9 Customer Appreciation Strategies to Enhance the Post-Sales Journey

You could be mistaken for thinking that a sale is complete once you have your money and your customers have what they paid for. Transaction complete. Job done. For a lot of businesses, this is exactly what happens. 

Some businesses, though, know that a customer journey can – and should – extend beyond a single transaction. And those are the brands that customers return to, time and again. Essentially, the last step customers take on their journey with you after post-sale is the first step towards the next sale. 

In this blog post, we will look at why you should think about your customer’s journey beyond the end of the transaction, why you need a customer appreciation strategy, and explore nine ways you can enhance your customer’s experience with you. 

Why Do You Need a Post-Sales Customer Appreciation Strategy?

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Traditional wisdom has always been that if your product is great and you ensure your service is second to none, you’ll have your customers for life. That is how it’s always worked, after all. However, a lot has changed, and it’s mostly down to the internet and digital technologies. 

Gone are the days when you could mosey down Main Street and find everything you need. Now, when people want something, they ask Google. That means your business isn’t just competing with the store down the road: it’s competing with the world. 

Now, consumers have more choice than ever. Correspondingly, businesses have upped their game to cope with competition. Consumers soon got used to this elevated level of service. Now, they don’t just appreciate great service: they expect it. 

The good news is that there are simple strategies you can implement to stand out from the crowd and go above and beyond customer expectations. They don’t require a ton of time or financial investment, either. With careful planning, clever strategies and modern technologies like CRMs and hosted VoIP systems, you can ensure your customers will return time and again. 

Here Are 9 Customer Appreciation Strategies To Enhance The Post-Sales Journey

Now that you know why you should be thinking about your customer appreciation strategies, let's get stuck into the details and look at how you can enhance your customer’s post-sales journey with you. 

1. Send Thank You Cards

One of the simplest things you can do to let your customers know you appreciate them is to tell them. It really is that easy. Thank you cards are a terrific and highly effective way to show your customers you care. 

Share some news about your company and let them know who you are. This is especially effective if you’re selling online, as it stops you from being another faceless corporation. You can personalize your business message by including a simple note or card and start a long-lasting relationship with your customers. 

One thing to be aware of is that, although thank-you notes can be one of the best sales enablement tools, they shouldn’t ever be a sales pitch. Try to always keep it personal. Let your customers know their purchase is appreciated and how much it helps you. Be sure to focus on making the customer feel great, and you’ll make an impression that will last.  

2. Stay Fresh In Customer’s Minds With Swag 

Souvenirs, wearables, and gifts: what’s not to like about swag? People love getting free stuff, and your customers are no exception. However, the real power of business swag is that you can subtly boost your brand visibility without customers even realizing it. 

Branded swag’s true power comes from the fact that you stay at the forefront of your customers' minds. It’s a curious but psychologically powerful effect. If you bombarded them with an ad to remind them to buy from you, they’d be sick of you in no time. 

However, give them something useful with a logo on it, and they’ll see your branding day in, day out and only ever think positively of you. The word ‘useful’ is key here, though. The trick is to give your customers something they actually want and use, preferably daily. 

Quality is all-important, too. You’ll be associated with the item forever. Whether your swag is a pen or high-end headphones, it pays to get swag that lasts. It also means your custom swag should represent you as a business. If you’re into sustainability, go for eco-friendly swag with a reusable water bottle or something else that encapsulates your ideals. 

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3. Reward Customer Loyalty

One of the most effective ways to show appreciation for your customers is to reward their continued loyalty with loyalty programs. Implementing loyalty programs as part of your customer appreciation strategy has a few important advantages. 

Firstly, they require very little financial investment. While other options on this list require little faith that you’ll get an ROI, loyalty programs allow you to recoup your outlay before you spend it. This can make them excellent options for marketing teams on a budget. 

Secondly, loyalty programs reward people for coming back time and again. In fact, the draw of loyalty programs becomes even greater the closer customers are to their prize, often leading to an uptick in purchases from your happiest and most loyal customers. 

Finally, customer loyalty programs provide you amazing data about your best customers’ spending habits, which allows you to make data-driven sales strategies in the future. There’s a reason big data is big money. With the right loyalty program, you can gain a 360 customer view and truly understand what they want. 

4. Surprise Your Customers With Coupons And Gift Cards

This strategy has a lot in common with loyalty schemes, as you can reward loyalty in customers while keeping your financial investment to a minimum by ensuring that you have already been paid for any goods or services you gift your customers.

Why would you choose this strategy over loyalty programs, then? The real advantage is the psychological impact of getting something for nothing. With a loyalty program, people work towards their reward. That means that the reward isn’t just anticipated: it’s expected. 

However, with coupons or gift cards, you can decide when and how to reward your customers and demonstrate your appreciation of their custom. This surprise element can have a real psychological effect because it feels much more like a gift than something earned. This makes it a highly effective way of building positive feelings towards your brand – a feeling that customers will remember. 

5. Grow Your Customer Base With Referral Programs

So, you’ve sent your customers thank-you cards, come up with some great swag ideas for your conference guests, launched a loyalty program, and thrown some cool coupons at your customers. What next? A referral program.

Like customer loyalty programs, referral programs reward your most loyal customers for staying true to you. This can give you a significant boost in customer retention and organically grow your business. 

This is because of the strength of word of mouth as a marketing tool. The reason is simple enough: people tend to trust their friends and family. It doesn’t matter how good your marketing team is, you simply can’t compete with a real-life recommendation from someone your customers know and love. 

Instead, you can reward your customers while expanding your customer base with customers predisposed to like you. After all, what is prospecting in sales if not a trust-building exercise?  

6. Put Your Customers In The VIP Lane

Another cost-free way to show your loyal customers that you appreciate them is to offer them first dibs on your next big release. This strategy rewards those customers most likely to want to buy from you and can create a buzz around a new product. 

If you sell directly to the public, this can also be a breeze to implement, as sales automation tools enable you to automate outgoing messages to your most loyal customers so you never miss a beat.  

On the other hand, if you’re a B2B company, this could be a golden opportunity for you and your client to boost your social media engagement by turning the limited pre-release of a product into an event. With this approach, you can get your fans to visit your client's site and vice versa. 

7. Upgrade Someone’s Day

Nothing makes your customers feel more appreciated than a free upgrade. Your customers will feel like they’ve struck the jackpot when their purchase turns out to be twice the bargain they were expecting. 

Here’s the secret, though. Upgrades don’t have to cost you the world. If you’re in a service industry, such as hospitality, it doesn’t make sense for your best room or table to go unused. Instead, make use of that capacity and give someone an experience they might never be able to normally afford. Your five-star review will soon follow.

Similarly, if your business provides a subscription, such as SaaS, give people a taste of your full-featured package for a few months. Not only will they appreciate your generosity, but they may not want to go back to the basic package afterwards. Again, this doesn’t need to take a lot of time or resources, with automation software allowing you to make it a cost-effective, hassle-free way of showing appreciation to your customers. 

8. Support Causes Your Customers Care About

Sometimes, the best way to show your customers that you care is to show them that you share their values. A fantastic way to do this is to give to charities and causes you and your customers care about. 

Instead of giving back to customers with a loyalty scheme or gift cards, donate a portion of your profits to a charity you care about. You could, for example, say that for every five purchases, you’ll donate something to a specific charity (make sure it aligns with your brand values). Alternatively, you could work on a project with a charity or cause and let your customers know what their purchases with you have achieved. 

From a marketing perspective, it’s easy to see the benefits of this strategy and how it will positively impact your reputation. The best thing about it, though? You can do some real good. Sure, making a sale is great. But by giving a little back, you, your staff, and your customers can be proud that you are doing something tangible to make the world a better place. 

9. Personalize Your Appreciation

You might have been surprised that many of the strategies on this list don’t involve much of an outlay. Sometimes, it really is the thought that counts.

But other times, you have clients whose relationship is so crucial to your business you want to go above and beyond to show them how much you appreciate them. In these cases, a coupon or a water bottle, no matter how nice, just won’t do. You need to pull out the big guns when you have clients like that. That’s when personally branded swag comes into its own.

With these customers, you don’t need to remind them who you are. If they’re that important to you, the chances are you’re important to them, too. So, instead of gifting them your branded swag, consider doing it the other way around. Find a gift that speaks to them personally. Something that recognizes them not just as a valued customer but as a valued individual. 

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Wrapping Up

Businesses today face more competition than ever before. Everyone has had to up their game. Great service is no longer appreciated; it’s expected. Fortunately, there are plenty of post-sales strategies to help you stand out in the minds of your customers. 

From branded swag to delight customers to loyalty schemes to keep them happy while incentivizing future purchases, the options are many. Something as simple as a handwritten note or an upgrade can brighten someone's day and build your reputation as a caring company. 

For those special few, you may even want to invest in personalized swag tailored to your customer's needs to show them you know, understand, and appreciate them and what they do for your business. Whatever strategy you choose, take the extra time to let them know it is worth the effort. 

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