CREATIVE WAYS FOR STARTUPS TO SHOW CUSTOMER APPRECIATION

Customers are the cornerstone of every business. Whether you sell products, or you offer services, there is usually a set of people who patronize your products or services, keeping you in business as a result.

Big companies that have built a large customer base over the years, may necessarily not channel much energy on how they appreciate their customers, even though they do. They already have the trust of their customers, proven over time.

Start-ups, on the other hand, look to increase their customer base by each passing day. They want to build their trust in the minds of existing customers, hoping to also get good referrals from them. This is achieved by appreciating the customers, which comes in various forms. One noteworthy point about the big companies nowadays is that they also started small, grew their customer base and have had to employ several customer appreciation techniques to retain their customers.

Here, we look at some creative ways that start-ups can use to show customer appreciation:

Teach your staffs to learn and always address your customers by their first name. This is a unique way to appreciate a customer that costs nothing, yet, brings warmth and love to the hearts of your customers. Addressing your customers by their first names gives them a sense of importance to your start-up. Train all your staffs to relate courteously and friendly.

Occasionally send them a handwritten thank you note. Although, a tangible amount of time is required to write a thank you note for each of your customers, it is cheap and worth doing. A thank you note addressed to each customer in their first name will make them hold their chests, tilt their head a little bit and smile with a love feeling coursing through their blood and thoughts. Make sure the notes are unique. Don’t use the same content for all customers. You can randomize what you put in each note. Don’t do this often to preserve the importance.

Hold customer appreciation party, yearly. Add features that’d make your customers want to attend this party as a tradition. Give them free gifts. Give your customers room to network with each other; invite notable people or celebrities too.

Follow, mention and respond to your customers on social media platforms. People get crazy when they get mentioned, by a celebrity or company, on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. It gives them a sense of importance and achievement. If they are advertising a product or service, support them by vouching for them and retweeting or reposting.

Pre-sale notification and discount. Of course, you should have your customer’s contact. When planning to launch a new thing, notify your customers before launching and give them a discount, emphasizing that they got this opportunity because of their previous patronages.

Randomly give them gifts. If you know your customers’ home address, you can go to them with a cake or candy basket. Sit with them a little and ask them how they can help improve how your render services to them. You can do this, say, on their birthdays. And YES,

Don’t forget their birthdays.