One of the most effective ways to make your customers feel special and important is to remember and acknowledge important dates. Your immediate thought might be dates such as birthdays and anniversaries, which are useful to remember, but there are lots of other dates that can have an even greater impact. A few suggestions include:
- The first date that a customer visited your business.
- The first date that a customer referred your business to someone else.
- The first time that a particular product was purchased.
- A milestone number of purchases
Although it can be difficult to monitor some of these milestones, the advent of sophisticated software programs is making it easier every day. As with all monitoring, ensure that you use a system that works for you and one that can be sustained. If it is too complicated it will tend to be forgotten and fade into oblivion.
Acknowledging these dates and anniversaries can have a number of positive effects on your customers. First, it makes them feel special, which of course they are. Second, it shows that you value their business enough to monitor every purchase they make. And third, it shows that you look at the relationship as ongoing and long term.
Remembering these kinds of dates does take time and you do need to be well organized. However, relatively inexpensive computer software is readily available that can be used to organize important customer information and remind you of these special dates and anniversaries.