Really thanking your customers!!!

“No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction.” ~Charles Francis Adams



Showing your customers you appreciate them goes a long way to instilling loyalty, yet so few businesses make this extra effort. Just look at it from the customer’s perspective. If all you ever see or hear from a company is a bill, you are not going to feel a particularly strong sense of endearment to that company.

Some business owners think an occasional e-mail to clients is adequate, especially if it is sent by one of their staff members. However, I strongly recommend that you, the owner, personally call and thank your clients.

A sporting goods store in Georgia sold all kinds of athletic equipment, from footballs to running shoes. One day, a woman stopped in and bought a single can of tennis balls. That night, the store owner called the woman personally to tell her how much he appreciated her purchase.

About two weeks later, the store received an order from the local university’s athletic program that more than doubled their total sales for the year. Come to find out, the lady that bought the can of tennis balls was the wife of the university athletic director. She had been so impressed by the owner’s phone call that she convinced her husband to use the store to supply all the university’s athletic equipment. I think anyone would agree this result was well worth the few moments the owner spent on the phone with this client.

Another firm we were working with followed this policy and saw a 30 percent increase in sales just from making these calls. The owner, who at first was very resistant to the calls, adopted this process as part of his daily routine after he saw how much fun they were and how his customers responded.

Keep in mind that a voicemail will not suffice. You really need to keep on trying until you are able to talk to the customer in person. It does not have to be a long conversation. All you really need to say is, “I really appreciate your business and I just wanted to call to say thank you very much.” This one little gesture will give you such a competitive advantage, as very few other business owners take time to make these calls.

Now go out and make sure you adopt the practice of calling your customers each day to thank them for their patronage. Once you get into the routine, you will see the results reflected in your bottom line.

You can do this.