Customer Appreciation –Great ways to say “thank you” for being a customer

I’ve said before that showing your customers you appreciate them is so much more powerful than saying it. the reason is simple because your backing it up with action. So I want to do a quick little post(I promise lol)on ways that have been successful. So you can get your own appreciation action plan STARTED. Remember this one thing it is not that you have the best idea or most unique but that you start IMMEDIATELY so you can start seeing the dividends.

• Host a after hours preview party for new product, a new store opening, or just a party to celebrate your gratitude toward your customers.
• The more ways that can SHOW your customers that you truely care about them (beyond their purchases) the more appreicated the will feel which leads to the more comfortable they will feel around you in the future. When people say hi to you on the street you are succeeding they want to be around you outside of your business.
• Using customers first names in conversation after the first purchase — There is nothing that sound sweeter to anybody than the sound of their name.
• Learn the first names of your top 30 customers and use them often (for a bonus find wives and kids names also). Like next time they walk through you door or call.
• Saturn (the car company) took all of it’s owners to Great Adventure theme park for a day for $20 (I think) which included free parking, all you could eat barbecue and admission to the park. All for their 10th anniversary.
• Have a presale open an hour hourly to let invited customers only have 1st chance to purchase during a big sale.
• Have a friends and family event where either employees or your best customers get a great coupon(say 20% to 30% off any purchase) to use during a specific time period.
• Send a thank you card for every purchase somebody makes
• Tell your customers that if they have a friend that comes in to make a purchase with in 3 week s and they mention their name you’ll give then a $25 gift certificate to any restaurant they choose
• Send them a birthday card with a gift inside (a pool room I worked with has play two hours for free on your birthday )
• Send out half birthday cards( there is a resturant in my neighborhood that give you half off any meal with regular one purchased during the month halfway to your birthday —The card says Happy HALF birthday)

When people feel appreciated they will go out of their way to reciprocate to you by either purchasing, bringing you new customers or just giving you great ideas to make you even more successful that you already are.

I personally have turned many customers into friends from using ideas and many more like it. The key is to be completely genuine in your approach and let the interaction and the ideas do all the work for you.

What can you implement NOW to show your customers how much they mean to you?

Now to show your employees how much your value them read this.