Thanking Customers the Innovative Service Way

Note from the editor: This post originally appeared on Chip Bell's blog.  With the holidays now in full swing, we figured this was a timely post! How will you express gratitude to your customers during this holiday season?  Share your comments below.

Most customer relationships don’t end in conflict…most are vanilla to death. Neglect is more dangerous than strife; indifference more costly than error. Great relationships are fueled by affirmation. Nurturing the bounty of customer loyalty requires more than proper cultivation and seeding. It must be fertilized with attention and care. “Courting” the customer does not end with the sale or transaction.

Superior service providers never take a valued relationship for granted and remain ever vigil for ways to celebrate the joy of the partnership and express gratitude for the return it provides. Just as the words “thank you” can be spoken in many different languages, gratitude can be expressed in many different ways.

Below are twenty-five ways to show customers your gratitude. Use this list to jump start your own list. Amplify the items to suit your situation and customer. Remember, what turns on one customer may be a turn off to another. Recognition comes from the root word “cognoscere” meaning “to know.” Know your customers and monogram your affirmation.

1. Invite a customer to an important staff meeting
   
2. Arrange for a special learning experience for customers
   
3. Handwrite a thank you note to a key customer
   
4. Send customers greeting cards on all key holidays and special days
   
5. Name a policy, building, or conference room for a key customer
   
6. Provide a special parking space for a key customer
   
7. Start a fund or scholarship in the name of a key customer
   
8. Provide a donation in the name of your customer to his/her favorite charity
   
9. Provide a special discount for loyal customers
   
10. Create a forum that allows for public recognition of customers
    
11. Remember a customer’s birthday in a unique and personalized way
    
12. Send customers a subscription to a magazine they value
    
13. Buy helpful books for key customers
    
14. Invite customers to your home for a cookout
    
15. Provide tickets to an event valued by the customer
    
16. Nominate your customer for a special award
    
17. Find a way to compliment your customer to their customer
    
18. Put up pictures of your customer in the cafeteria
    
19. Invite customers to talk about their needs and goals in front of all employees
    
20. Feature key customers in your organization’s newsletter
    
21. Give your customer a gift that you won…like a weekend at ___.
    
22. Poll your customer for their input on important changes you plan to make
    
23. Ask your customer for advice on how to better run your unit or organization
    
24. Purchase an ad in a key publication to thank your customers
    
25. Have an executive write a thank you letter to a key customer
    

What’s your favorite way to show customer love? Tell us below!