As our customers close out a difficult year, and begin 2021 they will be inundated with three things that will all blend together: asks for business/money, holiday thank you notes and holiday gifts. How can you thank your customers and stand out in this onslaught of communication they will receive?
When deciding how to thank your customers (and others in your life), keep in mind the Maya Angelou quote, “People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”
Focus on crafting a genuine, heartfelt thank you with the main goal being affecting how the person feels. Leave talking business for another day. Just thank them. In one of @Seth Godin’s blog posts recently, he showed a Google Books Ngram graph of how often the words “kind, smart, and generous” were used in books over the last 200 years. The word “kind” outperformed both smart and generous. He says, “kindness matters” and taking the time to be kind and thank those around you will leave a lasting impression.
Below are a few ideas on how to make your thank you stand out and give customers a positive feeling about your during the holiday season (and beyond):
1. A video message (there are many ways to do it and I have found Vidyard to be easy and well received)
2. A phone call
3. If appropriate, invite other members of your team to join in on the thank you message
4. Schedule a video call with the only thing on the agenda being to thank your customer
5. Post a thank you message on social media and tag them
Now I want to thank someone in my life who taught me the value of the “thank you phone call” that I have passed on to my teammates. The lesson was from @Ron Soeder, who was the President of the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio for the past 14 years and just retired. Every year during the week of Thanksgiving, I would receive a call from Ron thanking me for being a valuable Board Member. This time of year, it feels like every other non-profit organization calls board members to ask for their annual gift making Ron’s call stand out even more. This year, I started my thank you calls off with one to Ron. Ron, thanks for the lesson and thanks for doing everything you have done to impact so many lives and have a long lasting positive impact on our community.
Over the next week, identify at least 10 customers or people in your life and find a unique and memorable way to thank them.
