“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” – Randy Pausch
Demonstrating customer appreciation by saying thank you might seem like such a simple, uncomplicated thing to do, but it can have a positive and far-reaching effect. No matter how big or small, expressing gratitude goes a long way.
Let’s look at the best ways to show your customers just how grateful you are with these top customer appreciation ideas.
Our List of 24 Client Appreciation Events, Thank-You Gifts and Gestures Sure to Impress
Whether you’re in search of customer appreciation week ideas or just want to take a moment to express your gratitude to top patrons, here are a few ways you can say thanks.
1. Send Handwritten Notes Thanking Customers
Think of all the communications you’re sent in a day — emails, texts, bills, junk mail, advertisements and smartphone notifications all vying for your attention.
Aside from the messages you receive from those closest to you, how many will make you take pause? In today’s fast-paced world, noticing that someone has taken the time to handwrite a letter of thanks is touching and often unexpected.
With only a few sentences, you can make your customer’s day by merely acknowledging you’re grateful they’re your customer.
2. Host a Customer Appreciation Sale
If you run a brick-and-mortar business, consider throwing a VIP customer appreciation event with exclusive sales for your top clientele. Provide champagne and hors d’oeuvres and consider having a musician play live music to create an enjoyable space to shop. You could even have staff on hand to walk purchases out to each customer’s car for them.
Customer appreciation sale ideas might include:
- Giving out swag bags
- Providing exclusive discounts
- Unveiling a new product line
- Offering a free gift with certain dollar amount purchased
3. Organize Special Events
Another option is to think of a customer appreciation event idea. This can help you build and cultivate customer loyalty, even allowing you to identify strong company ambassadors.
Even if you rotate the event so that all of your customers have an opportunity to attend at different times throughout the year, inviting them directly makes each customer feel important.
Client appreciation event ideas include adult or family-friendly affairs, such as these:
- Holiday party
- Golf outing
- Wine tasting
- Ice cream social
- Barbeque or picnic
- Sporting event group outing
- Private theater showing of a new movie
4. Offer a Car Wash
Another customer appreciation idea that’ll surely drive engagement is a free car wash. If you have a parking lot, you could gather your team together and organize a day to offer complimentary wash-and-dries to your patrons.
Send an email to your customers to let them know of the date and time. You could even have them RSVP with a particular estimated time so you know how many people to expect throughout the day.
5. Send Thank-You Gifts
In today’s world, you likely have access to more information about your customers than ever before. Whether it’s through an email address they’ve shared by signing up for a newsletter or through a casual conversation you’ve had with them over social media or face to face, the opportunity to know your customers personally exists.
Leverage your data and interactions to consider a gift that could bring your customer value, personally or professionally. Or send something that will bring a smile to their face. Think of customer appreciation gift ideas such as flowers or a food basket.
When done well, sending a gift to your customers demonstrates just how well you’re listening and shows you truly appreciate them.
6. Offer Holiday Treats
Gifting holiday pies to your customers is another thoughtful customer appreciation giveaway idea. Come Thanksgiving and Christmas, for example, you could send an email blast to your customer base and provide a link so those interested can reserve a pie.
Consider offering several popular pie options and either pre-order with a local bakery or head to a retail wholesaler, such as Costco or Sam’s Club, and purchase in bulk. Have them come to your place of business on a specific day within a certain time frame to pick up their pies. You could even include a note with each pie reiterating your gratitude and wishing them a lovely holiday season.
7. Honor Clients With a Charitable Contribution
Another idea for a customer appreciation gift is to make a donation in your client’s name to a noteworthy charity or one that’s close to your client’s heart.
More and more, customers are spending their dollars with companies that align with their values. So pay close attention to what your customers are most passionate about, especially your top clients.
For example, if you run a business with a close connection to natural resources, consider donating to a water conversation charity in a customer’s honor. Or, if you operate a local grocery store, you could donate a holiday meal in the name of your customers.
Similarly, planting a tree in honor of your customer could be another way to show your appreciation. Not only is it a positive impact on the environment, but it’s also a great way to tangibly show how much you value a specific customer.
Such feel-good gestures can be great ways to serve the community and strengthen the bond between you and your customers.
8. Say Thank You With a Personal Video
If you thought writing a handwritten note would show how much you appreciate your customers, imagine how you’d feel if you opened your Twitter notifications or inbox and found a customized video just for you? Needless to say, this type of a virtual customer appreciation idea is sure to please.
Here’s an example of a popular personalized video created by eyewear company Warby Parker responding to a customer looking for feedback on the frames she tried on.
Original Tweet:
@WarbyParkerHelp what do yall think? Any recommendations? pic.twitter.com/wzZgDZl0h1
— Whitney Fowler (@whitlash), December 18, 2014
Video Response:
This could be a time-consuming endeavor, so consider reserving personalized videos for top clients. Also, if you’re a smaller business, you might not have the budget to create a professional-looking video, but you can still follow suit.
If you’re a one-person show, create a thank-you video on your smartphone, and text or email it to your customer. If you’re a larger company, have individual salespeople try out this technique.
In addition to showing your gratitude, you’re providing a visual reminder of what you look like, which can also help you stay top of mind should your client be in need of similar services again.
9. Treat Your Client to Lunch
Whether you send lunch unannounced to a client’s office, invite them to lunch at a local restaurant or send them a gift card to their favorite sandwich shop, picking up the check is a treat sure to please.
Gifting food and drinks is a great client appreciation idea. These expressions of gratitude are rewarded when customers refer your business to coworkers and friends.
10. Teach Your Customers a New Skill
Teaching your customers a new skill is a unique customer appreciation idea and a fun way to demonstrate expertise in your craft while building and strengthening relationships with your customers.
For example, if you own a brewery, invite your regulars for a lesson on what they would need to brew beer at home. If you own an arts and craft store, you could host a scrapbooking class. The list goes on.
11. Share a Great Book
Consider giving an inspirational book or industry-specific best-seller as a customer appreciation gift. It can facilitate a dialogue between you and your customer.
You’ll be able to talk about the insights each of you has gathered and will hopefully continue learning more about how your business can support them.
Depending on your level of familiarity, writing a personal note on one of the title pages can add a nice touch.
12. Spotlight Your Customer
Make your customer feel special. Whether you’re a local coffee shop owner or a major coffee bean distributor, featuring your customers on your social media accounts, newsletter or as part of some larger initiative is an inexpensive customer appreciation idea that can show you’re grateful for your patrons.
13. Do Something ‘Just Because’
Do something special for a special customer. For instance, send a massage therapist their way to help ease workplace stress. Or, if they’ve been snowed in, hire a plow service to clear their driveway. Think of thoughtful, creative ways you can acknowledge them.
While your motivation should be taking care of your customer, the residual impact could be getting additional attention through word of mouth or social media sharing.
14. Create a Rewards Program Worth Talking About
Developing a loyalty program that people want to sign up for and continue using can be challenging. While it’s advantageous for businesses to collect emails and phone numbers, your business needs to provide enough value that people keep coming back.
As a way to thank customers and encourage brand loyalty, physical retailers can offer a punch card with a “Buy X, Get Y Free.” This is a simple small business customer appreciation idea that can drive repeat business, as long as the buying cycle provides enough incentive for the customer.
On the other hand, online retailers may be better off using personalized discounts on the products customers buy most.
15. Start a Referral Program
When you work with a customer you like and appreciate, sometimes the highest compliment can be to send business their way. If you own a business-to-business company, this can mean connecting one customer with another in order to solve a specific need.
In contrast, a business-to-consumer company might give long-term customers unique coupons to hand out to friends for special discounts.
Since consumers are more likely to trust the recommendations of a peer or an online review, having these types of referrals coming through your business helps build social proof.
16. Reward Positive Reviews
If you see that a customer comments positively about you on social media or leaves a great review on a ratings platform, consider responding by offering them a free item or a discount on a future purchase from your business.
17. Celebrate Your Customers
Offer congratulations and well wishes to a customer who is celebrating a birthday, retirement or another major milestone. You can also send a personalized gift to commemorate the occasion (e.g., custom glass or plaque).
18. Check In to Say Hello
When was the last time you communicated with your customer? Not to sell them anything, that is, just to touch base. A call, a text or an email to say hello is a customer service appreciation idea that shows you’re thinking of your customer and you value your relationship.
19. Make Life Easier
Ultimately, customers do business with you because you provide a product they need or a service they can’t perform themselves. But sometimes, even the companies who make our lives easier go above and beyond their product and service descriptions.
For example, the online pet retailer Chewy has improved the lives of customers across the country with its no-questions-asked return policy. Powered by a world-class customer service department, Chewy gets issues resolved in minutes.
20. Offer an Account Upgrade
We’ve talked a lot about surprises throughout this list. Perhaps one of the most valuable things you could do for your customers is upgrade their account. Online shoe retailer Zappos has been known to do this for customers after just a second purchase.
If you’re not in retail, you can still find a way to upgrade your customer accounts. As an example, a produce vendor could upgrade a loyal customer’s account by providing faster delivery options or allowing restaurants the chance to choose their goods. Whatever upgrade you offer, the act will show your appreciation.
21. Hold a Customer Appreciation Contest
Who doesn’t like a good raffle or giveaway with a little competition mixed in? Create an “Enter to Win” contest, whether online or in-person. Think social media versus dropping a business card in a bowl.
Or automatically enter your clients in a contest each month for a chance to win a prize. Customer appreciation giveaway ideas could include tickets to a sports game or live performance, a gift certificate to a local restaurant, a spa day or something else you know would be a hit.
22. Host a Trivia Night
If you run an ecommerce business you might consider hosting an online trivia night as a virtual customer appreciation idea. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, such as a retail shop, restaurant or storefront, an in-person event might attract more participants. Either way, make a fun night out of it and offer prizes for the winners.
23. Listen
Listening goes a long way. And it doesn’t just have to be face to face. Take to social media and see what your clients and target audience are saying online. You’ll be able to identify what they care about. You’ll also be able to hear how your small business is doing in their eyes.
24. Go Above and Beyond in the Everyday
As a small business owner or salesperson, you can do many things to show your customers you care. But it’s often in the everyday interactions that you can do something to garner a positive impression and improve customer retention.
For example, in the retail environment this could be remembering their favorite item, greeting them by name, engaging in pleasant conversation or offering them a drink while they shop.
Why Implement Customer Appreciation Ideas
The advantages of providing customers with an exceptional experience are multi-faceted. Showing appreciation to your customers can improve retention, increase your average dollar sale and generate word-of-mouth business, among other benefits.
Here are a few recent statistics demonstrating why implementing thoughtful customer appreciation ideas and exceptional service can improve your business.
- Customers’ standards for a great experience are higher than ever, according to 67% of buyers surveyed.
- Companies that are customer-centric are 60% more profitable.
- In terms of customer experience, 73% of people agree it’s an important factor in their purchasing decisions.
- Regarding customer experience, 30% of customers are willing to pay more for excellent service.
- Personalized customer experiences make 80% of buyers more likely to purchase from a brand.
Following Through on Customer Appreciation Ideas
While there are plenty of gifts, events and promotions you could offer your customers, arguably, the best appreciation strategy is to provide a consistent experience that delivers what your clients expect when they expect it. That said, going above and beyond is the wow factor you’ll want to strive toward achieving with each and every experience.
When you’re ready to implement a specific customer appreciation idea, consider creating an annual customer appreciation month or a quarterly customer appreciation week to highlight your top clients, promote exclusive sales or host private events.
Extend your gratitude to your newest clients as well as the ones who’ve been with you since day one. You won’t regret it.
