How to thank your customers

Here are a few tips to make your customers feel appreciated. These tips are from the Marketing Thoughts blog care of the Marketing & Management Update blog.

Let us never forget our customers are why we are in business!

1. Thank high value customers: All customers are not created equal. An annual handwritten thank you note to your “top twenty percent” from the CEO is a smart strategy.


2. Thank lost customers with a private “win back” offer: A handwritten note to welcome them back, with an irresistible offer works well. Reactivating past customers is one of those forgotten fundamentals.


3. Thank and sell: A handwritten note with a customizable gift certificate is a proven winner and can move inventory or get a plant to capacity!


4. Thank with a gift: Induce reciprocity and stimulate a sale or referral! A thank you gift works wonders. Think high perceived value.


5. Thank and save the sale: Beat the cognitive dissonance demons by reassuring the customer. Great for any high ticket item. Offer an add-on sale while you are at it!


6. Thank and cross-sell: A handwritten note to tell your best customers about a new product or service, with an offer unavailable elsewhere.


7. Thank the non-buyer: A handwritten note to the non-buying prospect of a high ticket item can influence a sale when the prospect is ready to purchase.

Make ‘thank you’ a strategic and conscious component in your marketing program and invest in the lifetime value of the relationships you have already established. The challenge, of course, is to implement a timely and sincere thank you program at a reasonable marketing cost. At the end of the day, it’s all about direct marketing mathematics but aren’t your best customers worth a couple of bucks for you to show your sincere appreciation?