What Can the Thank You Effect Do for You?

Did you know that the simple phrase of “thank you” has a huge effect on business? People want to feel appreciated in order to have any interest in staying with a company for repeat business. They are actually starting to call it the “Thank You Effect” because of how meaningful the small action is in the world of customer service.

While most companies understand the power behind the phrase, they don’t know how to truly show appreciation and get that effect on their customers. What can you do besides telling your customers a simple “thank you” as they leave your business? There is actually a ton of ways to express your thanks to customers and here is a look at how to do it.

The simplest of ways

Besides always remembering to say “thank you” in your responses, make sure you are always offering to provide additional assistance and a follow-up. Offer to email or call back if your customer needs it. If you already have an idea, suggest a solution to their problem but still ask if they need additional assistance.

Taking it a step further

Sometimes your customers hope for more than the typical “thank you’s” at the end of a business transaction and more than an offer for more assistance. They want to see you go the extra mile, like when you follow up after an issue was resolved to make sure your customer knows you haven’t forgotten them. Another great way to do this is to commit a random act of kindness to show your customer how awesome your company is. Show them how important they are by always dropping everything to fix their problem.

Ways to wow your customer

You may want to really go above and beyond for your customers. Start with making a list of the top “cringe-worthy items” that you run across. How can you fix these problems to avoid them in the future or what are the common solutions so that you can expedite the solution next time? having a standard response for these types of situations will expedite the process of solving it and will make your customer feel better that it is a hassle-free experience.

Sometimes figuring out what helps the customer should become a new rule with the company. Write down what worked and make it a rule that you can share with others. Spend each day or even once a week asking yourself what are things you should start doing, stop doing or ways you could change as a company.

Gifts are a great way to surprise and excite your customers. Share with them interesting content that they weren’t expecting. For retail stores, add a free gift in their shopping bag that they won’t find until they get home. Send out a holiday thank you gift of discounts or other small gestures.

Be sure to show your customer appreciation by reviewing a report of your customers’ positive and negative comments each week, keep the same person working on their case throughout the lifetime of the case and always send a physical thank you as that is never expected.

Caring for yourself

Sometimes the best way to provide customer service is to take better care of yourself. When you are healthier and happier, you serve your clients better too. Start taking a walk every day, get more sleep and eat a great breakfast. Make sure your team gets all of these things too so that all of your customers feel appreciated and excited when they walk in the door.

Plus, your team needs to feel appreciated to by having time off and personal time to catch up on sleeping and eating. Lastly, try to catch people in your business doing things right, show appreciation to them and make them an example to others.

Try to implement some of these strategies to get the “thank you” effect into your business. Watch how your team is happier and your customers are happier because of it.