To keep buyers coming back again and again, your business needs to pay attention to them.
Personalizing your outreach through printed messages and promotions can strengthen your relationships with customers. Personalized print communications may sound old-fashioned, but for mid-market companies they can go a long way toward demonstrating your appreciation. Read here to see how these tactics can increase sales, too.
Handwritten Thank-You Notes
In today’s digital-first marketing world, an effective way to stand out and wow your customers is with handwritten thank-you notes. The effort involved in crafting and sending a paper note emphasizes your customer commitment. Consider sending a note after a big sale, after the completion of a major job when you have collaborated closely, or at another important juncture.
Follow these best practices to craft genuine thank-you notes:
• Use a simple, professional design.
• Focus on thanking your customers, not selling to them.
• Reference a project, a purchase, a past conversation or other details.
Customer-Specific Inserts
Package inserts are a cost-effective way to personalize your offerings and encourage future purchases. Personalized inserts might take the form of a discount for future purchases from a first-time buyer, or a flyer advertising a new offering to a customer who bought a complementary item in the past.
The information you have on hand about your customers can inform which personalized inserts to include. You can segment your customers by how often they make purchases, the common items they’ve purchased in the past or how long they have been doing business with you, among other details. Keep these inserts on hand so you can easily distribute them to the right customers.
Holiday and Birthday Cards
Occasion cards are small gestures that let customers know you are thinking about them. They also keep your business top-of-mind and demonstrate your attention to detail.
Stock up on holiday and birthday cards to have them on hand, and assign people on your team to handle writing them. Those employees might schedule time at the end of each month to craft cards for all customers who have birthdays the following month. Then, they should set a date to mail each one so that it arrives on time. Encourage your team to stand out during the holidays by crafting and sending cards before the busy season hits.
Apology Notes
Bad experiences cost your company money. Nineteen percent of customers refuse to buy from a business after an unsatisfying incident, according to customer experience firm Temkin Group.
On the flip side, a business that quickly acts to turn frustration into satisfaction can have a customer for life. A real-time conversation is often required to let angry customers vent and find a solution that will make them happy. A handwritten note can serve as a follow-up or complement to a conversation with your customer.
When you write these notes, be sure to:
• Briefly summarize what happened to show you understand.
• Apologize and acknowledge the customer’s frustration.
• Detail your plans for fixing the situation.
Personalizing your outreach to customers strengthens your connection in multiple ways. When these bonds are strong, your buyers are less likely to leave for the competition and more likely to buy from you again.
