5 Creative Ways to Show Your Customers You Care
When large corporations make a sale, that’s it; a sale happens, a customer is hopefully pleased, and somebody maybe gets a commission check.
That’s typically not the case with small and even medium-sized businesses, where every sale can make a difference. Small businesses see sales coming in and it can make their day. They care a great deal about their customers, which is one of the reasons some customers are increasingly preferring to shop small.
As a small or medium business, you do care about your customers, and you may be wondering exactly how you can show it.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at 5 creative ways that you can show your customers you care to strengthen your relationship and establish loyalty.
1. Send Handwritten Notes
Want to thank customers for their support? Nothing will show your customers you care like a thank you note.
Genuine, enthusiastic emails can work well, but you can’t go wrong with a handwritten note, either. You can have branded cards ready to go, and writing a quick thank you message for their purchase can go a long way. Sign it either from the owner or the team member that the user has recently worked with.
Want to do this at scale? Tools like Handwrytten can help you deliver “handwritten” and personalized cards to your customers quickly
2. Remember Personal Details From Your Interactions
Even if you don’t work directly with every customer who purchases from you, there’s a good chance that you’re interacting with some of them.
Whether they’re walking into your storefront or calling for help with an order, take time to make small talk and then make an effort to remember what you all discuss.
Did they mention that they were in a rush because they had to get to their daughter’s first recital? Or did they apologize for the loud remodeling happening in the background? Remember those small details, and when you follow up, mention them.
“PS- Hope your daughter’s first recital went well” and “Hope the remodel is going smoothly for you!” can show that you care.
If you’re using a customer management system (CMS), you can take notes on customers so that you can reference them later on. Small details can make all the difference.
3. Give Them Loyalty Bonuses
Long-term customers keep your businesses afloat, and they’re worth investing in even after you’ve already landed them.
Loyalty programs are an excellent way to show your customers you care about their support. You can use automated loyalty programs that allow customers to accrue points for discounts, but you can also keep track of high-value and long-retaining clients to reach out to offer special discounts, freebies, or other gifts.
Loyalty bonuses can go beyond discounts, too. You can also reach out to loyal customers and let them know that due to their long relationship with you that you value their opinion. You can get feedback, ask for opinions on new products or services, and even offer exclusive access to new products or beta tests.
If you want to go for an easy, automated approach, look into software that can set up loyalty programs on your site. You can see an excellent list of different options here.
4. Offer Personalized Service
While your business likely has set policies in place for customer service issues, there’s nothing that can show customers that you care quite like personalized service.
Let’s say that you sell engraved dog collars online, and you have a no-return policy on personalized items. You’ve already shipped out a personalized collar when you get a call from an upset client, asking if it can be cancelled because they lost their dog. Do you apologize and say that nothing can be done, or do you tell them that you’re so sorry, that you’ll refund them, and that you’ll do everything possible to stop the package?
Policies are great to guide your staff, but not every solution will work for every customer and every situation. Doing what you can to find the right solutions and treating them as individuals can really show your customers you care.
5. Spotlight Customers on Social Media
Overtime, there’s a good chance that your customers will start to share with you. They’ll share stories with your team, positive reviews online, and user-generated content on social media.
With your customers’ permission, consider sharing some of this on your own branded social media accounts. Shine the spotlight on your customers in the best possible way, thanking them for sharing their stories and sharing it with your overall client base, too.
Plenty of clients love to be featured, as it makes them feel important and appreciated. Whether you’re going for a case-study type review or even featuring them in a video testimonial, this is a great strategy.
Customers have higher expectations than ever before when it comes to customer service. They want to feel like businesses aren’t just money-making schemes that only care about swindling them out of their hard-earned cash; feeling like they matter can increase loyalty, satisfaction, and retention rates significantly.
While the great staples of fast response times and empathetic, knowledgeable receptionists are always going to be important elements to great customer service, sometimes thinking outside of the box can help, too. These five strategies are all creative and unique, potentially helping you stand out in your customer’s eyes.
