What is Customer Appreciation and Why Should You Do It?

Have you ever put a lot of effort into something, only for it to go unappreciated?

It’s disappointing right?

So much so that you probably don’t want to do it again. It just seems like it’s not worth the effort.

Well, your customers feel the same way…

When a customer chooses a company, and are shown that you care about them, customers appreciate how well a company can make them feel. They want to continue buying from you and become a loyal customer.

But when you don’t, the opposite happens. And as you’ll see in the statistics, your customers may jump ship to one of your competitors.

More on that in a minute. But for now, let’s define “customer appreciation”…

What is Customer Appreciation?

Customer appreciation is the measure of your effort towards your customers.

It’s a way to show your customers that you care about them and that you’re grateful for their business.

Here at Answer1, we talk a lot about how to provide great customer service. Well, showing customer appreciation is one of the best ways to do so, and it will keep your customers around for the long haul.

Why Should You Have a Customer Appreciation Strategy?

Remember how we mentioned a stat that shows that customers may jump ship if you don’t show customer appreciation? Well, here it is…

According to research from SuperOffice, 68% of customers leave a company when they feel unappreciated and uncared for. This is by far the biggest reason, outweighing things such as dissatisfaction with your service and persuasion to move to a competitor.

But when you do show customer appreciation, you’ll see the opposite effect.

Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect from employing customer appreciation strategies…

Increased Customer Loyalty. What customer will want to leave when you’re constantly showing gratitude for their loyalty and engaging with them? The result will be increased customer retention and loyalty. You’ll cut out a huge chunk of those customers who would have left had you not shown them some sort of customer appreciation.

Increased Referrals. When customers are happy about doing business with you, they’re going to want to tell their friends about it. And if their friends are doing business with companies who don’t offer similar customer appreciation, they’ll be tempted to move their business to your company.

Increased Profits. Because customers will stick around for longer and also refer their friends, more people will naturally be doing business with you. And so, you’re sure to see increased profits as a result.

Conclusion

When you show customer appreciation, your customers will thank you for it by giving you more of their business.

In the next few posts, we’re going to break down some great customer appreciation ideas. We’re also going to show you some awesome strategies for showing customer appreciation post-purchase.

So, stay tuned for those!

For now, just make sure customer appreciation is on your radar, and start thinking of your own ideas!

Have you employed any customer appreciation strategies in the past? What were your results? Let us know in the comments below!