Business & Marketing

The value of gratitude marketing

June 27, 2019

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Are you eager to attract new leads? Increase conversions on your website? Grow your social media following? Retain loyal customers?

A powerful technique can help you do all that; just say thank you! Gratitude marketing is the art of letting your customers know you genuinely appreciate them. As a result of practicing it consistently, your business will start reaping the benefits. Gratitude is a powerful tactic for expanding your customer base; showing genuine human emotion such as thankfulness works wonders to humanise your brand and encourage people to connect with you.

The focus

With gratitude marketing, the emphasis is placed not on advertising and promotions with the pure intent of generating sales, but of making authentic connections with customers. Building rapport and retaining clients is the aim, leading them to form strong, lasting connections with brands. As mentioned, gratitude marketing can lead to an increase in business. It is also a great way to get free word-of-mouth promotions. It requires excellent communications between businesses and their clients.

Gratitude marketing

If you’re stuck thinking of ways to get started on gratitude marketing, here are a few ideas that might spark your creativity.

Say thank you on your website, when an order is placed. This is a great opportunity to simply let your customers know you appreciate them. You might even want to consider offering an incentive at this point to keep them coming back, such as a discount coupon code for their next order. A “thank you screen” on your website is also a prime place to keep customers informed about what happens next in the shipping process, or include a call to action like a survey or invitation to follow you on social media.
Show appreciation when hitting milestones, such as number of orders placed or Twitter followers reached. By not letting fan dedication go unnoticed, your followers will feel valued and be more likely to recommend you to their friends.
Respond in kind when a customer does something great, like write you a glowing review or refer a particularly excellent client. You might want to send them a handwritten thank you note, offer them an upgrade or free shipping or listen to their suggestions about your products and services.
Send a specific thank you message every time you’re given a referral; find out where they’re coming from and let those who have sent business your way know how much you truly appreciate them.
Display gratitude when others help you, even if it doesn’t work out. Sometimes you might get a referral or a proposal that you appreciate, but for whatever reason it doesn’t work out. However, it’s still a great practice to say thank you to the person involved in bringing it your way; you never know when you might need them or if their next offer is exactly what you’re after.

To remember

Letting your customers know you appreciate them makes sense, but it isn’t always common sense. It’s important to remember that your customers always have the choice to go elsewhere. In the age of Google and smartphones, they can easily find an alternative. So, give your target audience a reason to choose you instead of the place with the cheapest price. Express your gratitude and you can keep them coming back. Simple “thank yous” go a long way.