When is the last time you gave genuine appreciation to your clients? On today's flight of Coach's Copilot Host Nicole Bandes shares tips and benefits of saying thank you to clients. Nicole covers 6 methods to show gratitude to your clients which will not only show appreciation for your clients but also make you more grateful for their trust in your business.
Key Takeaways from this Episode:
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Levels of "thank you" differ
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Know what makes your client feel appreciated
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Show the extra effort
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Reminders based on milestones
About Our Host:
Nicole Bandes, founder and CEO of Virtual A Team, is intensely committed to guiding entrepreneurs and small business owners to find and OWN THE ZONE so they can overcome overwhelm and have more time for what matters most.
Connect with Nicole
Free consultation Call with Nicole
Links & Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People
Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by John Acuff
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Transcript
Awe, Thank you! Taking the time to thank your clients builds feelings of appreciation and loyalty so they come back and refer more business to you.
Do you remember the last time you received genuine appreciation from a business? I’m not talking about the simple Thank You for your Business greeting card with 3 or 4 business cards thrown in, just in case you want to refer business to others. I’m talking the heartfelt, wow moment you stopped to really think about who it was you chose to do business with. Honestly, you may not have ever experienced this because it’s so rare. But, if you have had one of those moments, you know just how meaningful it was, and it probably made you a raving fan for life.
Your clients are the life blood of your business. Without them, you’d be back in a regular 9-5 job with a boss you probably don’t like that much. Those clients matter, a LOT and it’s important to take the time to thank them, to show them just how much they matter to your business.
The first step is to consider your client base. Not all clients are created equally so they don’t all require the same type of Thank You.
For example, clients who purchased your evergreen webinar for $49 do not require the same level of appreciation as your client who purchased your high-ticket offer.
I am NOT, by any means, suggesting that those clients do not deserve your appreciation. What I am suggesting is that the amount of effort that goes into your appreciation should reflect the depth of the relationship.
Let’s start with some simpler ways to say thank you and then move on to some that will require more time and effort.
1. Provide AMAZING customer service – It doesn’t matter if someone is paying you $49 or $49,000, they deserve great customer service.
The idea here is not to bend over to threats or cave to client bully. Great customer service does not mean giving in to every demand. Instead, amazing customer service is about making sure the clients know the process and have all the details they need to get the best possible outcome from your product or service.
If your clients have to email you for their next steps or to figure out why links aren’t working, they won’t be impressed.
Make sure all your systems and processes are in place for your clients to have a WOW experience from you.
One thing we hear a lot from our clients is the need to get their onboarding systems tightened up. Nothing screams “I don’t appreciate you” like forgetting to send the right information at the
right time. From the moment someone says yes, start wowing them with the attention and care you give them.
2. Send a Thank you via email and include a previously unexpected bonus. Email is probably the easiest way to send thank you’s to clients. But it’s also the least appreciated. If your email is part of your autoresponder sequence, there’s a good chance your client won’t feel like it’s meaningful. One way to improve on this is to include a bonus of some type that they weren’t expecting. Something that wasn’t mentioned in your sales literature. This could be an additional handout or an extra video that adds to the item they purchased.
3. Hand written notes – Taking the time to hand write and mail a letter has significantly more impact than an email.
I remember the excitement I used to have whenever I’d come home to check the mail and find a letter from my best friend. As an adult, the only mail that excites me any more, well, besides the big padded envelopes that come from online stores, are those that are clearly hand addressed.
Now, this might not work if you are onboarding 100 or more people for an online program but, if you sign up less than 10 a month for a higher ticket program, a handwritten note should be a given.
But let’s be honest, we aren’t ALL wonderful card senders! I dream of being that person that stands in the card aisle looking at dozens of cards and picking just the perfect one but that’s not me. Even when I have had services like Send Out Cards or just blank note cards, it was just something I never quite got around to.
Fortunately, I now have a team, AND a process, that helps me to remember the card.
No matter how you handle the handwritten note, just don’t fall into the trap of including 2 or 3 business cards and asking for referrals. This isn’t about you, it’s about them.
4. Acknowledge them on Social Media – One of the things I learned many years ago when I read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People was that people LOVE to talk about themselves. If your clients spend any time on social media, commenting on or engaging with their content is a huge way to say thank you and show your appreciation. You don’t need to mention that they work with you, as that may violate the privacy standards you have in place. But being there and cheering them on can still create a wonderful feeling in your clients.
If your clients are also businesses themselves, sharing their business content is an even more powerful way to say thank you.
5. Phone calls – These days, if your phone rings, it’s probably someone trying to buy your house or sell you an extended warranty on your car. While I have a lot of fun with telemarketers like this, it’s unusual to get a real call that means something. Take some time to pick up the phone when you aren’t scheduled for a call, just to say thank you and acknowledge their successes!
And, if they don’t answer, send them a quick text.
6. Send a gift – Gifts may be the most expensive way to say thank you but they also tend to be the most impressive. I frequently see people post photos of the gifts they’ve received from businesses. These can range from beautiful planners, nice gift baskets to high end purses! Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few things the most impressive gifts have in common:
a. They aren’t marketing in disguise. That means it isn’t about branding your business. There’s a place to send promotional items but when you are thanking clients isn’t the time.
b. They fit the product or service. One year I sent all of our clients the book Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by John Acuff. Since our clients at Virtual A Team hire us to get stuff done, the topic was relevant. A business coach might send a leather bound planner or a book with a relevant topic. A fitness or health coach might send a few meals from a meal plan company. Fitting the gift to the offering is a great way to make sure the client really appreciates what is being received.
c. They are personal. If you know something that your client truly loves, those make the best gifts. It could be a gift card to a favorite coffee shop or a package of teas selected specifically for the sweet tooth. The more personal the gift, the more powerful the thank you.
We have one client that sends gifts each year for her clients’ birthday. With some basic guidance about likes/dislikes, we prepare 2 or 3 options that could be sent to the recipient and get the client’s approval. We have certain guidelines we follow such as cost of gift, cost to ship, it has to be something unique that couldn’t be found at a Walmart or other big box store and it can’t be a gift card. With those guidelines in place, we do some searching on sites like Etsy and even eBay to find a gift that is as unique as the individual receiving it.
Not sure what kind of thank you your clients would most appreciate? A wonderful way to know what is going to make the most difference to your clients is to have them complete the 5 Love Languages Quiz. If you have an intake form for your clients, you can request that they fill in what their love languages are. That way you know exactly how to thank them that will have the biggest personal impact.
But when is the right time to say Thank you?
Honestly, there’s no wrong time. Or, as the old saying goes, any day that ends in Y is a good day to say Thank You.
However, there are some key times that many coaches will focus on showing client appreciation.
1. Upon becoming your client. As soon as someone signs up, it’s a great time to say THANK YOU! Depending on the amount of the purchase, this could be anything from an email to a full welcome package gift set.
2. Upon completion of a project or service. As your client completes your program, you can send them something special commemorating their participation and showing your appreciation.
3. Birthdays and Anniversaries. Any time there’s a special date in mind.
4. Thanksgiving and New Year’s. These are times of the year meant to reflect on gratitude.
5. Your company anniversary.
My husband receives a lot of gifts in his business. He sells receipt printer paper and printers so his vendors are big on sending the appreciation gifts around the holidays. We always love the ones that include food and question the random promotional item gift that makes no sense. Things that probably weren’t inexpensive to send but just make you scratch your head. Like the waterproof speaker with the company logo or the step stool (also with a company logo). While the products were kind of useful, it didn’t really make us feel appreciated. It felt more like a generic gift that was part of their marketing plan.
On the other hand, I remember seeing a post on social media about an amazing gift. It was from someone who had just signed up with a high ticket business coach. I’m guessing this coach charges well over $15k per year to be in her program. The post included a picture of a Michael Kors purse and a bouquet of flowers. It was the kind of gift that couldn’t easily be automated. Someone had to take the time to select the purse and have it sent along with the flowers. That coach received a LOT of “free publicity” for that gift.
Action Step
Thanking your clients shouldn’t be an after thought. Like the other systems in your business, even appreciation can be planned and systematized while still being personal.
Your first step will be to determine which of the methods we talked about that you want to implement. As a reminder:
1. Providing Amazing Customer Service
2. Thank You Emails
3. Hand written notes
4. Social Media Shout Outs
5. Phone Calls
6. Gifts
You may include more than one of these methods depending on the client and how many are coming into your business at that level. For example, every client in your business should receive excellent customer service and all of them can receive thank you emails but you may want to customize the email for higher level clients.
Pick the methods that will work best for you. Don’t try to do them all, especially when you first get started.
Your next step will be to decide WHEN to send appreciation. For many coaches, the same time of year for all of their clients works best while others prefer to spread it out over the year.
Once you’ve decided on who will receive what methods and when they will receive them, add it to your system. Plan it out so no details are missed. And, if it’s still overwhelming, I happen to know a great team of experts that can help you with this and all your other business needs!
Is it time for you to get some help outsourcing in your own business? I'd love to invite you to a call to talk about your specific outsourcing needs to see if Virtual A Team is a good fit. Schedule your free consultation at www.delegatesmarter.com
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Coach's Copilot: Your Online Business Manager Podcast
Virtual A Team
Are you struggling to build a successful coaching business without burning the candle at both ends? Do you wish you had a copilot or business manager that could help you handle the details so you could focus on the things that only you can do? On this show, Nicole Bandes and her team of experts will serve as your coaching copilots. We will share tips, tricks, and strategies that focus on marketing, outsourcing, productivity, and more! Whether your goal is to grow your business, have a business that’s built around your life, or both; Coach’s Copilot: Your Online Business Manager Podcast will help you manage the details to make it happen.
