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Written by our guest writer David Wachs, the founder and CEO of Handwrytten
Handwrytten is a Handwriting Services for Brands. David is also a frequent speaker on messaging technology and has presented for the Direct Marketing Association, South By Southwest, and others.
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