‘Tis the season for giving. Around this time of year, it’s common practice for companies to send out holiday cards or offer seasonal promotions to thank their clients for their business.
While the holiday season is a nice time to tell your customers you appreciate them, it’s important to continuously show your gratitude all year-round. This will ensure that your company is staying fresh and relevant to your customers and will help to boost brand loyalty as well.
Send a Personal Note
It’s surprising how rarely this method of expressing gratitude is used given that we live in a digital era. But because of the rarity in receiving a handwritten note, you’re sure to get noticed if you take the time to do this. A handwritten thank you card touches people on a personal level and makes them feel special and appreciated. If you have a lot of clients and perhaps not enough time to handwrite all your notes, consider printing your message and adding your signature for a personal touch.
Put Your Customers in the Spotlight
Featuring your customers on your website or giving them a shoutout on Twitter are simple ways to make your customers feel valued and special. People love to be recognized and putting their names in the spotlight is a great way to show your appreciation. At Entripy, we love to profile our clients on our blog and talk about how they are using their Entripy-made custom apparel.
One example is this story on our client, Ringette Alberta. Our client appreciated the attention and shared the story with their members. Another simple way to do this is by resharing user-generated content to your business’ social media channels. This shows your customers that you actually see and recognize their efforts to engage with you on social media and acts as a great addition to your social media content strategy.
Host a VIP Event
VIP events make your most loyal customers feel appreciated and special. Inviting customers to get a sneak peak of your newest products, or an exclusive back-stage tour of your facility are great ways to build a greater connection to your customers. Don’t forget to provide your invited guests with a custom gift bag filled with swag as a special takeaway and value-add to the event.
Start a Referral Program
Referral programs are a great way to reward your customers for sharing the love and spreading the word about your company. From a referral program, you are constantly acquiring new customers organically through word-of-mouth which is arguably the most effective form of marketing. In addition, your regular customers become brand advocates and are rewarded for being just that.
Give Some Custom Swag
Everyone loves getting free stuff, especially if it’s unexpected.
Surprising your customers by adding a small customized gift to their purchase not only makes your customers happy but increases brand exposure when your customers use your custom promo giveaway item repeatedly in their daily lives.
If you need some ideas on what items to gift, have a look through our corporate gift guide with recommendations to fit every budget.
Entripy regularly provides customers with a surprise gift with purchase. Our most recent was our special edition Canada Day custom t-shirts. We included a free Canada Day t-shirt in every customers’ order during the month of June and asked our customers to wear their Canada Day custom t-shirts proudly on Canada Day. Customers appreciated the gesture and some even took to social media to spread the word about the special giveaway.
Host a Contest
A contest is a great way to encourage customers to engage with your company and reward them for doing so. A contest doesn’t mean you have to give away an expensive vacation, it can simply be an opportunity to be part of something your brand represents. A great example of a successful contest that didn’t involve a cash prize is Dove’s Real Beauty Should Be Shared Contest. Entrants were asked to send a picture of themselves and a friend and tell Dove why their friend was beautiful. The winners of the contest became the next faces of Dove.
Seek Opinions from Your Customers
If you’re launching a new product or service, asking customers to become beta users is a great way to boost their brand loyalty and reward them for doing business with you. Simply being asked to provide their opinions and feedback gives your customers a feeling of being a stakeholder in the company, especially when you tell them that improvements were made based on their feedback.
With every purchase, our customers are asked to review the products they received as well as their overall experience on Trustpilot. Check out what our customers has to say here. Another simple way to seek your customers feedback and opinions is by running simple polls on social media. It’s a quick and easy way to engage with your clients in a fun, game-like way while receiving honest feedback.
