Picture yourself as one of your customers.
Year after year, you continue doing business with this company. Sure, you see results, the representatives that you deal with are kind and knowledgeable. At best, you’re content with the service that you receive.
Meanwhile, your inbox is clogged with messages from their top competitors. Salespeople have been proactively reaching out to you with the hope that you might switch partners to work with their company.
At first, you ignore these emails, until they send you an informative guidebook catered to your organization’s needs, and offer you a free demo in addition to discounted services for your first year of purchasing their product.
The tailored content followed by the product price deduction pique your interest, and you begin to wonder if your current partnership is really worth it. Out of curiosity, you decide to bite the bullet and book the meeting.
The conversation concludes, and you receive thoughtful thank you notes from all of the individuals whom you spoke with, followed by a personalized gesture from their company’s CEO.
The reduction in price point combined with their top-notch customer service have swayed your decision: it’s time to convince your team and your boss to partner with your current vendor’s competitor.
If you’re in customer success or account management, you’re likely wincing after reading this anecdote. But these types of scenarios are avoidable.
The simple secret to turning customer churn into loyalty? Practice appreciation.
Why Do Your Customers Leave?
If you’re wondering why your customers disengage, or just outright leave, most often it’s not because of your product: It’s because they don’t feel appreciated.
When your clients feel unappreciated, it may prompt them to take their business elsewhere, in favor of an organization that will value their business. And the worst-case scenario is that they choose to partner with one of your top competitors.
It’s no secret that customer appreciation is important for many reasons. In fact, feeling unappreciated is the top reason for why customers switch away from specific products and services that they may have used for years.
According to findings obtained from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 68% of clients leave because they perceive the business does not care for them. Even more alarming for account reps, 30% of consumers switch providers because they feel that there is no reward for their loyalty.
Simple touches such as personalized thank you notes, providing discounts when possible, and sending gestures for birthdays or holidays can mitigate customer churn.
A little appreciation can go a long way in order to ensure that your clients continue doing business with your company. More importantly, exhibiting small gestures of gratitude can keep your organization from losing revenue.
How Appreciation Alters Attitudes
We know that people do business with individuals whom they like. But they’re also inclined to partner with brands that they believe in. According to insights from Rare Consulting, 86% of consumers say that their loyalty is primarily driven by likability and 83% of this same surveyed group claim their loyalty is guided by trust.
When it comes to client appreciation, keep in mind that the more sincere the gesture, the better the effect will be. Even American Express confirms that everyone likes to feel valued, and your customers are no different.
Additionally, 65% of buyers find positive experiences with brands to be more influential than good advertising campaigns. So juxtaposed with effective ads, a company’s client relationships hold a weighted impact in building an organization’s brand affinity.
Not only do customers and clients love to be made to feel special, but singling them out also increases their likelihood to respond to your inquiries or general communications. By reaching out to your customers directly to show your appreciation, you can make them feel valued while also creating opportunities to listen to any concerns or feedback that they may have.
Mix Appreciation and Gratitude to Build Loyalty
The formula for building brand loyalty is simple: Appreciation plus expressions of gratitude will turn your customers and clients into super fans of your company’s brand, and in turn, your organization at large.
Step 1: Add Appreciation
Research from Inc. confirms that showing appreciation to customers can help build brand loyalty, and 77% of consumers like when brands demonstrate their appreciation.
Step 2: Give a Little
Wondering how you can easily demonstrate appreciation for your clients? Try sharing grateful gestures. 61% of consumers believe that they’re most engaged when given surprise offers just for being customers. If you’re skeptical about whether or not sharing tokens of appreciation with customers will have an impact, 77% of individuals claim that they feel appreciated after receiving grateful gestures at work.
Step 3: Practice Gratitude
By showing gratitude first, customer loyalty will follow. Gratitude elicits emotional responses that are most likely to drive loyal behavior.
Reevaluate Customer Relationships to Ensure Your Company’s Success
By altering how you’re handling your client relationships and mixing in moments of appreciation, your customers will feel exceptional and excited to continue doing business with you.
You may not be able to keep ‘em all, but if you try to make sure that they feel valued, they’ll have less of a reason to discontinue partnering with your business as the year progresses.
Thnks can help you turn customer churn into loyalty. Within seconds, you can send your clients and customers gestures of appreciation by searching for an item, personalizing a note, and sending it off via SMS or email. Interested in learning more? Interested in learning more? Sign up for a demo, or click here to learn more about using gratitude and customer engagement!