This is the third message in the “50 Things Your Customers Wish You Knew” series.
“It means a lot when you take the time to thank me for my business or a referral.”
Every business loses customers. Sometimes they get mad, sometimes they move away, sometimes they just outgrow the need for our services.
We might not be able to keep any of those from happening. But there is a preventable reason customers drift away, one that’s surprisingly easy to correct.
According to a well-publicized survey, one of the biggest reasons that customers stop frequenting a business is that they don’t believe the business cares about them one way or the other.
In other words, they leave because we haven’t said “thank you.”
Gratitude is a wonder drug for your business
Letting your customers know you appreciate them is free, easy … and surprisingly rare.
Maybe it’s because we think customers must just know how much we appreciate their business. That they must just know we value them as our lifeblood, the key ingredient that allows us the freedom and enjoyment of a successful business.
But they don’t just know. They won’t know until we tell them.
It isn’t complicated
You don’t have to make this difficult.
Just take a few minutes right now to schedule some “thank you” time in your marketing communication.
- Run a blog post to thank readers for their time and attention.
- End an email message with a “thank you” for subscribing and reading.
- Use your favorite social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to express your appreciation.
- Schedule a special promotion for a holiday like Thanksgiving that’s associated with gratitude.
Think about special ways you can recognize your most loyal customers, those who come back again and again, or refer their friends.
Think about small but meaningful gestures you can make to say, “thank you. I appreciate you.”
Taking it to the next level
Simple expressions of gratitude work beautifully, so don’t overlook them. But if you want to take this even further, think of gifts you can give your customers. Ways to add extra value, to overdeliver.
Solid content is one great way to do that … particularly if you structure your content to be as useful as you can possibly make it. Most of us know how to use free content as highly effective advertising, but don’t forget to create special, valuable content that rewards those who buy from you, too.
(Need an example? Copyblogger’s Premise landing page software comes bundled with a comprehensive course in how to write effective landing pages. The Premise software would probably be a successful product with or without the additional education … but that education is a nice “thank you gift” to our customers, and lets those customers be much more successful when they use the product.)
If you’re looking for a fast, free way to make your business stand out — one you can execute today — try a little “Thank You.” You’ll be amazed at how well it works.
Get the whole series
If you got here from a link shared by a friend, why not check out the whole series? It’s free, and it’s for serious businesses of any size who want to use the web to promote their products and services.
Don’t miss out on the entire series! We’ll throw in bonus articles and a killer special report on The 10 Rock-Solid Elements of Effective Marketing.
Sign up for it all (it’s free) here: AuthorityRules.com We’ll get you up to speed with a couple of key articles and concepts, then begin the “50 Things” about a week after your sign-up.