Customer Appreciation Ideas

Have you ever noticed that birds of a feather flock together? Individuals usually associate with like-minded folks . In other words, a person's friends and family usually has a fair amount of folks in it that are just like them.

Here are 5 easy steps to leverage this phenomenon for gaining more ultimate customers :

Step 1:

Determine which customers you already have that you would classify as being the ultimate customer . The easiest way to do this is to pick one customer that you (and your associates ) really enjoy having as a customer .

Step 2:

List the positive qualities that had you think of them as a ultimate customer . Examples could be:

They are punctual with payment .
They are courteous to you and your associates .
They are loyal customers .
They are on time for appointments.
They refer other folks to your business .

This is an mock list and your list would be customized to your business and the types of customer you like to serve. The reason of this exercise is to set up a examination, of sorts, so you acquire more of the ideal ones - not just grow the numbers of customers . After all, isn't that what you would love to work towards - only serving customers you enjoy?

Step 3

List a few other ones that also share these positive qualities . This technique is usually pretty eye-opening to see how many of your customers you really like serving versus the ones you would rather do without. (Using this process of gaining more customers will make room for you to get rid of the less than ideal ones down the road.)

Step 4:

Create a strategy of effortlessly and objectively letting the customer on the list you just created know you value them. For example, What is something you could do that would be so remarkable they would be inclined to share with all their friends and family and have a "Guess what happened ..." phone call about an action you took. It could be a birthday or anniversary card (although in many groups , sending a card is common-place - and not falling in the remarkable category, which is required, for this to be dynamic).

However, sending a gift is not normally done . How many of your customer are young families that are now having kids ? Sending unique baby gifts would be so outrageously remarkable and it is sure to be worthy of lots of calls about considerate you are!

In fact, I would venture to guess if you did send a unique baby gift, you would be the talk of the town every time they looked at the gift. You would have to work pretty hard at losing them as a customer after that act of generosity . And they would be sure to sing your praises !

What competitor in your group is going to do this for those new parents ?

Actually, there is already a trend developing in this direction. Many business owners - doctors , lawyers , insurance agents, real estate agents, for example - are seeing the value in setting aside a small percentage of their marketing budget for customer relationship management. Customer loyalty and referrals abound when professionals thank their existing customer for doing business with them by sending a small gift of congratulations for important events. The application of this strategy bears fruit in attracting new customers .

Step 5:

If you have completed the first four steps, get prepared for the thank you's that will be streaming into your office. And celebrate what a caring and savvy business owner you are in implementing this new strategy for gaining new customer by acknowledging the ones you already have.

About the author:
Pat Graham-Block has been coaching entrepreneurs in how to strategically expand their business with unique, proven ideas that work. She is also owner of newborn baby gifts, an online store that showcases many options for Simply Unique Baby Gifts ready to be delivered to the new happy parents on your behalf.