!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feed

We bought a house and the builder never said “thank you.” May I repeat? We bought a shiny, beautiful new house, met with the builder on many occasions, and he never said thank you. Not when we made the down payment. Not when we were picking which shade of black countertops, and not when we closed and moved in. Not one single time.

It begs the question, did he appreciate our business? I guess we’ll never know; however, imagine if he had sent a small gift card to the Home Depot! We would have told everyone, thus creating great word-of-mouth advertising for the builder. Even a housewarming card, orhe could have just stopped by to say hello. Any small token to show his appreciation would have been appreciated by us - and productive for him

Do you appreciate your customers? If so, do they know it? How is your business etiquette? When I teach companies how to “Hit the Grand Slam” with customers, I stress the importance of appreciating your customers and showing it. American Psychologist William James commented that the most basic of human needs is the need to be appreciated. One way to genuinely create better results,and the resulting increased profits is to appreciate your customers.

You can do so in many different ways.

•Do the little things. Just say “thank you”, and while you’re at it, send out a thank-you note. Delivering unparalleled service is simple, but not easy. For many years I owned and operated our family’s wine stores in Chicago. My goal was to write thank-you notes for every transaction over $1,000. On some weekends that could mean a nasty case of writer’s cramp! It was simple to want to do it; however, not so easy to actually follow through.

Other simple ways to show appreciation are:

•Opening the door for a customer.
•Finding a chair for someone who is waiting.
•Escorting someone to the place where they will find what they asked for - instead of pointing your finger!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feedb

We would have told everyone, thus creating great word-of-mouth advertising for the builder. Even a housewarming card, orhe could have just stopped by to say hello. Any small token to show his appreciation would have been appreciated by us - and productive for him

Do you appreciate your customers? If so, do they know it? How is your business etiquette? When I teach companies how to “Hit the Grand Slam” with customers, I stress the importance of appreciating your customers and showing it. American Psychologist William James commented that the most basic of human needs is the need to be appreciated. One way to genuinely create better results,and the resulting increased profits is to appreciate your customers.

You can do so in many different ways.

•Do the little things. Just say “thank you”, and while you’re at it, send out a thank-you note. Delivering unparalleled service is simple, but not easy. For many years I owned and operated our family’s wine stores in Chicago. My goal was to write thank-you notes for every transaction over $1,000. On some weekends that could mean a nasty case of writer’s cramp! It was simple to want to do it; however, not so easy to actually follow through.

Other simple ways to show appreciation are:

•Opening the door for a customer.
•Finding a chair for someone who is waiting.
•Escorting someone to the place where they will find what they asked for - instead of pointing your finger!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feed

owing it. American Psychologist William James commented that the most basic of human needs is the need to be appreciated. One way to genuinely create better results,and the resulting increased profits is to appreciate your customers.

You can do so in many different ways.

•Do the little things. Just say “thank you”, and while you’re at it, send out a thank-you note. Delivering unparalleled service is simple, but not easy. For many years I owned and operated our family’s wine stores in Chicago. My goal was to write thank-you notes for every transaction over $1,000. On some weekends that could mean a nasty case of writer’s cramp! It was simple to want to do it; however, not so easy to actually follow through.

Other simple ways to show appreciation are:

•Opening the door for a customer.
•Finding a chair for someone who is waiting.
•Escorting someone to the place where they will find what they asked for - instead of pointing your finger!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feed

ine stores in Chicago. My goal was to write thank-you notes for every transaction over $1,000. On some weekends that could mean a nasty case of writer’s cramp! It was simple to want to do it; however, not so easy to actually follow through.

Other simple ways to show appreciation are:

•Opening the door for a customer.
•Finding a chair for someone who is waiting.
•Escorting someone to the place where they will find what they asked for - instead of pointing your finger!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feed

!
•Having a clean store and parking lot.
•Giving every female customer a flower on Mother’s day.

•Send out small gifts.

The lack of appreciation I encountered with the house gave me an idea. I approached a local Land Rover Dealership with the idea of sending gifts to people who purchased cars. Imagine, if you will, you’ve just spend anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 on a new car, and you get a small gift in the mail. The dealer initiated the program, and the feedback he received was incredible - and all for a measly $33 per unit, including taxes and shipping!

The great news is the effect of such generosity. Harvard Business School authors (Reinartz and Kumar) concluded that “An unexpected surprise generates exceptional word-of- mouth advertising”; attention that, in some cases, money can not buy.

When my children were young, we used to read Barney says Please and Thank you, every night before bed. So remember Barney and don’t forget your business etiquette. Always remember to appreciate your customers long after the sale is complete. They will show their appreciation by continuing to be your customer, by coming back again and again, and that should be the motivation for everything we do.