Sundaymail Editor
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso
We are in the month of love, and just like everybody else, customers want to love and be loved in return.
Even (Abraham Harold) Maslow (an American psychologist) in his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, pointed out that love is a human need that must be met so as to motivate individuals.
For some businesses, this a monumental day that drives huge revenues, while for others it is a perfect chance to show their customers that they care.
You do not need to be selling chocolates, teddy bears, sexy lingerie, diamonds or even flowers to attract customers on February 14 and beyond.
You just need the right strategies to attract their attention.
Business is about belonging.
There are many ways to show your customers that you care. And this is how you can reach out to old customers as well as new prospects:
- Write love letters
Customers, just like in any other human relationship, are emotional human beings and the easiest way to their hearts is through emotions.
Handwritten notes by the organisation’s CEO and personalised video clips to individual customers go a long way. Imagine receiving a personalised corporate gift with a deep, sweet message on Valentine’s Day with the caption “Company X is thankful to you because you are family to us.”
This brings a lot of joy to customers. Remember, most decisions are emotion rather than logical; hence, emotions such as love, guilt, greed, pride and fear hold power in purchasing decisions.
- Build your customer relationship for best return on investment
Occasions like Valentine’s Day and any other major holiday attract increased sales and online traffic on social media pages, as well as web pages for different organisations. This is the time for organisations to figure out how to impress their customers and build life-long relationships.
Since it costs more dollars and requires a great deal of strategies to get new customers to trust a brand, organisations must work on keeping existing customers and retain them for life. This is only possible if organisations have solid relationships with their customers and are able to keep them engaged with their brands.
- Organise Customer Events
Action speaks louder than words. You need to show your customers that you appreciate them by putting words into action. Coming up with events that are customer-specific helps in showing them that the organisation cares for them. It can be a small event like an informal luncheon or an outing of barbecuing and drinks with a few of your customers.
Organisations must learn to return the favour by reciprocating with little gestures of appreciation.
- Launch customer loyalty programmes
Whenever there is a holiday, customers tend to spend more on goods and services. It is common knowledge that holidays or special occasions result in competition among brands.
However, they are also a time for opportunities. Present offers that will make customers feel valued that they will not think twice to do repeat purchases. Offers like free gifts on Valentine’s Day to all customers or free service give-away for top customers can go a long way.
Although organisations may give Valentine’s Day discounts, this may seem like a transactional promotion, where a customer has to spend some money first before they receive their appreciation. This type of appreciation makes customers feel like their relationship with the organisation is only monetary and that the organisation cares about them only if they spend with them.
- Gift your customers when they least expect it
Most people I know love surprises, and customers are no different. Surprise the customers with Valentines’ gifts, Christmas or birthday gifts, but most importantly, anytime gifts. Surprise gifts give companies the edge. As a customer who loves surprises, how would you feel if a certain organisation that you do business with sends you a gift out of nowhere with the caption ‘We think you are special and deserve this gift from us’?
It will obviously leave a mark for a long time. Expressing gratitude to customers should be done regularly and spontaneously to show that you appreciate them. In turn, the same customers will give you attention, loyalty and they become free brand ambassadors in marketing the organisation.
Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a marketing enthusiast with a strong passion for customer service. For comments and suggestions, she can be reached on or on 0712 979 461.
Online Reporter