The other day, I received an email from Linda Mitchell, one of our long-time valued customers, that read:
“The local gas station in town has been in business for 40+ years! They have succeeded through good times and not-so-good times by the grace of the loyalty of their patrons even with other stations having lower costs and having to pump the gas themselves. But I now find myself in a dilemma to continue to support them.
I have come to realize that in the 35+ years we have patronized this business never once did the owners take the time to say thank you.”
One may ask the question:
Does saying “Thank You” matter to customers?
Absolutely!
I’d argue that it’s one of the most important elements of your marketing communication (and, I’ve got an inkling that a lot of CEOs would agree with me).
Heck, the airlines realized this when they instituted their “Thank you for flying (fill in the blank) Airlines, we know you have a choice in your air travel and we appreciate your business.”
Celebrity entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk realized this in his now-famous book, “The Thank You Economy” where he shares the importance of listening to and appreciating your customers.
And a local toy store in Portsmouth, NH, G.Willikers realized this in their latest communication:
So, why is saying ‘thank you’ so important?
Basic human psychology dictates that we all want to feel special, valued, and appreciated. (See Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs).
Whether or not we ‘get’ what we ‘want’ … well, that’s a whole other story.
In fact, most of your customers will go about their day feeling underappreciated at work and, regrettably, the feeling is similar in their home life.
But that urge to feel special, valued, and appreciated is so ingrained in our psyche, that we can’t help but gravitate to where those needs are met.
Savvy entrepreneurs who understand this simple concept have incorporated ‘thank you’ into their marketing message. As a result, they have found fewer complaints, lower returns, higher customer satisfaction, a greater number of referrals, and an increase in the average transaction price per customer (to name a few benefits).
In short:
Thank You = Profits
And, are you ready for the big one?
This is KEY: The more sincere … and the more genuine your ‘thank you’ … the better your customers will respond to you.
Just another reason why authenticity is paramount in your business.