Being AWOL at the Company Party is a BAD Idea
So…you’re thinking about ditching the company holiday party this year, right? After all, you spend 8 to 10 hours a day five days a week with your colleagues and boss and that should suffice, right? You should be able to spend your personal time with whomever you want, right? Saying “yes” to any of those questions could haunt you and damage your career.
Now is a perfect time to show appreciation to your customers and say “thank you” for the loyalty they have shown you throughout the year. They will remember the gesture and before you know it, your relationship will broaden.
Mail a handwritten note, send a text message, chat on social media or send a greeting card – all of which could read something like this:
~~ Hi Joyce. I hope you and the family are enjoying the recent burst of great weather. It was nice helping you last week. Thank you for being an XYZ Customer. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Matt ~~
Something as simple as this will help you and your brand earn a reputation for treating customers with dignity and respect.
If you send a holiday card, be sure the verbiage is sensitive to the customer’s religious observations (or the lack thereof).
If you include a gift card with your note, it should convey that you value the relationship—not a marketing strategy get more money out of them. Let me explain what I mean. If your note includes a discount coupon of 20% off of their next purchase of $75.00 or more, your intentions could be looked upon as disingenuous and they may think that you are manipulative and untrustworthy.
There is a fine line between conveying a message of promotion and appreciation. Make sure you walk it very carefully so that your goodwill is not misinterpreted for something that would offend your client and leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Thank You and Happy Holidays !
In a recent training session, a group of employees shared with me reasons why they were not meeting their sales goals. They said their territory is too small, quota is too high, the company doesn’t advertise enough, bad economy, businesses have cut their budgets, prospects lie and won’t return phone calls…
Companies work long and hard to give a respectable name and personality to their product/service. They spend untold millions of dollars to market and sell it to the public. So it is a sad day when broken promises tarnish the brand/reputation of a business. For example, when the telephone service provider brags that customer service is their first priority and the consumer’s service is interrupted/stopped but the support representative is not empowered to “go off script” to try to solve the problem but explains that for a fee, a technician can come out between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to fix it. It is no surprise that the consumer is left with feelings of frustration and anger.
Is your customer loyalty program updated and ready for implementation? Make sure you don’t confuse a loyalty program with a marketing strategy. How can you tell the difference? If you take away the “rewards/perks” and lose customers, that is a marketing strategy. Positive experiences is what keep customers coming back.
Evolve a system that recognizes when return customers enter your website or building that sends a message to their mobile phone or other device acknowledging them and making them feel appreciated. Here’s an example: “Hi Samantha! Congratulations on your 7th visit to Boxes and Bins. We have a gift waiting for you and need to know the best way to deliver it to you. Let us know and we’ll get it right over to you.”
