Your business relies on the strength of your relationships with your customers.

And customers LOVE to feel appreciated.

Well anyone loves to feel appreciated – it’s a basic need of the human condition – BBBUUUTTT when you hand honest, good earned money over for a service you really love to have a little appreciation returned to you.

Why is it so important for your customers?

With most things in business; it comes down to connection.

Feelings = connection.

You want to create a connection between yourself, your business, and, your customer.

That’s why big businesses spend big bucks on customer loyalty programs, customer reward programs, points programs – they are creating connections.

As a small business owner with a small business budget, you can do the same, in a way that’s authentic and makes sense for your customers and your business with the same result.

It starts with gratitude and communication.

So it’s time to bust out the gratitude journal you have stashed somewhere, brew a cuppa, and get down to plan your customer appreciation strategy.

If there are two things we at Bohemia love nothing more it’s wordy things and relationships. We geek out on them. For realz.

We also love stats, because stats don’t lie!

So consider this before planning your customer appreciation strategy:

• 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated. Source: McKinsey
• On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs
• When it comes to sales, the probability of selling to an existing happy customer is up to 14x higher than the probability of selling to a new customer. Source: Marketing Metrics

What this tells us is that in a market flooded with options for your customers, using an “attitude of gratitude” with your customers will let you:

1. Give back to the very people who are helping grow your business.
2. Allow you and your business to stand out against your competitors.
3. Nurture and grow strong customer relationships.
4. Add an extra layer of personalisation to your customer’s experience.
5. Create a lasting impression that allows your customer to remember you.
6. Enhance your customer loyalty (you really want that)!
7. AND live into your beautiful, intentional, positive business goals.

We know what you’re thinking – that all sounds great, but how do you actually use this strategy day-to-day?

Here are 5 things to make your customers feel appreciated:

1. Pick up the phone

Depending on your business and the relationship you have with your customers, pick up the phone and enjoy that personal connection! You must have a valid reason for contacting your customers. For instance, they may have just purchased a ticket to your ultra-exclusive workshop. So, pick up the phone and tell them how excited you are to work with them, what they can look forward to and thank them for purchasing a ticket.

Word to the wise: Don’t outsource or delegate this, the purpose is to do it yourself and make the customer feel extra special.

 

2. Send a personal email

With all of us receiving *so many flippin emails* these days, a personal one-to-one email is somewhat of a rarity!
Imagine your customer’s delight and surprise when you’ve emailed them, personally thanking them for their business.
For freelancers especially, this is a great strategy!
Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer and you’ve just shot your 100th wedding. This is huge! Include your customer in your celebration:

“Sandy, I wanted to let you know how much your decision to book me as your photographer means to me. You’ve become the 100th Bride to book me and that was a personal milestone for me. It also meant I had the pleasure to be a part of your special day and celebrate yours and Ben’s wedding. Thank you for allowing me to capture some memories for you – you are the reason I do what I do”.

Simple. Effective. Smart.

3. Public praise via facebook or insta

ALL-THE-SOCIALS mean we have a connection to our customers like never before. We are in their hands, their pockets, in front of their eyes at all times of day!

Customers are also valuing brands on social media more than ever before and appreciate shout outs and praise via social media. Everyone loves to be appreciated publically and social media provides the perfect platform to do this.

So you can record a video as a general Thank You to all your customers (or your facebook group if you have one) making it specific about a milestone or big goal. Alternatively, you can single out a customer and say Thank You or a small group.

 

4. A handwritten note in a package

This is super easy if you create products and ship them!

Include a heartfelt handwritten note. There is no need to make it long and involved, just a simple “Thank You for your business. We hope you enjoy X product, we sure did enjoy making it for you”.

If you track your customers’ purchases and can see this is their second or third purchase, mention it and tell them how much you appreciate their loyalty and you could even offer them a bonus or throw in a sneaky gift in the package as a way of saying Thanks.

5. Celebrate beginnings AND endings

This is super important if you’re a Coach or Freelancer who has a set engagement with a customer. If a customer signs up to a particular program or process with you (ie. a 12 week coaching program) it’s a good idea to ‘bookend’ the engagement with a “congratulations and welcome” moment as well as a congratulations and next steps moment.

Micah Solomon, President of Four Aces Inc. and contributor at Forbes.com says: “The end, as much as the beginning, is a moment in time that psychological research show will linger in the memory of your customer: it can have a real effect on how customers view your company in days and months to come”.

It’s these little touchpoints will create *ALL-THE-FEELS* and really make your customers feel appreciated.

Your customers FEEL appreciated when you TELL them they’re appreciated.

Not only is it a basic of the human condition to feel appreciated and needed…it’s also is a crucial element of your larger customer experience strategy.

If you need help crafting the words to help you achieve your best customer appreciation strategy we are here to help. Fill in our contact form or send us an email today.

Can you tell we love this stuff? Oh my gosh yes we do!!!