Business is more than numbers, earnings, and profits. The real value of your business must lie in the connection you form with the people who believe in and use your brand. Especially when you are just starting with your small business, every single purchase feels like a pat on the back. You get more motivated with every order thinking of how you can reciprocate the trust that they give you and your products.
Always remember that feeling so that you stay humble and grounded. Wherever your business takes you, you should always keep your customers a priority.
The Role of gratitude in relationship marketing
For the longest time, relationship marketing experts have pointed to trust and commitment as the important elements in relationship marketing. This type of marketing is more complex than the general way it is done. In most marketing campaigns, the goal is usually to generate leads and increase sales.
However, these only come second as far as relationship marketing is concerned. The goal of relationship marketing is to create long-term connections with customers. Its goal is to create an emotional concretion with them through personalized interactions.
Trust and commitment are legitimate foundations of this type of marketing. However, gratitude also plays a major role, as this study has found. Humans are emotionally-wired individuals. Making them feel appreciated will likely result in them reciprocating the act of kindness they receive.
At the same time, feelings of gratitude increase a customer’s trust in the brand. This, in turn, strengthens the emotional connection between a buyer and a seller. When they feel valued, they are likely to develop loyalty to the brand. Treat your customers right, and they will stick around.
This is all the more reason why you should actualize your gratitude towards your customers. However, even outside of the bounds of relationship marketing, your desire to thank your customers says a lot about your character. These are some ways you can show your gratitude and appreciation towards them.
How you can show your gratitude to customers
1. The good old thank you letter
Nothing beats personalized letters to express your thanks. Aside from doing the exact goal of showing appreciation, you also humanize your business. Do you have any idea how simply writing “thank you” with a pen instead of having it printed does the job so much better? While you are at it, add a few words to express how much you value their every purchase.
Adding a handwritten thank you card to a customer’s package will make them feel extremely important. It doesn’t even have to come with an order. You can send it via snail mail.
2. Give them a token for their loyalty
This reward can be in the form of a discount voucher. You can put the discount voucher together with the thank you note. Or, if you don’t have the luxury of time, you can send it via email.
It will bring customers delight when they find they get some discount on their purchase. The bonus is that they will continuously shop for your products.
Aside from discount vouchers, you can also choose to give them something thoughtful or useful. A unique engraved gift with their name or the words “thank you” will surely make them feel appreciated. It can be a cute key chain, a bracelet, or a bag tag.
Or maybe you can send them something that they can use along with your products. If you sell bath essentials, maybe a travel organizer. Or, if you sell food, you can give them a cute cutlery set. Be creative with your gifts.
Send these special tokens during the holiday season or on your customer’s birthday to make it extra special.
3. Free products
If you are feeling really generous, why not send them some free products? You already have an idea which of your products they like the most. Send some their way.
You can also add them to the list of the first people to try a new product you are about to launch. Everything about that screams special. You can ask them for feedback on the product once they have tried it. This way, you get feedback early in the game while making your customers feel like their input matters (which should really be the case).
Even if you don’t make anything personalized, there are other ways you can show your gratitude to customers. Design your packaging in a way that customers feel like they are opening a gift when they get their package. That is some top-notch customer service right there.