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11 Impactful Customer Appreciation Ideas For Your Business

customer appreciation

Last Updated: March 2024

Do you want your customers to keep coming back, possibly even tell other people about your business? Of course, you do. We know that fostering customer appreciation and retention is the foundation for any business.

Just by increasing customer retention by 5%, a business profit by 25-95%. Surprisingly, only 16% of the companies focus on retention while 44% of them focus on getting new users.

customer appreciation

The best method for customer retention is to show them appreciation. In this article, we have inexpensive customer appreciation ideas for your business. Let’s understand why you must show your consumers how much you value them before going through those ideas.

Why do you need to show appreciation to clients?

Understand this by considering a simple customer appreciation example.

In case, you need to buy a product or service. There are two options:

  1. The first one is where your family member or a friend recommends a business and
  2. The next one is you find a company through the internet/ advertisements.

Now, which one would you choose? Obviously, the one recommended by family or friends because it comes from a trusted source. This is called word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing.

By treating your buyers better, you not only increase your chances of retaining them, but you can also gain new users through WOM marketing.

Note that, you did not spend any money on this WOM marketing. Since the client feels valued they are doing it naturally and the result is growth in your sales.

More Reasons to value your customers:

See what happens when users feel respected and acknowledged. 

  • First,  96% of customers are loyal to the companies that make them happy. 
  • Secondly, when the buyers are loyal they are five-time more likely to purchase from the same business and four times more likely to refer the company to their friends.
  • Thirdly, 84% of companies that improved their clients’ experiences have increased their revenue.
  • Finally, organizations that satisfy their customers are 60% more profitable than firms that don’t focus on consumers.

Of course, providing great service to customers is always a top priority for most of us. But, that is not enough to keep your consumers loyal to you.

The main reason for users switching to another business is because they feel undervalued. According to NewVoiceMedia research, 40% of members leave a business when they are not appreciated. That is why you need to show them how much you value them. Perhaps a simple thank you can make them feel better. 

Here, we are covering 11 member appreciation ideas that enable you to do it.

Client Appreciation Ideas

customer appreciation

1) Customer loyalty program

A popular way of saying thank you to buyers is by employing a loyalty program. A customer loyalty program is all about providing rewards to consumers based on their spending behavior.

Generally speaking, this means giving out discounts, reward points, or free products/ services, when a buyer makes a certain number of purchases. So, the more the user spends the more benefits they get.

customer appreciation

Of course, for this, you need to track customers’ shopping activity. It might seem difficult, but you don’t have to worry as automatic computerized sales systems and online tools are available.

Use the customer effect score (CES), net promoter score (NPS), customer loyalty index (CLI), and repurchase ratio to measure your user loyalty.

Let me tell you one of the customer appreciation examples to get a better idea.

Have you heard about AJIO earn and burn program?

In this program, when you purchase a few clothes from the reliance AJIO website, they reward you with reliance rewards points.

These points can be used to either buy more products or exchange them for cash. As a result, you would be buying more products from reliance rather than purchasing from other brands.

In conclusion, keep the members in the loop by giving them rewards so they don’t see any need to switch brands.

2) Personalized gift cards

One of the best customer appreciation gift ideas would be a personalized gift card. Instead of giving consumers a useless reward, give them what they need. After the purchase, you can send them a coupon that they may need in the future.

customer appreciation

Take a look at one of the customer appreciation gift ideas. 

Imagine someone is buying clothes in a clothing store. And, the store rewards the user with a jewelry gift voucher as they might want to buy matching jewelry. That would be a personalized gift card. 

Such personalized gifts make the purchasers feel valued and acknowledged.

3) Handwritten notes & Thank you videos

Simply saying thank you might be a common appreciation idea. But to show that you have spent a bit more time and effort, you can send a handwritten note or a thank you video.

customer appreciation

Just imagine that someone sent you a personalized handwritten note. They sat down and picked out special words to say thank you. Wouldn’t that make you feel happy? Instead of a note, thank you video could be a pleasant surprise.

Members feel grateful for such services and it might improve your business-customer relationships.

Use software applications for sending notes and thank you videos like handwrytten and buffer.

4) Goodies & Freebies

One way to acknowledge your customer is to provide them with customer appreciation giveaways.

Note that a free gift does not have to be an expensive one.

For instance, if you are selling a smartphone, then you can offer a free mobile screen card.

customer appreciation

Start customer appreciation events like a contest in physical stores or on social media/ websites, give prizes for answering questionnaires or playing games, etc. 

Some of the best client appreciation ideas are: 

  • Providing a thank you gift box, birthday packages, festival packages like Diwali special box or Christmas box, etc. For example, if your user is a social media influencer who does videos about makeup, then you can offer them a skincare package.
  • Another way is to choose a customer of the month and send them personalized gifts. 
  • Or else, you can provide customer appreciation giveaways like samples of your new products or particular features of your top services or full version of services for a limited time, etc.

5) Social media spotlight

In this digital world, providing a spotlight for users on social media would be a great idea

  • Run an event on social media and choose a winner for personalized gifts.
  • You can use comments, direct messages, and posts to communicate with people. And, appreciate buyers by posting a thank you note or video. 
  • Feature and promote clients’ businesses and interests. 
  • Post a customer appreciation story to build trust from other clients. 
  • Follow your members on social media like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

By doing this, 

  1. Your business presence spreads across social media which attracts more customers from the digital world.
  2. It also relays that you listen to what your buyer says which improves customer relations.

6) Pre-sale notification

Would you buy products by paying full price or get them when there is a sale? 

Clearly, you want to purchase them at the sale, right?

customer appreciation

Everyone loves exclusive deals provided at the time of sales. So, inform your purchasers about it with a pre-sale notification. In case, they are not subscribed, urge them to sign up for the customer appreciation sales newsletter.

7) Post-purchase emails

After a member buys a product or service, send post-purchase emails. Such as:

  • Newsletters – The newsletters are a way to keep in touch with your consumers. Send them personalized tips and advice like how to remove stains on delicate fabrics and how to update your software.

  • Promotions – Mail about upcoming sales, new product information, etc. to promote your business.
  • Loyalty point reminders – After the user completes making a purchase you can leave them loyalty point reminders so they can buy more products.
  • Thank you messages – Convey a thank you message after every purchase so the user knows that you appreciate their usage of your services.

Moreover, email them useful information like the tracking status of the product, reviews, and surveys.

To finalize, the main purpose of addressing post-purchase emails is to keep customers coming back for more. And you do it by giving them the needed information. In addition, gather feedback through surveys to gather your customers’ experiences.

8) Act on feedback

When you receive a feedback survey application online, do you respond to it or just ignore it? Probably you don’t respond to it. Most of the customers do not provide responses as they do not see how their feedback is utilized.

In cases when companies refer back to consumers about their opinion, the users feel heard. Furthermore, they know that you take action as per their request. In such situations, users are willing to respond to surveys.

In fact, consumers see the way their assessment is utilized in optimizing problems and will be more active in giving their views.

In conclusion, not only do you have to act on feedback but you have to show appreciation for clients’ responses by either emailing them about your actions or by offering reward points, discount coupons, etc.

9) Introduce a referral program

In this stage, acknowledge buyers by providing referral program services. 

As the name itself says, you allow existing customers to refer your website/ app to new customers.

This program would be more successful if you offer a gift, discount, loyalty points, etc. as recognition for advising your site to another person.

Let me tell you about one of the customer appreciation examples regarding a recommendation program. 

Google pay has one of the best referral programs. It allows users to earn up to 100 rewards by inviting new customers. Once the new user makes the first payment, both of them receive rewards.

10) Reverse Referral

It is a thoughtful way of showing your appreciation to the clients.

If your customer is also running an organization, then refer their business to others when an opportunity presents itself. Give the members a shout-out on social media.

Helping them succeed may increase the chances of them wanting to return the favor.

11) Charitable donations

Finally, donating to charitable events on behalf of your users can really show your gratefulness not only to consumers but also to society.

Sponsor community events or organizations that your clients care about. You can express your gratitude to the community by celebrating national events.

For example, Amazon identifies items that are overstocked, returned, or near expiration and donates them instead of sending those products to landfills or for the recycling process.

Bonus Tip: Use Helpdesk to reach out to customers

As you can see, it is crucial to reach out to buyers to make them feel happy.

That’s where a help desk support service can be helpful. For example, Saufter customer service system.

Saufter provides an automatic messaging service. Employ it to thank the customers for using your services. Since it is automated, your purchasers will definitely receive the message without any delay.

Image Source – saufter.io

Send them post-purchase emails about their order status, etc., and clear any common customer complaints even before they are registered. For instance, if there are any delays in the delivery of a product, you can automatically email about the problem and reassure them.

Also, it enables you to handle return services pretty easily with helpdesk software. You can automate returns & exchanges based on your policies.

Overall, the consumer doesn’t have to spend much time using your post-purchase services which will make them feel positive about your business.

Conclusion

Customer appreciation is the key to building brand loyalty. 

Remember that users stay loyal to a company due to the experience they receive.

In order to make sure a client keeps using your services or products, show them your appreciation.

Remind your buyers that you value their business. After all, there is no better way to build brand loyalty than to make your consumers happy.

So, utilize the simple customer appreciation ideas and implement them for improved user relationships.

Most importantly the ideas do not cost much money but will evidently make your purchasers happy. 

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” by Michael Leboeuf

So, thank your consumers to retain them and improve your business revenue by employing Saufter services.

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