In a world of online-shopping and talking to chatbots, customer appreciation is extremely undervalued. If your customers feel under appreciated, there’s a high chance they will move on to another business. They’ll start searching for someone else that will value them more.

Taking time out to drop your customers a ‘thank you’ note will make them feel cherished and happy.

Happy customers are more likely to stick with your business, thus increasing brand loyalty as well as do more business with you. The more thanks you give them, the more thanks they can show you back.

New to email marketing? Try it out with a free 60-day trial of Constant Contact!

Making customers happy helps your business

There are plenty of reasons to reach out to your customers, like anniversaries, birthdays, or holidays, but saying thanks may be the most important. You can use email marketing to thank your customers for signing up, for giving you feedback, or for making a purchase. All of these can help to make your customers feel special, but adding a touch of personalization will really make them feel loved.

Customers love it when a business does not treat them like everyone else, and instead approaches them on an individual level. Write your emails like you’re speaking to just one customer. Add small bits of personalization, like their name and the product that they ordered, so they know you’re only talking to them. Segmenting your lists tightly will also help to personalize your message.

Start with a plan and a goal

A thank you email is simply an email that shows your appreciation for your customers. You could plan out an entire thank you campaign around the way a customer interacts with your business.

The first email should provide a simple thank you, but the following emails in the campaign should build around a central goal, such as keeping customers excited or getting them to purchase again. Plan a series of emails that start by thanking customers, work to engage customers, and then a later email in the campaign can offer new products related to their initial purchase.

How to start thanking your customers

There are a number of ways to reach out and thank customers. Some of our favorite ones are:

  1. Email Automation Series

Automating your thank you email series will let you generate engagement and increase brand loyalty without needing to hit the send button each time a customer makes a purchase. Whether you’re thanking them for signing up, making a purchase or subscribing to your blog, customers appreciate personalized content from one of their favorite brands.

Start the series with a thank you, then follow up with a survey email to get feedback about your products. For the customers that respond to the survey, reward their engagement with a loyalty discount or a feature on your social media channels. End the series with valuable content that gets them back to your website.

  1. Creating an Exclusive Experience

Treating your customers as VIPs will almost always leave a smile on their face. Creating a unique experience for your customers makes them feel important and gives them the feeling that the business they do with you matters.

Invite them to be a part of your beta testing community or create an exclusive loyalty program for your top customers. You could invite customers to purchase a new product before it hits the market or even try it for free. Sending exclusive invites to webinars/events for your customers to attend makes them feel valued.

Google runs a ‘Top Contributor Program’ where their top contributors get priority access to new products, events and much more.

  1. Thanking Customers via Social Channels

Who doesn’t love their favorite brand thanking them on Social Media? Put out a highlight on your Instagram page, Facebook page, or both, and thank your top customers to show you appreciate them.

On Twitter, you could share a customer’s post by simply hitting “retweet.” If someone shares a helpful resource or something you think your fans and followers would find interesting, you can share it and include a note calling out the original sources. For example: “Check out this great post from @them.” They’ll appreciate the support.

Show customers you don’t take them for granted

There are a number of ways to stay connected with your customers, but saying thank you through email can delight your customers by making them feel like you’re talking to just them. This can go a long way in building loyalty and increasing repeat sales, which is the customer’s way of saying thanks to your business.

New to email marketing? Try it out with a free 60-day trial of Constant Contact!