“The simple act of saying ‘thank you’ is a demonstration of gratitude in response to an experience that was meaningful to a customer or citizen.” – Simon Mainwaring
Customers are constantly providing companies and their representatives, opportunities to keep in touch, do business and work on the different types of feedback the give. Customers can choose to do the opposite as well, which would not bode well for a company. Hence when companies do receive these chances, they must use them in saying thank you to customers. Saying thank you to customers is about adding a personal touch to the service being provided and letting them know that they are valued and appreciated for what they do for your company and its success. Research conducted has revealed that customers who are appreciated and thanked regularly are more likely to stay with a company and be profitable. Even employees and vendors of a company are more positive and work better if they are appreciated. Saying thank to customers therefore is not just about external customers but internal ones and other stakeholders as well. Receiving a heartfelt thank you puts a smile on anyone’s lips and makes them want to better what they did previously.
Saying thank you is not just about having good manners it’s about having the power to compete and staying ahead of competition. Harness the power of saying thank you to your advantage.
– When a prospective customer decides to give your company business or a current customer gives you repeat business, sending a short yet heartfelt handwritten thank you note adds a dash of finesse and makes your company more appealing. Saying thank you to customers and others will never become out-dated and can never be enough. Being appreciated and made to feel important can never be enough for anyone.
– Customers take time to trust your company enough to compliment your service. When they do, remember that saying thank you will be vital. Complimenting your company is feedback and every feedback is an opportunity to strive to do better and or improve.
– Rushed as it is, if customers make time to complain, or make a suggestion consider it a lucky sign. Make the most of this suggestion or complaint, since what they are probably not saying is that they like what your company offers and would be happy to make more investments if the suggestion is incorporated. Saying thank you indicates that your company appreciates their suggestion and will do whatever possible to incorporate it and that you are glad that they decided to complain rather than just leave. And actually receiving direct feedback from a customer does make your work so much easier – saying thank you is small payment for that service.
– As pointed out earlier, customers usually prefer to trust their peers and associates. However, on the rare occasion that they do buy solely based on your suggestion, it means they trust you and value your inputs. But also remember they are moving out of a zone they are familiar and comfortable with, and saying thank you is affirmation that you recognize this fact and truly appreciate it.
– Happy customers show their appreciation in the best form – they recommend your services and products to others. When a prospective customer calls making reference to your current customer, not only must you thank the caller for giving you the opportunity to serve them but also call your current customer to say thank you for being a brand advocate. Saying thank you is a small yet vital gift to this customer who will remember to recommend you repeatedly.
– Your customer base would have all kinds of customers. Patient, impatient, mild tempered and some with a short fuse. Receiving a call from the not so patient ones should be used as an opportunity to keep your business and customer service on their toes. Saying thank you to such customers indicates to them that you appreciate being kept alert and also that you would like them to remain with you and do whatever it takes, irrespective of what the competition offers.
– Getting customers to say yes all the time may not be possible. If they say no or keep a decision to work with you on hold, saying thank you tells them that you are grateful for their time and honesty and hope that they would consider your offerings the next time round. This keeps the door to your company open and the customer is most likely to remember you for your courtesy and high work ethics and etiquette. There have been instances when even if the customer refused the offerings, courteous behaviour urged them to refer the company’s services and products to someone else.
– Customer service is a hard job and very often customers probably do not understand it. However, there could be customers with whom you have a great rapport and they take the time out to make you smile. Remember that saying thank you puts a smile on their faces and they will remember you for it.
– When saying thank you remember to focus on the good that was done. A vendor may have delivered some goods to a customer at short notice or an employee could have worked late to ensure that the customer’s work did not stop for lack of effort. Saying thank you would most definitely need to include the actual task – point it out on the thank you note or message. If it is an employee, ensure that at least the entire team is made aware of the effort by saying thank you to the member in a staff meeting. Gratitude and appreciation go a long way in enhancing productivity and ensuring that these positive actions are repeated.
– Ensure that your thank you is not impersonal and feigned. Saying thank you is completely wasted if it does not reflect a personal touch and does not connect to the receiver. The rule of saying thank you is mean it or don’t say it. That also means that if it is not due or will not matter to the receiver, doling out a thank you would be a waste since it would seem feigned.
Actions speak louder than words and people are quick to judge when they are being taken for granted and that the words uttered are soulless and mean nothing. You cannot hope to engage your customers or your employees through feigned appreciation and meaningless words. Short handwritten notes, discounts, incentives, rewards and such actions will go a long way in adding weight and value to your thank you. Customers especially tend to stay with companies that go out of their way to show their appreciation and would stay with your company irrespective of the most ‘luring’ offers set out by your closest competitors.
Everyone in the organization should work together to make things run smoothly with the end result that the customer receives stellar service and great products. However, very often there are many people whose efforts are completely overlooked. Saying thank you to the housekeeping staff, the cleaning person, the person who takes the trash or even the person that delivers the mail will go a long way in letting everyone know that your company truly believes in the value of a thanks and will spread a positive vibe throughout the company. Happy employees make happy customers and happy customers are loyal and profitable ones that help the company to remain successful.
Saying thank you may sound like a cliché but it can help anyone reap rich dividends. It makes the person receiving it feel special and makes the person saying it stand out from the crowd. Customers and employees go could elsewhere to conduct business and work and so taking them for granted is a mistake that must be avoided. Saying thank you costs nothing but goes miles in making people want to remain connected with your company and its offerings.
