On Halloween this year, I handed out hundreds of pieces of candy to the kids who rang my doorbell and said, “Trick or treat!” We went through three big bags of candy within a two-hour period.
There were princesses and monsters, zombies and superheroes …
Parents kept a watchful eye from the sidewalk and reminded the kids to say, “Thank you!” before they raced to my neighbor’s house for more loot.
Thank you.
Two simple words that we’re trained to say from an early age.
Two simple words that go a long way in business, too.
As a business owner and/or entrepreneur, you probably have some sort of thank you campaign in place in your business. You may write “Thank you!” on invoices that you send out. Or maybe you send a thank you card at Thanksgiving …
But your thank you campaigns may not include all the people you need to thank.
11 Groups of People You Should Include in Your Thank You Campaigns
In no particular order, here’s my list of people you should remember to thank:
- Current Clients and Customers
- Past Clients and Customers Who Are No Longer Doing Business With You
- First-Time Customers
- High-Value Clients
- Loyal Customers Who’ve Been With You for a Designated Period of Time
- Employees and Staff
- Vendors
- Suppliers
- Affiliates
- Referral Partners
- Non-Buyers Who Expressed an Interest but Haven’t Become Customers … YET
It’s likely a no-brainer why most of these groups are on the list. But are you questioning 2 and 11? Many do, so let me explain …
You should have a thank you campaign targeting past clients and customers who are no longer doing business with you because it’s a way to rekindle the relationship without being pushy or salesy. It gets you back in front of them in a non-threatening way and gets them thinking about you again.
Similarly, having a thank you campaign that reaches out and thanks non-buyers for their interest gets this group of people thinking about you again as well. It sets you apart, makes you memorable, and could just tip the sales-scale in your favor if someone was on the fence about doing business with you.
10 Ways to Say Thank You
Your thank you campaign can take many different forms and be delivered via a variety of media. You’re only limited by your imagination and creativity. Some ideas include:
- Hand-written card delivered by physical mail
- Postcard
- Newsletter
- Text
- Personal phone call
- Social media post
- Direct message on social platform
- Video message
- Small gift
The important thing to remember is to reach out and thank people in a way that they prefer … not simply to do what’s easiest or most comfortable for you.
Your business success relies on people. Thanking them for their part in your success is good manners (make your mama proud!), and it’s good business, too.
So implement a thank you campaign that thanks all the right people. Make it a priority. Make it a habit. Make it an integral part of your business.
