Giving thanks is not just a holiday thing!
Expressing gratitude isn’t just something to do around Thanksgiving. In fact being gracious and saying thanks should be part of how you communicate with your current customers. I’m sorry to break it to you, but your Mom was right “please” and “thank you” are important and apply to your business as much as they apply to your personal life.
Find at least two times during the year where you clearly communicate your gratefulness to your customers or stakeholders. Sometimes I send Thanksgiving cards to clients or acknowledge special anniversaries or birthdays. Other meaningful things you can do to demonstrate that your customers and stakeholders aren’t just numbers (or dollars) are:
Add a note of thanks to routine business paperwork like proposals, invoices or even your fax cover sheets. Try something like this: “Thank you for your business. We look forward to serving you again.”
Send a handwritten note. We get so many form letters and pre-fab mail these days, sending an actual handwritten note makes an impression.
Send a newspaper or magazine article with a note. Sometimes you run across a topic when reading the newspaper that reminds you about a client. Maybe it’s something you were recently talking about. Why not cut it out and send it to her or him?
Call them just to say hello. If your client is extremely busy, be respectful of his or her time and make it very brief or send an email instead.
Happy Thanksgiving!