​​4 Unexpected Ways to Delight Your Customers and Boost Retention

One of the big challenges when you're running a small business is promoting and selling your product. It takes a huge amount of effort to attract new customers and generate those all-important sales. Once you've got them, there's another hurdle to cross: keeping them.

Per HBR, a 5% increase in customer retention rates can translate into a 25% to 95% increase in profits, according to research done by Bain & Company. Plus, it costs a lot more to keep an existing customer than to attract a new one. Here are some ways to delight customers that could boost retention and help your bottom line.

1. Write a thank-you note

A customer's experience with your brand can be broken into many individual points of contact. Use top CRM software to help you map out customer journeys and even automate some of the actions involved. Think about how you can go above and beyond with each step they take with you.

There's no single formula for delighting your customers, but a handwritten thank-you note can go a long way. Be sure to use your customer's name and explain why their purchase matters. If it's a regular customer, recognize their continued support and see if you can share any relevant promotions or offers to show your appreciation.

More widely, review all of your communications, including your website and social media. Use language that will draw people in from the get-go. Make it as warm and engaging as possible. People want to feel as if they are dealing with other humans, so don't be afraid to inject character or even humor into your words. Include your team's pictures alongside their bios on your website and encourage them to share their favorite movie, ice cream flavor, or color.

2. Give customers a small gift

Gifts don't have to break the bank, and they can be an excellent way to charm your customers. If it's an online purchase (and the mailing costs are already covered), think about including an extra little something in the package.

For example, I recently bought some gardening materials online. When I opened the box, I found a small bag of seeds and a thank you note from the company. Now, seeds may not be an appropriate gift if your company, say, creates websites. Perhaps you could instead offer a complimentary follow-up after six months to evaluate the site's performance.

Brainstorm with your team to find something that's affordable and appropriate. Or see whether there's a value-in-kind deal that might be beneficial to both sides. I run a small local newspaper with an extremely limited budget. We wanted to give small Christmas gifts a while back. Since we didn't have any budget, we negotiated with a new bakery to give us cookies in exchange for advertising in the paper.

3. Offer a lifetime guarantee

Guarantees won't work for every business, and it's important to consider the pros and cons before you make a promise you can't deliver on. Nonetheless, if you're looking to go the extra mile, a lifetime guarantee is one way of putting your money where your mouth is.

Take Patagonia, an outdoors brand that's been offering an ironclad guarantee since 1973. The company's commitment to sustainable clothing is part of their brand. It will repair, replace, or refund items if a product doesn't do what it should. It is not alone -- you'll find examples of everything from yoga mat manufacturers to teddy bear makers who offer the same promise.

On the downside, people may abuse your warranty. There are also financial and legal implications that could be difficult for a small business to swallow. If a lifetime warranty feels too much, consider a time-related guarantee or a results-based commitment.

4. Remember your customers' birthdays -- and other key events

There are all kinds of cost-effective ways you can put your customer data to work for you, including tailored communications that speak to their needs. Email marketing software makes it easy to target specific groups of people with personalized messages.

But personalized emails won't be enough to wow your customers. Go further by remembering their birthdays and offering a discount or free gift to celebrate. If it's a big customer and you can make a phone call or send a card, so much the better. Ben & Jerry gives rewards program members free ice cream on their special day.

Beyond birthdays, other milestones offer great opportunities to surprise your customers and deepen your relationship with them. That might mean celebrating a certain number of purchases or their anniversary with your company. If someone is your top client for that month, recognize it.

Depending on what service you provide, perhaps you could pull together a fun year-end message with highlights of your client's activities. For example, Spotify sends each user a curated list of their top songs and bands from the year. Duolingo builds personalized year-in-review messages celebrating each person's language learning achievements.

Brainstorm with your team to find thoughtful ways to celebrate your customers. The key is to think about what your customers might like -- it is about them, not you.

Get the basics right

This article is about ways to surprise and delight. But it's worth pointing out that those wow moments will never replace the fundamentals. You need to meet your clients' expectations before you can do something special. That means delivering on your promises, taking steps to protect their data, responding to their queries, and offering a quality product. Only then can you put a cherry on top of your already-excellent service.