A few years ago I decided to do something nice for a customer after wrapping up a major project.
Instead of just sending them a thank you email, I decided to send them a small gift.
Brownies.
Gooey, chocolate brownies.
I had a recommendation for an ecommerce store to use, ordered a box, and shipped it to my clients address.
A few weeks later I followed up with that customer and asked if they got my brownies.
"Oh, that address. That's our mail drop address for our corporate mail. We check it like once a quarter when we're in the area."
So that idea was a bust.
But a few months later they emailed me again.
"Thanks for the brownies. We threw them away but the thought was nice."
Years later they are still a regular customer and have spent over six-figures with me.
The moral of this story is to send your customers old and stale food.
...right?
How about this instead:
Try a bit harder than usual to do something nice and unexpected for your customers now and then.
It doesn't have to be a large gift or anything.
If you normally send a thank you email, send them a postcard.
If you normally call them, send them a handwritten letter.
This can work really well with your repeat customers. There's less of them so it's easier on you and they'll appreciate the extra attention.
All you need is:
- Something to tell you when a repeat customer purchases.
- A process to create and send them the extra thanks.
