Vendors who appreciate their clients and let it show build a loyal clientele. Only if you offer an exclusive product or service that has no substitute can you get away with treating clients poorly–and even then unappreciated clients may decide they’d rather do without your product or service than deal with a company’s attitude of entitlement.
Client appreciation has nothing to do with the erroneous philosophy that the customer is always right. The essence of client appreciate is the measure of a company’s efforts to value the people and other companies that pay their hard-earned money on the products and services you sell.
Companies that sell commodities (i.e., products) may find ideas that demonstrate their gratitude easier to implement than those which sell services. Companies that sell on a global market have different challenges than do those which sell within a limited geographic area.
Many companies hold customer appreciation events, from outdoor cookouts to elegant receptions. They may organize group excursions or give away tickets to local attractions, arts, and entertainment. They may offer free or steeply discounted promotions or items not only to show their gratitude for their customers’ patronage, but also to convince those customers to enjoy the freebies and purchase more.
SuperOffice notes that the integral component of client appreciation lies in the personal touch. They note that “68% of customers leave because they believe the business does not care about them.” In contrast, poaching accounts for only 9 percent of customer departure. (Hint: If you’re thinking about growing your business by stealing customers away from rivals, think again.)
Client appreciation strategies focus on everything but price. A loyal customer remains loyal because of the way he or she is treated, not because your business offers the lowest price. Those who focus solely on price have less consideration for quality than do those most valuable customer you’d rather work with anyway.
Andy Fred Wali and Bright C. Opara’s paper “Customer Appreciation Strategy: Conceptualizing the Model for Measurement,” recognizes that irrefutable link between client appreciation and client loyalty and recommends that business adopt and implement a formal client appreciation strategy. Regardless of whether hypotheses of reward or rationality adequately explain the efficacy of client appreciation, the fact remains that it does work.
Demonstrating your gratitude need not require excessive effort or the expenditure of funds you can ill afford. She’s Got Systems suggests three classic ways in which to express your gratitude: a handwritten thank-you, an appropriate gift, and praise. The personal touch brings out the beauty of the three simple suggestions. Whether a handwritten note or a thoughtfully chosen gift, small gestures like that indicate that your client means more to you than money: you value that relationship beyond the invoice.
Effective client appreciates tactics rely upon sincerity. Expression focuses on aspects other than those which benefit you, such as personality traits that make the client a joy with whom to work. Pay it forward: kindness begets kindness and loyalty. Allbusiness.com warns that false or insincere expression builds distrust. Sincere and genuine acts of gratitude also require no reciprocation: they are gifts.
Many studies show that gratitude delivers benefits in psychological, emotional, and physical health. We can appreciate those even more when our strategy of client appreciation also results in financial improvements.
Heggen Group recognizes every client as unique and deserving of gratitude. We’ll help you develop processes and feasible activities to appreciate your customers in ways that will show them your gratitude and deliver their loyalty.
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