How often do you say “thank you” to your customers?
Yesterday, across the United States, individuals and families celebrated Thanksgiving and set aside some time to give thanks for all of the blessings in their lives.
While it’s awesome to have a day set aside just for that, it’s never a bad thing to adopt an attitude of gratitude every day.
Imagine if businesses did the same thing, adopted a daily attitude of gratitude? Or also made Thanksgiving about being thankful for what they have? (A few do.) Instead, they’ve spent the week shoving Black Friday sales and deals down our throats so they can make their year-end revenue goals. But I digress; this post isn’t about that.
Ralph Marston said:
What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it – would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.
This makes me think of two things, both of which fall under the umbrella statement: Businesses need to appreciate the customers they have. (1) They need to be sure to say “thank you for your business” at every available opportunity; if they don’t, well, customers have a lot of other options to choose from. (2) They need to remember that retention is more important (and less costly) than acquisition.
Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.
Appreciate the customer standing in front of you.
That doesn’t always mean the customer is physically standing in front of you; it also refers to all of the customers you have today, regardless of where they are. It means to focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have (or hope to have some day).
When companies express gratitude, they don’t have to offer discounts or freebies. A thank you is a thank you. It doesn’t have to be about getting more business today or down the line (by including a coupon). It’s about appreciating the business you already have. And if you get the experience right – expressing appreciation simply supports what has already been done. And the business will come.
Keep in mind that you’ll want to express appreciation to your customers for their business when they walk in the door (acquisition), on a regular basis throughout the relationship, and when they leave (cancel, churn). Yes, even (especially) when customers end the relationship, be sure to thank them for their business. It leaves a great last impression, which in turn becomes a lasting impression.
By the way, everything I’ve said applies to your employees, too. Regularly showing appreciation for what they do goes a long way to delivering a great employee experience.
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I’d like to take a moment to say “thank you” to you for continuing to follow me, for reading my posts, for commenting, and for being interested in what I write about. It’s been four years since I started this blog, and you inspire me to continue writing every week!
You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you. -Sarah Ban Breathnack
