Fun, quirky and memorable ways to build a loyal customer base

While “thanks” has a nice ring to it, words just don’t carry the gravity of actions. If you’re in the customer service business — and every business is, in some capacity — you should strive to continually show your gratitude to customers in fun and memorable ways.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”– John F. Kennedy

This resource features 25 outstanding ways to show your appreciation to customers. You’ll notice common threads that run through each idea. Every attempt at giving thanks must be relevant and personalized, noticeable and sincere. These simple requirements will ensure your show of gratitude hits home with customers.

Show customers your thankfulness today by acting on one (or more!) of these 25 ideas.

1

Write a Note

Go old school and handwrite a note to thank your customers. It’s surprising how rarely this proven way of showing gratitude is actually used. Can you remember the last time you received a handwritten thank-you card?

Your note should be specific and personal. Write fewer notes if you need to, but maximize the impact. The extra time is worth it! You’ll make your customer’s day — everyone loves receiving real mail!

 

2

Help Customers Learn
Something New

Let’s say you own a coffee shop. How cool would it be to hold regular events where you bring in experts to talk about coffee and do free tastings? The more educated your customers become, the more they will appreciate coffee, thus the more valuable they are to your business.

Run an online business? You can use your blog, webinars, whitepapers and free coaching to help people make the most of your product or service.

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Two huge benefits come from thanking customers this way: Customers trust you and they have a greater appreciation for your products. Win-win.

3

Wow One Customer

Spring for it, throw rational thought out the window and WOW one customer. Stories of amazing customer service overtures fill the air — it’s time to let your company be the story of the day.

Give a customer service experience so delightfully over-the-top that one lucky customer will have a great story to tell. If you’re creative enough, that customer’s family, friends, and social media acquaintances will be retelling the story for days and weeks to come.

 

4

Spend Quality Time Together

There’s no need to break the bank with a lavish gift to thank a customer. Maybe your time is more valuable. Schedule a lunch at your customer’s office, order in for anyone that will join you, then sit and listen. Go out of your way to meet people on the front lines and hear about what they do every day.

This could be a critical learning experience for your business. Knowing your customer’s pain points can help you improve your product or service. Some companies call this “customer development,” but it’s really just good old-fashioned customer service.

 

5

Give a Great Read

Take a gander at the books that have been most influential to your company. Give one as a gift to customers. This gesture offers customers insight into your company culture and opens the lines of communication for future discussion about the book.

When your customers are businesses, this is an especially effective technique.

Make sure to write a personalized note inside the book so your customer knows this is a thank you meant just for them!

 

6

Start a Loyalty Program

Invite your most loyal customers into a VIP rewards program. Customers love the red carpet treatment, which is why Amazon Prime and Zappos Rewards are so popular.

Your rewards program doesn’t have to be complex; it can be as simple as offering customers an annual discount on their anniversary.

 

7

Reward Social Media-Savvy Customers

Exclusive circles also exist in social media, like on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! You can reward your socially savvy customers with special announcements and exclusive promotions, and just be available to help and answer questions.

You can also create a system for earning and using social media loyalty rewards points. Customers could build loyalty points for providing feedback via social channels, or “checking in” on the platform(s) that make sense for your business.

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Starting a new loyalty program is a golden opportunity to solicit feedback. What are your customers preferred ways of earning loyalty points via social media?

8

Treat a Far-Away Customer to Coffee

If your customers are all over the country or even the world (like us!) it’s a special treat to meet up for a coffee date in their city. Every time you travel, look up customers who live in the area and offer to buy them a coffee. Since it’s their home turf, let them guide you to a favorite local spot.

Going out of your way to check in with a customer and spend quality time while you’re on the road creates a lasting impression for both of you.

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If you’re a remote company, this is even easier! Give your team permission (and funds) to meet up with customers in their area. Especially for online businesses who don’t often get to meet customers face to face, it’s hard to overstate the positive impact these in-person one-on-ones can have on long term loyalty.

9

Spotlight Customers

Call out customers via Twitter to let them know how much they mean to you. The 140-character challenge: make it personal, be sincere and leave them smiling.

Another way to profess your love: feature customers on your website. This makes customers feel valued and gives them a sense of pride in doing business with you.

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We created a “customer love” tag to track conversations in which customers say nice things about us! We can go back and search for that tag — for example, if we need new testimonials for our Customers page.

10

Send a Treat

Cookies are a winning idea — liked by all and easy to share. But consider your audience: If your customer is a fitness guru, maybe send a paleo jerkey gift basket instead!

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Help Scout lets you pull up every previous conversation you’ve had with a customer and automatically imports their public profile. Mine this information for hints on the perfect gift to send!

11

Give a Charitable Gift

Reach out to a select set of valued customers and let them know you’d like to make a contribution to their favorite charity in their honor.

Or, get creative and give a memorable charitable gift, that you then name after a project you and your client worked on together? Now there’s an amusing and heartwarming way to connect with customers.

12

Offer a Surprise Upgrade

The element of surprise is a powerful thing. Thank customers with a free, spontaneous upgrade. You can play database roulette and pick five customers at random, or make a list of your most loyal customers and send the upgrade to the highest-ranking.

Airlines mastered this practice decades ago with their frequent flyer programs, and it remains a great way to delight customers. Bonus byproducts: building customer loyalty and creating brand advocates.

13

Throw a Party

Throw a bash for all of your customers. Nikon did this with great success by adding a photo booth that anyone could use to the nighttime entertainment. Guests received their pictures instantaneously, and the pictures were branded with the company logo.

Other great party ideas include a picnic, a wine tasting or a barbeque. Sponsor activities that encourage interaction and, most importantly, fun!

14

Distribute Free Goodies

If you have an actual store location, provide coffee, flowers, buttons, or some other small gift or treat for customers who come to the store.

A favorite local grocery store always has complimentary coffee at the front of the store. This freebie lets the store showcase different types of coffee they carry; meanwhile, shoppers get the chance to try before they buy and have a warming cup of joe while slowly browsing the aisles. Choose what you distribute carefully so that it’s good for your customers and good for business.

15

Send Cards on Unique Holidays

Lessen the chance your card gets overlooked in a mass of other cards by sending it to a customer on a unique holiday. You can call out Groundhog Day or even the customer’s half-birthday. Another idea: keep the card professional and fun by celebrating Customer Service Week or a customer’s anniversary card with your company.

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The sky’s the limit with this one: Capitalize on the colorful (and odd!) holidays out there, such as International Towel Day or Hobbit Day. Check out a listing of unique holidays.

16

Refer Customers

B2B businesses should make every effort to say thanks by sending business to their customers. Look for opportunities to refer them to other clients or link them into your network.

You can also thank them with web traffic; link to their business on your website, including enthusiastic comments and your own testimonial, if applicable.

 

17

Show You Value Feedback

Reach out to customers to tell them how you’ve implemented their suggestions. There is no better way to communicate with a customer than to show them you were listening.

Let the conversation also be an opportunity to gather more feedback. You want customers to feel like they have an open line of communication to you at all times — whether that’s for praise, complaints or requests.

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It’s a solid idea to track requests so that every time you fulfill one, you can personally reply to every customer who made that request. What a fantastic way to show people you’re listening, and you appreciate their input.

18

Excel at Customer Service Daily

Nothing says thanks for your business better than a friendly, informed service representative. It’s uncanny how thrilled customers are when a real human answers the phone and doesn’t read from a script.

Same goes for email — personal and friendly replies (not purely canned ones!) let your customer service team’s personalities shine through.

 

19

Discount Their Bill, Just Because

Send a note telling a customer you’ve taken $50 off their March bill as a way of showing appreciation for their loyal and continued service. If you own a brick-and-mortar store, take an extra 10% off your customer’s purchase at the point of sale, just to say thanks for their business.

20

Send Gift Cards

If your company has the resources to send gift cards, by all means do it. The card can be as small as a $5 Starbucks card or as generous as a $100 gift card to a restaurant that gets rave reviews. This is another great opportunity to use your database intelligence to give a gift that’s personalized to their tastes.

If you’re a B2B business, partner up! We love to gift our customers’ products and services to other customers — a give-and-take that’s fruitful for everyone involved.

 

21

Mark the Occasion

Make your customer feel like they’re part of a big family. Recognize special events in their lives by sending a small gift, such as flowers or a plant. The event could be a major birthday, a promotion or even a new addition to the family. The thoughtful timing of your gift communicates volumes and is a gesture that won’t soon be forgotten. Our pals at CartStack send these adorable onesies when someone on one of their customers’ teams has a baby.

22

Hold In-Store Events After Hours

Give frequent customers that VIP feeling with an invitation-only after-hours event in your store. Let them shop for an extra few hours after normal store hours and provide drinks and snacks. To create an even more memorable setting, invite your favorite local musical talent to set up in a corner of the store and entertain your guests. There’ll be no doubt in these customers’ minds that your business values them.

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For an extra-special evening, donate a percent of purchases from the event to charity.

23

Make Them Laugh

If your business is fortunate enough to have a creative mind on staff, have them step right up to make a funny and personalized gift. One idea: Photoshop your client into a famous movie poster, rename it something clever and email the picture with your note of “Thanks for your business!” If you’re a B2B business, even better! Your customer’s business team would look great starring in a Goodfellas or Star Wars poster.

You don’t need to be a great artist to get a smile, though! Create photo mugs, fridge magnets or other personalized gifts from the time you sponsored that photobooth.

24

Give Some Swag

Branded gifts from companies used to be cringe-worthy throwaways. Those days are long gone. Print custom logo T-shirts that are so soft and good lookin’ that customers will wear through them and request another. Customers also like receiving usable items (such as smartphone cases) or funny AND usable ones (such as koozies), so think outside the normal swag box on this one.

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We offer free stickers to folks who like to tell the world! Reach out if you’d like some freebies delivered to your door.

25

Celebrate a Major Milestone

Every company hits major milestones — and customers make those happen. These are opportunities to highlight happy customers, share their stories and give them a gift that delights them.

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No one expects you to gift a new car — keep it personal to your business!  Gives away free credits and accounts to customers who help us hit huge milestones.

 

 

ONE LAST THING

Thank the Ones Who Make it Happen

Without a happy team that loves customers on the front lines, your company wouldn’t have any customers to say thanks to.

Consider these four ways to thank your customer champions:

1. Create a Friday Afternoon Club.
   A company we know treats their team to beverages and sponsors ridiculous games every Friday at 4 p.m.
2. Buy them lunch.
   Let employees mix, mingle and share great food while the CEO or senior staff does the serving. What a great way to show your appreciation!
3. Handwrite a note.
   The time, effort and thoughtfulness of a handwritten card truly never gets old. Write a thank-you note listing each employee’s greatest accomplishments and the qualities you appreciate most about them.
4. Give them rope.
   Once you have trained the people who work for you, trust them to love customers as you would. Give them the authority to make decisions and take ownership of their job and the customer experience.

 

Go to our website:   www.ncmalliance.com