Small ways to express your love & appreciation for your customers on Valentine's Day & year-round

​Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here’s an episode where I share some ways that business owners have shown and continue to their love and appreciation for their customers. I believe that it’s the little things that count when it comes to expressing your love and appreciation. And many of the examples discussed in this episode are proof that I’m not the only one who thinks that way.
 
What this episode covers:

• Why “the little things” are the most important, and examples of what that actually means
• What I hope these stories do for your business.
• An FAQ in the Facebook groups I’m part of, “how can I get clients,” and how I believe it relates to this week’s episode.
• How a falafel shop used a fresh dessert to show their appreciation for me returning for lunch at their place of business, and how it was the perfect way to “say thank you, without saying thank you.”
• What taking a moment to conduct kind gestures like these force people to remember you as kind person, worth going back to, rather than “just” a sales or business person. For even more ideas check out my episode on customer loyalty.
• The story behind how a custom designed mug with my logo on it ended up at my co-working space. I actually took a picture of it and talked about it on Instagram, in case you actually want to see it!
• How my fellow co-working space members’ choice to leave branded mugs inside the space gave me the idea for doing the same thing.
• I noticed people where using their mugs to introduce their business to other people without saying anything: “through the simple act of someone pouring tea or coffee into a cup”. Here’s why I thought that was an amazing idea.
• The day when I found out that leaving a mug with my logo and website on it was a form of non-digital advertising that was actually reaching other members.
• Why I was frustrated at first that I couldn’t find the mug, and how seeing someone else pouring tea into that mug made me a lot less frustrated.
• How telling the person who was using my mug that I brought in the mug made that person’s day and allowed them to attach a friendly face to a logo, design, and website.
•  How talking to someone using my mug was a great way to spread the word about my professional services, without saying a single word about what I do or what I offer. A side note about this: a lot of people at my co-working space wear name tags (and I forgot to mention that in the episode), so she instantly was able to see that this is my business.
• Both these stories are proof that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on acts of kindness and appreciation directed at your customers: mug was cheap. Don’t know the cost of the dessert, but it was small enough that it probably didn’t require much.
• The fact that both those things are about putting a personality to a faceless brand, along with kindness and generosity.
•  Another misconception: that you have to use sleazy sales tactics, and why people respond so well to the alternative: offering value to people.
• My approach with my blog and podcast content and why it’s really about: “paying attention to things other people have questions about.”
•  How that helps people remember what they read or heard, and how that has helped me get my two most recent clients: “they liked what I was about”.
• How people liking you, because you did something valuable for them, makes them much more likely to invest in what you offer.
• The two most important things to consider when figuring out what’s best for you: the resources you have at your disposal, and a willingness to just try things.
• A few hypothetical examples/ suggestions of what I mean by “just trying things”.
• The value of listening to your audience through surveying and direct conversations and finding out for them what they need to hear to take the right action.
•   The fact that your customers will surprise you with their preferences.

 
For even more insight on this topic…
 
Check out my blog post: “My local tea sommelier’s sales process & how it makes an impact”.
 
About me 

I specialize in blog content promotion and audience outreach strategy.
 
My work has been featured on sites such as Buffer and Search Engine Journal, and I have worked with clients such as Yellowpages Canada and E-Bay. My blog, Rosie Writing Space, and podcast, People Behind the Business, are dedicated to providing practical advice for people who are “putting themselves out there” in the digital space.
 
I am based at the Centre for Innovation in Toronto, Canada.
 
For more info about my work, check out www.rosemaryrichings.com.
 
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