Three little ways to make your customers and subscribers feel appreciated

Get more ideas like this in my book The Art of Lifelong Customers: The Field Guide to Growing Profitable and Fulfilling Customer Relationships

I’d like to share with you today three little ways in which you can make your customers feel appreciated. You can also use these three little tactics to make your email subscribers or your audience feel appreciated, if this approach makes more sense for the type of business you run.

When you appreciate something, it multiplies, does it not?

#1: ASK CUSTOMERS FIRST

Simply put, give your customers first dibs.

If you have 50 apples for sale, give your customers a chance to buy first. If your customers buy 10 apples, offer the remaining 40 apples to the public next. 

This idea implies that you use the launch of a new product not just as an opportunity to collect sales, but also as an opportunity to make your customers feel special. That, in my book, is a true win-win. This is a simple way to strengthen your relationship with your customers, while also getting more sales.

For example... 

...If you open up tickets to an event, you give your customers a chance to buy tickets first.

...If you offer a limited number of 1:1 coaching slots, allow your customers to book them first, and everyone else after.

....If you’re gearing up to put a new house for sale on the market, tell your interested past customers first, and put it on the market after.

...If you create a new shirt, give your customers a chance to buy it first, and everyone else after. 

...If you’re launching a new book and you only have 100 signed copies, tell your customers about them first. 

...If you can only invite a certain number of guests on your podcast, invite qualified customers first. 

You get the idea.

You don’t have to use this rule for everything you offer. Use it here and there for an offering that makes sense in your business. 

There are people who might scoff and say that this is an “elitist” strategy. But a business can’t exist without its customers, right? And shouldn’t we show people how much we appreciate the fact that they bought from us? I think we should. 

#2 WRITE A SHAREHOLDER LETTER

This little strategy is inspired by Warren Buffet’s letters to his shareholders. These letters have become famous because they are written well and thoughtfully. They are written as if they’re addressed to an old friend. Warren Buffet mentioned once that when he writes these letters he imagines writing to his sister, Dorothy. 

While your customers are not technically your shareholders, I encourage you to create a letter just for your customers, a letter that makes them feel like insiders, like trusted partners. If you don’t like writing, you can record an audio message or a video.

You can tell them:

… what’s been happening inside your company.

… what you’re working on.

… where you’re going/your vision for the future.

… the obstacles you’ve overcome.

You can do this every quarter or even every six months. 

Think of this as your shareholder letter to your customers. Talk to them as if they’ve got their money in your stock. Treat them as if they’re your business partners and keep them in the loop. Tell them that you wrote that letter specifically for them, because they’re your customers. 

If you like the idea of marketing that makes your customers feel appreciated while also helping you make more sales, then please consider joining me inside Lifelong Customers.

#3 SAY ‘THANK YOU’

You can say thank you to your customers for no reason at all or for a specific reason. You can send them a note out of the blue, you can say thank you during the holidays, on their birthdays or on any other occasion. No matter when and how you do it, it’s important to show appreciation.

Numerous studies have shown the positive results of giving thanks. 

For example, one study published in the journal Emotion in 2014 found that thanking a new acquaintance for a contribution they made, no matter how little the contribution, makes the new acquaintance more likely to seek an ongoing relationship.

Another study conducted at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania found that employees feel motivated to work harder when their managers take the time to genuinely tell them “thank you.” In the study, one group conducted business as usual and made phone calls to ask for donations from alumni in the same manner they always had. On the other hand, one change was introduced with the second group. The second group was told by the director of alumni giving that their efforts were greatly appreciated. During the following week, the employees in the second group, who received the message of gratitude, made 50% more fund-raising calls than those in the first group, who didn’t receive words of gratitude. I suspect the alumni director’s performance also increased after she personally showed appreciation to her team.

In my marketing experience, I have also found that customers who are given words of gratitude are more motivated to buy again and to continue to support you. 

Nonetheless, my advice to you is to not show gratitude just to get more sales. Instead, I encourage you to show gratitude because you genuinely feel the appreciation. Your business helps your customers enjoy better lives. At the same time, your customers help you enjoy a better life. You are connected to each other even if you’ve never seen each other face to face. When you show gratitude because you genuinely feel the appreciation, you will feel happier, more inspired and more motivated to grow your business. 

Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading researcher in the field of gratitude conducted a study that showed that personally delivering a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, will immediately increase your happiness level for a whole month.

We all yearn to help others and make a difference. Thanking others is a small act with a big impact, both on you and on the people you show appreciation to. I encourage you to say thank you to all those you genuinely feel appreciation towards. 

If you don’t feel like saying thank you to your customers, no problem. Say it to your employees, to your peers, to the people who make your coffee at your coffee shop, to the person who holds the door for you and to anybody else you feel sincere appreciation for within that moment.