Getting clients to buy your product or service shouldn’t be where the process ends. Nope. Not even a bit. If you want to go the extra mile, to help build a connection and loyalty , and really delight your clients like bigger businesses can’t and don’t… well, this blog is for you. It’s all about ways to show your clients that you love them… and most are free… good, hey!
Handwritten notes
Have you ever received a parcel with a handwritten note? Oh my – it’s something else. From a business point of view, there is clearly a time factor, and I’m not going to pretend that there isn’t, but the delight your customer experiences should, hopefully counter this. Huge businesses can’t really do this (I mean, they could, but they don’t!), but smaller businesses can. And it can be one really amazing way to shine out against the big boys. It’s seen SO many posts on Instagram particularly of handwritten notes people have received in their parcels. See it as a marketing and client retention expense. It’s a really easy way to show your customers you love them.
Free gifts
Gifts have to be in here- but if you have a customer who’s spending good money with you, why not send them a little thank you? It doesn’t have to be a huge thing – far from it – something thoughtful can be so much more valuable. Maybe a few Lindt balls to orders at different times of the year, a product, a notebook, the list goes on. Think about the customer, what they would like, and go from there. There are very few people who aren’t delighted when they receive a tasty something in a parcel when they didn’t expect it.
Say thank you
Oh- ground breaking. No, in all seriousness, saying thank you is so underrated. Whether you include a thank you on your handwritten note, you say thank you on your order confirmation, or you just say thank you in person, don’t forget it. Yes, you have provided a product, but your customer has chosen you, out of everyone else. Whether you sell a product or a service, it’s a competitive world out there, so say thank you – THEY CHOSE YOU!
Promoting them on social media
If you have clients who show your products or say nice things about you on social media – can you return the favour? On Instagram, reposting from grids or sharing to your Story are great ways to do this, or retweet on Twitter, or share in Facebook. If you’re reposting on Instagram, don’t forget to ask permission. It’s not just polite but the photographer (often your customer) owns the copyright so you do need permission. From a PR point of view, asking to use something that your client has created, and saying how lovely it is, can further strengthen a bond.
Engage
Yes, that old chestnut. When customers (and potential ones) comment on your social media, please, PLEASE do your best to engage back. If you have a crazy busy account, you might not have enough hours in the day to comment on each post… but you could definitely do some. It shows that you care and appreciate them and their support. And that isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s excellent for building relationships too.
As you’ll see, none of the ideas above are rock science – far from it – they’re really obvious, aren’t they? I think we all spend a lot of time being absorbed in tech, automation, software and cleverness… and this means that sometimes we overlook the obvious.
It’s also a well known fact that it costs you a LOT less to keep an existing customer happy and loyal than to find a new one. So how can you show your clients you love them? And what could that mean for them, for you, and your business.
