The Untapped Marketing Secret: Turn Expectation Into Appreciation

I love the end of the year because the holiday just passed and as people wipe the egg nog off their lips, it is the absolutely perfect time for you to express to your customers how much you appreciate them and their business!

To me, it is extremely critical in terms of the ‘future-value’ you bring to a relationship where someone is paying you for a product or service. I’ve recently come across 4 Great Holiday Messages you can use to target existing customers.

1.) Say Thank You – My father always said if you can’t say something nice, you don’t get dinner. Just kidding. We ALL know that it feels great to say thank you, and to have someone say it to you. It might be for something as simple as holding a door open, or for something as grand as being a loyal customer. Telling your customers ‘Thank You’ for contributing to your success throughout the year is powerful, and very much appreciated in this day and age of social media, likes, and blind reviews. Your customers want to know they matter to you. Tell them.

2.) Celebrate the Appreciation – As we move toward the last part of our journey around the sun, it’s a great time to take a quick breather. Yes, you still have orders to fill and customers to please. But the end of the year is a fantastic time for us to take stock in not only our accomplishments, but to understand how we’ve impacted the lives of strangers. Arguably, we should be impactful and appreciative year-round, but we all know the end of the year brings sentiment to the surface.

3.) Donate to a Cause – Whether you choose to make this known on your postcards or other marketing material, a great way to say thanks is to simply donate to a cause. Someone out there, no matter where you are, has it worse than you. Money is great – and accomplishes a lot. But remember socks, underwear, jeans, shoes, coats, and the things we might take for granted can make an unimaginable difference in the lives of someone less fortunate. Perhaps, in the last part of the year, initiate a simple campaign highlighting that part of your proceeds will be donated to those less fortunate.

4.) Ask for Feedback – I know this doesn’t automatically scream ‘Thank You’, but let me explain. In the past, if someone asked you how they could have done something better, or come to more pleasing outcome, hopefully that gave you the impression that your opinion was important; you were being asked to provide information – from your experience – that would be seriously evaluated and used to make the product or service (or delivery of either) better for you, the client. In one fell swoop, asking for feedback shows you care, it gives the client skin in the game and they feel valued, and you’ve given them, if only superficially, a voice in how they’d like to experience your company as a repeat client. “The next time you buy ‘X’ from us, how can we make your purchase easier/smoother/more automated…?” whatever the case may be.

It feels nice to just give somebody a reason to smile. Yes, it is a bit of a financial black hole to send a customer a postcard that doesn’t ask them to buy anything, or request anything. In these examples, the request that the customer continue to buy your product/service is implied. “Look what I’m doing to recognize what you’ve done for us…and that I hope you continue to do by being a customer for a long time.”

Give us a call at Opportunity Knocks. We have Success Coaches standing by to help engineer and deploy your end of year appreciation message. Thank You…the gift that keeps on giving.