Showing your customers or loved ones that you genuinely appreciate them is one of the easiest ways to build a better relationship with them. Although it is simple, few companies take the time. For an online store, there are a number of distinguishing factors that deserve investment: product, brand and service. If you focus your efforts on providing a valuable customer experience and if you show your customers that you value them, chances are high that you will set yourself apart from your competition and conquer your own place in the market. Thanking your customers in a targeted and personal way can indeed help to show the human aspect of your brand or your company, but also to retain customers. But how to do it?
Who are you thanking?
Personally thanking each customer with each order can seem intrusive, even devoid of sincerity. As your business grows, it further becomes impossible. It can therefore be practical to divide your customers into groups and put the customers who really deserve thanks into a separate group.
For example, if you give out a chic gift with each order, you will quickly exceed your budget. On the other hand, if you divide your customers into groups and send a handwritten letter with a gift to the customers you think are important, you strengthen the relationship with them. Here are some examples of ways to group your customers in the perspective of different thanks:
Set a suitable budget
The budget for your “thank you program” should of course be distributed among all the customers you wish to thank. Even if you want to do something cool for all of your customers, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In “The Thank You Economy” Gary Vaynerchuk writes: “It is not the financial value of a gift that creates joy or esteem in the customer, but the care and creativity that comes with that gift.
Build a process that you can easily repeat
Depending on whether you want to give a gift with every order or just once in a while, you can set up a process that is easy to repeat. This process does not necessarily have to be automated, as long as it is structured. Do you collaborate with other people within a team or do you lead people? In this case, you could, for example, spend every other Friday afternoon writing thank you cards with a few members of your team.
10+ ways to thank
Do you want to thank your customers and need some inspiration? Below are five ways to express your gratitude!
- Handwritten thank you letters
A suitable and very inexpensive way to thank your customers is to write a personalized thank you letter. You show that behind the screens, there are people who are involved in the customer’s order.
Thank you letters are effective because they have become rare. Think about the last time you sent a handwritten letter rather than an email or Facebook post. The internet is incredibly efficient at communicating, but a handwritten map goes beyond a brief, rather distant email. A handwritten letter has something concrete and carries more weight.
Keep the following five tips in mind to craft the perfect thank you letter:
- Use unique and quality cards, tailored to your brand or business.
- Use the customer’s name and personalize the card.
- Thank the customer and make it clear why you are sending the letter.
- Be considerate – refer to a conversation or other contact to show that the card is specifically for that customer.
- Conclude your letter in a warm but professional manner (thanks again, best regards, best to you, etc.).
- A little attention
Adding a little attention to an order that ships is a great way to say thank you. Since you have already paid for the shipping and the box, this way of keeping customers happy is one of the most profitable. Adding a small gift to a package goes beyond customer expectations. Unpacking a package is an experience in itself, as customers are eager to discover their new product. Now is the perfect time to keep customers happy even more, with just a little effort. Add, for example, a discount voucher or a small gift such as a key ring.
- Free samples
For customers, nothing is nicer than free samples! Adding samples to an order is therefore the perfect way to thank your customer. Free samples and products to try out are not only a great way to surprise your customers, but also to let them experience a product they (hopefully!) Don’t know yet. If customers like the samples, they may order the product from you later. Make sure that the sample or product to be tested is tailored to the customer’s profile as much as possible, to be sure that it is something that will interest them.
- Video acknowledgments
If you want to take it a step further, record a personalized thank you video for your customers. The advantage of videos is that it is impossible for them not to be personal. Since the client knows you’ve spent a lot of time on it, personalized videos are always seen as attention. Send videos as part of a post-sale follow-up or separate interaction.
- Discounts after a purchase
Rewarding loyal customers through discounts and coupons is a suitable way to keep them coming back and thanking them for their trust in your online store. While it should be careful with discounts, as customers might get used to always expecting them, sending a discount to a new customer is usually a cost-effective way to get them to come back and buy a new product.
There are many creative and sentimental ways for newlyweds to express their gratitude to family and friends, or to convey an idea of generosity.
- The “Post Wedding” Brunch:
From engagement parties to rehearsal dinners, pre-wedding events have likely been organized and hosted by some of your close family and friends. Show your gratitude by hosting a post wedding brunch for all the people who went out of their way to make your nuptials so wonderful. Are you flying directly on your honeymoon after the wedding? No worries, organize this brunch when you get back.
- Mixtures of drinks for the aperitif:
Cocktails, apple ciders, hot chocolates, gourmet coffees – these “homemade” drinks allow married couples to raise other “toasts” during the wedding cocktail with their loved ones.
- Something that grows something green:
A seed-to-grow guest gift is a great metaphor for the couple’s future with their growing love. Otherwise, go for a small, tasty plant. Check out the site Love’n Gift, you’ll find plenty of gifts to guests and innovative trends.
- Personalized Thank You Notes or coins:
Creative, these notes offer multiple opportunities. More and more companies are offering digital files that you can print on your own printer. Leave these notes on your wedding reception tables, in wedding favours, or send them by mail after the ceremony. The customized thank you coins can also be used instead of notes.
- Organize a special “game” day:
If your new spouse would have preferred to share a soccer game with their friends (or any other game). Forget brunch or tea, get the gang together and have fun! Nothing like betting on team spirit! Then serve them a simple and hearty meal.
- Give back
Charitable donations: consider making donations to associations or NGOs after having been spoiled by all your relatives.
Lending a helping hand to friends of friends: Do your relatives or friends have charity projects, community gardens, or house maintenance needs? Volunteering to help loved ones is a great way to thank the people who gave you the wedding of your dreams.