May 17, 2007

You have to thank them, too

Written by: Eric | Category: Articles

A couple of months ago I posted a reminder for everyone to check up with current/past clients to touch bases and see if there’s anything you could do for them. I just ran across another post today that talks about another step many forget but one that’s equally (if not more) important - and that is thanking your customers. Here’s an excerpt from Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams

Recently I met with some fellow entrepreneurs to swap ideas-it’s an informal mastermind group. We discussed strategies for appreciating customers and building loyalty. Here are some good ideas:

One business owner personally visited his top 10 female clients just before Mother’s Day and delivered each a box of fudge.

Another person sends a $10 Starbucks gift card to anyone who sends him a referral.

Yet another business owner sends a holiday music CD out to his clients in December each year.

Another idea is to contact your existing clients and offer a significant discount or bonus for referrals.

We all agreed that sending hand-written thank you notes is a must! One person even has a personal goal to write six of these per day!

I recently received an enormous (about 9″ diameter) sugar cookie from a Bay area dealers auto auction that we purchased a vehicle from. It had a screen printed frosting that displayed their logo and a big “Thank you!” - all edible of course. The cookie lasted a good week in the office as we all nibbled away at it.

Have you ever been thanked? Do you thank your customers? How?

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