The Secret of Customer Appreciation

| Posted: 10-01-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 9 | Rating: (53)

(?)

Copyright (c) 2008 Donna Gunter

Typically during the months of November, December, and January, online business owners feel the urge to say "thank you" -- to their blog/ezine readers, to their clients and customers, and to their business colleagues. In recent years, this often means sending a mass email card to an email mailing list, which, if you're on the receiving end of such a missive, feels about as personal as junk mail addressed to "Occupant." Snail mail cards are not much better because the majority of those cards contain an imprinted greeting along with a business name and nothing else.

Using this strategy to recognize and thank your contacts can completely backfire, if you're not careful. Rather than feeling recognized, your recipient may simply become jaded and wonder why you bothered, especially if they haven't heard from you in awhile, or if you didn't take the time to jot a personal note.

What should your rule of thumb be when saying thanks or giving recognition to your customers and contacts? If you don't know someone well enough to pick up the phone and call him or to drop a letter in the mail to her, don't bother sending a thank you at all. I realize that this flies in the face of common marketing strategy, which encourages small businesses owners to use the holiday season as an excuse to "reach out and touch" their contact database. However, you must realize that if your business is doing this, so are 10 other businesses also used by your contact.

How can you make your business "thank you" stand out in the crowd? Make it personal -- and unique.

I recently received a very unique postcard and enclosure from newsletter coach and designer Jessica Albon of TheWriteExposure.com. What made this holiday greeting noteworthy? It...

1. was addressed to me in a unique, eye-catching font.

2. had a rubber stamp image on the back of the envelope.

3. made references to her dog, Izzy.

4. provided me with a doggie treat recipe and a people recipe, as well.

5. had a doggie treat enclosure in a hand-made envelope.

6. contained a personal, handwritten message from Jessica that contained my name.

Amazingly enough, there was no mention of her business. Why? Because I know Jessica well enough that no reminder of what she does is necessary. This was a brilliant marketing strategy on Jessica's part (even if she didn't plan it that way) because I felt noticed and special as the recipient of this mailing. I never thought about whether she sent this to 20 people or 120 people -- it was unique and personalized enough that I felt I was the only recipient.

It's amazing the effect you can have when you personalize your appreciation. When I was living in Adams, MA, I was a regular subscriber to the local daily newspaper. The delivery service had always been iffy, at best, sometimes arriving early, sometimes late, sometimes not at all, and sometimes in places where I didn't find the paper until several days later. However, that all changed one month, and the service became impeccable. The paper was always placed on the arms of my mailbox where I could find it, was bagged if it were inclement weather so it wouldn't get wet, and was always promptly delivered.

I know that most of the time the paper hired junior high students to do the route, as the job was a good first job for them to have to give them a little income. Sometimes people who were a little down and out would take the job to help them make ends meet until they again found gainful employment. I really didn't know who was delivering my paper, but I decided that I wanted to thank the person for doing such a great job.

I called the newspaper office and asked for my carrier's name and contact info and then proceeded to call my carrier. When he picked up the phone, I told him who I was. He immediately wanted to know what problem there had been with my paper delivery. I told him that I didn't have a problem, but was simply calling him to thank him for doing such an awesome job and that my delivery was the best it had ever been in the entire time I'd subscribed to this newspaper.

There was a very long pause, as though he were at a loss for words. "Oh," he said, "I thought you were calling about a problem with me. That's why people usually call." Then he uttered a "thank you" and we ended the call.

Now, I don't know if I made his day or put him into shock. I hope I did a little of both. My newspaper service continued to be outstanding until he left the position to do something else. I felt really wonderful the rest of that day, because I chose to think I'd made a small difference in his life that day by just telling him "thanks for doing such a great job".

Never underestimate the power of a personal "thank you." Spending your time to convey your personal thanks and appreciation in a personal fashion will pay off for you more in the long run than spending the same amount of time in conveying your thanks with some impersonal, automated gesture.

Rate this Article:

Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Tags: Donna Gunter, Onlinebizu.com, Getmoreclientsonlineblog.com, Customer Appreciation

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/the-secret-of-customer-appreciation-300901.html

Print article

Send to friend

Publish this Article

Author feedback

About the Author:

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com.

Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Add new Comment

How to Write a Killer "how To" Article in 7 Easy Steps
By: Donna Gunter | 29/11/2007 | Internet
Writing and submitting articles to online article banks and directories is an effective strategy for growing your online presence and demonstrating your expertise. Use these 7 simple steps to get started!

How to Sell and Market your Ebook in 10 Easy Steps
By: Donna Gunter | 06/12/2007 | Internet
Successfully market your ebook with these 10 simple steps...

7 Steps to Creating Info-packed Teleseminars From your Articles
By: Donna Gunter | 10/01/2008 | Internet
Turn your articles into profit generating teleseminars using these 7 simple steps.

28 Essential Sites to Help you Invest in yourself and your Online Business
By: Donna Gunter | 31/01/2008 | Internet
Gain expert insight & advice to small business marketing techniques by becoming familiar with these 28 resources.

Grow your List With an Effective Client-capturing Device
By: Donna Gunter | 02/11/2007 | Internet
Implement these 8 simple strategies to grow your list by ensuring your "client-capturing" device is effective!

7 Strategies to Drive Local Traffic to your Website
By: Donna Gunter | 09/11/2007 | Internet
Implement these 7 local search strategies to attract local clientele, with minimal effort!

Client Attraction: 6 Questions to Ask to Discover Your Brilliance
By: Donna Gunter | 01/05/2008 | Internet
Sometimes it pays to be a "jill of all trades" when you're a service business owner, but ultimately you probably discover that there are some things you like to do for clients better than others. Figuring out what you truly love to do in your work with your clients is key to your success -- and theirs.

Create a Coaching Program for Your Multiple Steams of Income Funnel
By: Donna Gunter | 07/05/2008 | Internet
Whatever your profession, you've amassed a great deal of information in your field or industry. There's an eager and willing audience who will gladly pay for your information and experience. One of the best ways to package and market what you have learned is through the addition of a coaching program to your product and service offerings.

Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Q&A Powered by:

Latest Internet Articles

How To: Take Your Small Business to the Next Level
By: Katrina Sawa | 27/07/2008
You've built a successful business, you have an established customer base and you are well known in your geographical area or your industry or both; so now what do you do to stay ahead of the pack? How do you take your business to the next level?

Benefits of Article Marketing Series- #7 Write an Ebook
By: Jeff Schuman | 27/07/2008
If you have written e-books in the past, you may be sitting on a gold mine. In this article, let's talk about using your articles to create an e-book.

Increase Sales Commission Percentages With These Tips
By: Jason Szova | 26/07/2008
Do you want to take your Click bank check to the next level? If you do I have a couple strategies you might find intrusting that will help you boost your commission check 10 fold.

The Dreaded Google Penalty
By: Jennifer Horowitz | 26/07/2008
Many people insist there is no penalty (except Exclusion for really blatant "Black Hat" techniques), and rather it is all about Filters. If you do something that triggers a filter your site won't rank as highly. Whether you call it a filter or a penalty, the results are the same. If you don't follow best practices, sooner or later your site will be penalized or filtered out of the top rankings.

Benefits of Article Marketing #6- Email Marketing and List Building
By: Jeff Schuman | 26/07/2008
In this article we want to talk about how to use article marketing to build your list and do email marketing in the future. This is a great concept and is another one of the many benefits of article marketing.

The Worst Work at Home Business Scrams
By: Dock J Murphy | 26/07/2008
The dream of thousands of people is to be free to work at home. The ads are enticing. Be your own boss. Make as much money as you need. There are so many opportunities it seems impossible that you could fail. But the sad truth is that many, if not most of these opportunities are scams. Some are worse than others.

Do You Want to Optimize Your Own Web Site?
By: Jennifer Horowitz | 25/07/2008
Think of the engines like teachers handing out gold stars for everything that you do well. Google currently has about 200 factors in their algorithms that determine how your site will rank. Imagine your teacher with a clipboard and checklist with 200 items on it and she assigns you gold stars for each of the things you do well.

Multi-level Marketing and Potential Income Stream
By: Dock J Murphy | 25/07/2008
MLM is the kind of business that works best for self-starters and those with dedication and initiative. Traditionally good employees might not make the best MLM team members as they might not have the go-to to get the job done without prodding.

More from Donna Gunter

Recession Proof Marketing: 7 Ways to Jumpstart Your Internet Marketing That Won't Break the Bank
By: Donna Gunter | 25/07/2008 | Internet
Virtual businesses don't experience same economic highs and lows in the same way as the rest of the country (or the world). However, there is a "recession", or a point in which there's a downturn or a decline of income in every business. If you don't continue to marketing your business, even in times of recession, how will people continue to find out about you?

Elevator Pitch: 7 Steps to a Killer 30-second Commercial That Works Every Time
By: Donna Gunter | 18/07/2008 | Internet
Even though your business may be completely Internet based, there are still numerous times when you need to give your elevator pitch (elevator speech), or your 30-second commercial that explains what you do and how you do it. Having a ready-made elevator pitch at your disposal continues to be an important online marketing tool that you need to continuously sharpen.

Pricing Strategies: How Much Do I Charge for My Service?
By: Donna Gunter | 11/07/2008 | Internet
Determining what to charge your clients is often not as easy as you might think. After you determine your overhead and the rate you need to charge to meet you expenses and make a profit, you may end up with a price that you're not comfortable with charging. Here's how you can overcome your "emotional price point" barrier and run a profitable business.

5 Critical Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Web Designer
By: Donna Gunter | 03/07/2008 | Internet
The creation of your online presence can be a very expensive failure or a much-heralded success. Before hiring a website designer, make sure s/he answers these 5 critical questions to your satisfaction, and you'll be on the path to a profitable relationship with a talented professional who can help your online business grow.

Marketing Plan: How to Create an Internet Marketing Action Plan That Gets Results
By: Donna Gunter | 30/06/2008 | Internet
Keeping up with ongoing marketing tasks can be overwhelming. Many online business owners are so wrapped up in working on their business that they don't make time to work in the business, like performing regular marketing tasks. Consequently, they often experience slow times in their business because they begin to market themselves only when the prospect pool has dried up.

10 New Rules to Get a Flood of Traffic From Online Publicity
By: Donna Gunter | 19/06/2008 | Internet
In today's marketing environment, submitting press releases online is a very viable strategy for attracting attention to your website and to your business. However, the strategy is very underutilized by online service businesses because many of us are still operating under the rules of traditional press releases. Many of the traditional rules of writing press releases no longer apply in today's Internet marketing age.

7 Reasons Blogsites Attract More Visitors and Help You Get More Clients Online
By: Donna Gunter | 13/06/2008 | Internet
More and more online service business owners choosing blogsites over traditional websites. Some who have started with a traditional website have switched over to a blogsite in the last year. Here are 7 reasons why a blogsite attracts more visitors and helps you get more clients online than a traditional website.

How Perfectionism Kills the Online Entrepreneur
By: Donna Gunter | 05/06/2008 | Internet
How many times have you failed to take action on releasing a new product or service because it wasn't perfect? Probably more times than you care to admit. The need for perfection is simply another excuse to procrastinate and take no action. Inaction is safe because you're not putting yourself out there to the world to face possible criticism.

Article Categories

Article Marketing

Article Notepad

Stop Duplicate Content

Term Papers

Need Help?

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below

Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.43, 16)

The Secret of Customer Appreciation

Article Comments

Related Articles

Got a Question? Ask.

Latest Internet Articles

More from Donna Gunter

Need Help?

Site Links

Webmasters

Business Info

Sign up for our email newsletter