Many of us are aware that Valentine’s Day is a very popular event . Love is in the air on this holiday especially, people are focused on the most important human emotion of all. It’s a great day for many businesses who provide flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, jewelry, lingerie, greeting cards, specialty boutique stores and of course restaurants. Many people scramble around trying to find the perfect gift or dinner to celebrate and show how much they care for one another.
If the concept of Valentine’s Day is relating to romancing our significant others, why not show a little love and romance to your customers? What are you doing to show your loyalty to the relationships you have with your customers? What can you do to stand out and make them fall in love with you again? Our existing customers are 100% of our sales and profits. All businesses love repeat customers. Many of my coaching clients and audiences are very familiar and have heard me say this statement over and over again. Creating a memorable customer experience has to be one of your most important marketing strategies. Businesses need to spend just as much time in keeping existing customers happy as they do creating new brochures, web-sites, social media and new sales techniques.
What are you doing to love your customers? Here are a few Valentine’s Day tips you can also use to demonstrate your love to your customers.
1. Show them that you love them. Be interested not just interesting. Show your customers that you care about their needs, wants, wishes, fears and desires. Ask them how you can help them regardless of a transaction or exchange of money.
2. Thank your customers. Send a gift, thank you card, book, candy, flowers to thank them for their loyalty.
3. Wow your customers. Exceed the expectations of your customers and give them an experience they will remember.
4. Make things right. As a good partner, you need to make it right when things go wrong. We vow love to our spouse “in sickness and in health,” and so make the same promise to your clients and customers. You may not be able to guarantee a perfect customer experience, but you can guarantee that you’ll make it right when things are not 100% as they should be.
5. Sprinkle in some Magical mystery. With our loved one, a little surprise and delight never hurts, as you continually try to keep it fresh. A gift for no reason? Why not? Talk about feeling appreciated. Customers are no different – why not send them an unexpected “thank you” note or care package? You can rest assure that they’ll be talking about you and your business to their friends and family members.
So as you celebrate this special Valentine’s Day with your loved one, try using the same strategies that make us fall in love with each other and implement them for your business. As long as you do it in a thoughtful, authentic, sincere and (of course) loving way, I promise your customers will love you. Walt Disney said it best, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Creating love between your company and your customers can help ignite positive word of mouth that’s absolutely priceless. Now that is MAGICAL! Happy Valentine’s day!