5 Ways to Say Thank You to Your Customers | #customersupport #supporticket

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in a year that has been fraught with anxiety and uncertainty, I thought we should pause and reflect on what we have to be thankful for. Here at TeamSupport, we have had an exciting year of new product development, product enhancements, new and improved ways of communicating with each of you, and new members of our team that have come on board to help us grow and better serve our customers in the coming year. We could not accomplish all of this without the help of our customers who we appreciate every single day.

That got me thinking that it’s a unique year when it comes to the holidays. Typically, companies take the opportunity to thank their customers by sending special treats to an office or department, delivering a physical holiday card in the mail, or taking a client out to lunch. In the absence of the ability to do any of those things at this time, what can we do this year to thank our customers?

Here are a few ideas.

1. Give your customers a voice. Then listen to it. Ask your customers what you can do to help them be successful. Be sincere about it. Collect their answers and then follow up with plans to address their asks. Another place you can listen to and respond to your customers is on your industry review sites. Promptly respond to positive and especially negative reviews. Again, if the review involves a particular problem, take it offline to try and resolve the issue.

   The key is to always thank the customer for their feedback. It helps you improve your product which ultimately benefits them.
   
   

2. Reassure customers that you aren’t going anywhere. Communicate your own employee metrics, financial stability, and industry recognition. Don’t think of it as reselling the customer on your business; instead, approach the conversation from a stance of confidence and stability. A video message rather than written (e-mail) delivered with sincerity and in a personal, casual manner from your senior leadership will have the greatest impact.
   
   
3. Work together to find creative financial solutions. For most businesses, this has been a tough year financially. Be open to flexible solutions to buy them a few months to get their finances in a better place. Express your gratitude for their business. See if they are willing to collaborate by helping your company through webinar appearances, event spotlights, customer testimonials, and more. What better way to say thank you than working as partners for a win-win.
   
   
4. Make a charitable donation on behalf of your customers. Run a poll on your social media and other user community platforms where your customers can vote on a charity for you to make a donation to in their collective names.
   
   
5. Create a really special digital holiday card. Make it fun. Make it inclusive. Make it exciting. And make it reflective of the personality and culture of your company. It will live on and (hopefully) be played over and over throughout the season.

All of these things, separately or together, can make a lasting impact on your customers. And will last way longer than a cookie tray in the break room!

About Joanne De Santiago: When Joanne is not hard at work as TeamSupport’s controller, she enjoys quality time with her husband, family, and friends. And these days she spends most of her time chasing after and trying to keep up with her four year old! She is a lover of nature and animals and gets her fix of both hiking, visiting state and city parks, or just hanging out in her backyard. (She is also a super fan of Survivor and tries her best to stay current with the Walking Dead universe.)