Thanking your customers - Why you should do it and how... Your customers make up 100% of your sales and 100% of your profits. Yet we spend a lot of money and time beating the bushes for new customers and not much time thanking those responsible for 100% of our business! One lesson your mother taught you was to say "thank you" when someone did something nice. We tend to give lip service to saying thank you to our customers by using phrases like "Thank you and have a nice day." But after using the same phrase repeatedly, it becomes rote, and not very heartfelt. So what can you do? Customer Service Experts say that people complain more than they praise. Taking the time to show customers how much you appreciate their business is important. It can build and reinforce relationships - both business and personal. It can promote growth, encourage teamwork and express your commitment or caring. It's a subtle expression of the desire for an ongoing relationship. There are many programs that offer you an easy solution to saying thanks to those important customers. A lot of them will work with your budget to find the perfect thank you that suits your business it may be a box of chocolate, a coffee mug, or a nice pen. These are all items that will assist in helping you retain your customers and getting referrals from them. Calendars are also very effective. That calendar you give your customer with your name on it will be in front of them day after day for 365 days a year. You certainly cant do that by handing them a business card. Everyone sends a Christmas card so why not send a 4th of July card or what about a Thanksgiving card. What a better time than that to say thanks to your favorite customers? One last thought.. Most companies have a budget, marketing plan and goals for the year. But does your budget set aside money for customer retention and recognition of loyal customers? What strategies have you added to your marketing plan to strengthen the relationship you have with your customers? What goals do you have to improve the experience your loyal customers receive when they call or visit your business? It costs six to eight times as much to attract a new customer as to keep an existing one. Most business owners agree that a customer can be worth anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to tens of thousands, or more. Yet most companies fail to incorporate into their budget the basics for a customer recognition and retention plan. Why, then, is it so difficult to invest money to retain your existing customers when they clearly are the lifeblood of any company? |
