A customer base of one-time buyers is a sure shot recipe for a sinking business. While short-term customers can give you a headstart, your company needs long term buyers to ensure consistent sales.
Winning your customers’ loyalty requires persistence and doing your basics right – fulfilling orders, offering seamless customer support, providing on-time solutions, and creating successful merchandise ideas are some of the factors.
For customers, long-term commitment to your brand means they’re delighted with your services and appreciate the impeccable shopping experiences you provide.
Why is customer delight a big deal?
Customer delight is all about making lasting relationships with your customers by going beyond good product quality and responsive customer service.
By using various incentives and reward ideas, you deliberately remind your customers to always buy from you and not your competitors.
For now, it may impact your budget, but don’t forget – any investment you make to delight your customers will reap benefits for your business in the long run.
The bigger question is – where to start?
What are the best ideas for enterprise brands to delight their customers?
To create memorable experiences for your customers, you don’t have to spend big. There are a lot of innovative ideas that you can use to boost your business growth and customer loyalty.
Here are the top 50 awesome ideas to delight your valuable customers.
A Handwritten Thank You Card
Even in today’s age of automation, a little emotional connection goes a long way.
Every time a first-time buyer purchases from you, make sure to write them a handwritten card to appreciate their interest in your brand.
It’s a novel way of making a great impression on your new customers.
Twitter Customer Shout-Out
It is a quirky customer delight tactic that you can implement in some seconds only.
Just go through your weekly order list, pick a customer who is actively using Twitter, and thank them with a personalized shout-out by mentioning their name or Twitter handle.
Free Gear
One of the most proficient merchandise ideas is to give free stuff to your loyal customers.
If your company sells electronics and gaming equipment, you can provide free mouse pads, headphone covers, laptop sleeves, and other items of interest.
Collaborate with Payment Portals
Collaborate with various payment portals to provide exclusive discount codes to your loyal customers whenever they make a purchase.
It will help your business along with your partners’.
Start a Referral Program
There’s nothing better for the customers than being rewarded for a referral.
Start an ambassador program to offer discounts, freebies, and other gifts to people who help drive new customers.
It will help you increase your sales and delight your loyal customers as well.
Digital Scratch Cards
What could be more exciting for your customers than a chance to ‘scratch & win’?
Digital scratch cards are fun, free, and easy to play. They serve as an effective way of marketing your brand and drive engagement.
Send Surprise Gifts
Everyone loves surprise gifts, and your customers are no exception. To implement this idea, all you have to do is to send surprise gifts to your random customers.
You can target:
- New customers when they make a purchase
- Old customers when they make a repurchase
- Customers who mention your brand on social media
Start a Hashtag Trend
Hashtags are highly popular on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Make a unique hashtag with your brand name, and ask your customers to use it with some creativity in the form of posts, tweets, or status messages.
Select the ones that are exciting or funny, and reward the individuals by sending gift vouchers, discount coupons, or other sales benefits.
An Honest Email
Customer delight is not always about rewarding your customers. Sometimes an apology can work wonders.
For instance, if an order didn’t process in time, or you shipped the wrong item, go the extra mile and send an honest email explaining the whole situation.
Your customers will love your honesty and appreciate your effort to apologize to them.
Branded Packaging
Customer delight is all about creating impressive experiences for your customers. By using branded packaging for your products, you can motivate your customers to share their unboxing videos.
Such videos have the potential to go viral quickly on social media sites – building a lot of traction for your brand.
Being Responsive
Always pay attention to the reviews, comments, and feedback given by your customers on social media, and engage them to participate in discussions related to your brand.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with your target audience and boost their loyalty.
Greetings
Send personalized greeting cards to your customers on Christmas, Thanksgiving, New year, etc. Your customers will acknowledge that you take the time to remember them.
Product Demonstrations
Product demonstrations are a great way to connect with your target customers and showcase your new products.
Run product demonstration drives and invite your trusted customers to discuss their questions, queries, and feedback.
Free Shipping
Delight your loyal customers by sending a free shipping promo code. It will not only make them happy but also drive them to purchase more from you.
VIP Product Testers
People love being a part of an exclusive group. Choose your loyal customers to become a part of your VIP product testing team.
Send new product samples to the team and review their feedback. It will help you improve your product as well as build a strong connection with your customers.
Commitment to Availability
Sending an email with a promise statement about your availability can delight your customers.
Tell your customers they can reach out to you or someone on your team whenever they need help.
Membership Card
Gift your most loyal customers with a free membership card. With the card, your customers can get exclusive discounts and other privileges.
Personalized Message from CEO
A message or email from the CEO/Owner of a company can be an effective method of winning the loyalty of the customers.
Send an email describing your best practices, work ethics, and dedication towards the brand; in return, your customers will appreciate your sincerity.
Commitment to a Cause
Many startups and budding companies have set their business models around social entrepreneurship, which includes donating a part of the profit to charitable causes.
This practice establishes a noble brand image, and your customers will surely appreciate your humane side!
Free Samples
If you can afford it, offering free samples to your most loyal customers is a smart way to show you care about your brand and treat your loyal customers as a part of your company.
You can also receive crucial customer feedback to improve the quality of your services.
Employee Appreciation to Boost Sales
Appreciate and reward your workforce so that they share the same level of commitment towards your brand as you do.
It will motivate them to go leaps and bounds to contribute to the growth of your brand.
A Loyalty Program
Rewarding your regular customers through a loyalty program is a great way to boost your trustworthiness as a brand.
Start by evaluating the product choices of your repeat customers, and send relevant rewards to motivate them to purchase regularly from you.
Customer of the Month Award
Start a ‘Customer of the Month’ award to appreciate the customers who have been loyal to your brand for a long time.
It will create a sense of appreciation in the minds of your customer and engage them to stay connected to your brand.
Customer Testimonials
Feature your most valued customers on your blog, with your customers sharing their experiences of using your brand.
It will help you create a positive brand image and make your customers feel you appreciate their opinion.
Anniversary Gifts
Gifts can be in the form of key-chains, soft-toys, or just an anniversary card.
It will show your brand cares about its customers and help you build a faithful base.
Interactive Brochures
Brochures are a great way to showcase the range of products and services you offer. It also displays what your brand is all about and how you’re making a difference.
Add some bonus pages with fun facts, trivia, or crosswords to provide a good deal of excitement to your customers.
Featured Magazines
One of the best ideas to entice your customers is to give them content related to your product or services.
Give magazines and other forms of reading material so that your customers can know more about your brand.
Product Recommendations List
You know your product better than anyone. Provide a detailed list of accessories and enhancements for your product to your customers.
It will help them to get the best out of your product and build your brand value.
Customized Email Signature Videos
Use some creativity and add some fun elements to your email signature videos. You can use these videos to introduce your company, show your work culture, or your fun side.
Such videos will engage your customers and build your credibility.
Welcome Note
Send your customers a welcome note showing your affection will delight them and generate a good rapport for your brand.
If the customer is special to your brand, add a flower bouquet as well.
Milestone Celebrations
Another great way to connect and delight with your customers is to send them appreciation notes on reaching certain milestones.
It could be their first transaction from a payment method or reaching a certain number of purchases.
Preferential Service Term
A particular set of customers may be responsible for a large proportion of your profits. It’s essential to serve them with a superior level of service.
It will improve customer retention and sales.
Spot Reward Ideas
Reward your customers for frequent patronage with entry-level perks like chocolate samples, free Wi-Fi cards, and more.
It will help your frequent customers to look into your brand with interest and admiration.
Free Consultation
Organize events for your loyal customers to offer free consultancy in the form of health check-ups, dietary management lessons, and more.
Follow-Ups
Reach out to your customers and tell them about upcoming products, discount days, and tips & tricks to improve their buying experience.
You can also provide them specific discount codes for upcoming events. It will help you get their attention and eventual sales.
Smart Plans
Introduce a smart plan for your most loyal customers with cumulative discounts on selected products.
You can also offer discounts unlocked at specified spending targets and subsequent purchases.
OTT Media Subscriptions
OTT (Over-the-top) media platforms have become highly popular over the years. With streaming service providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime forming a significant share of the market.
Gift a monthly subscription of an OTT service to your customers and build a strong connection with them.
Do Things Differently
It’s important not to be a cliché and think out of the box.
Always use innovative ways to reward your customers. It will bring freshness and make you stand out from your competitors.
Go the Extra Mile
There has to be a sense of originality in your incentive and reward ideas to stand out from the rest of the market.
Always make sure to do a little extra while providing your services. By showing your extra efforts and care, you can make your customers delighted.
For instance, if a customer is purchasing baby products, send a pack of baby wipes as a token of appreciation.
Create a Community
As a brand, you can create social communities for your loyal customers. Such communities organize educational and social events where people can come together and share their common interests.
With a free membership to every loyal customer, you can grow your customer base.
Lucky Draw
Lucky draws are a great source of excitement when the rewards are lucrative.
Make a pool of your loyal customers and organize a lucky draw contest every month to form a strong connection with them.
Free Training Program
Reward your loyal customers with free online training programs.
Contrary to the usual reward items, training programs are highly productive and can help people learn useful skills in a short time.
Weekly Newsletter
Send your select group of customers a weekly newsletter informing about the latest products, technologies, and tips/tricks.
You can also provide a monthly discount coupon with your newsletter to entice the interest of the readers.
Gift Cards
Gift cards are an attractive way of allowing customers to pick up whatever they like instead of being forced upon them.
Using gift cards as a reward is one of the practical ideas as it provides the customer the leverage to select items of their choice.
Sponsor Giveaways
Offering something as a giveaway lays an excellent foundation for a long term relationship. Make sure you provide frequent giveaways to your customers – both old and new.
Giveaways can be in the form of exclusive discounts to your first 50 customers, or a chance to win a bigger prize by purchasing on a particular date.
Reciprocal Discounts
Partner with associated brands to provide both way rewards.
For instance, if you run a healthy diet restaurant, you can offer discounted membership for the local gym for purchases over a specific limit.
In return, the gym will offer discounted vouchers for your restaurant to its members.
Badge of Honor
When your customers unlock an achievement, such as sharing a certain number of referrals or making most purchases in a year, you can acknowledge them by gifting a badge of honor.
It serves as a token of appreciation, and your customers will value your effort.
Sponsor a Free Lunch/Dinner
Gift a lunch/dinner to your most favored customers. Book their favorite restaurant and show them you care for their happiness.
Couple that up with a pair of movie tickets, and make your customers know why you’re the best in the business.
Promotional Stationery
Providing free stationery is one of the most common gift ideas.
You can gift pens, pencils, notepads, and other desk accessories with your branding to your loyal customers.
It will make them remember your brand whenever they use these items.
Environmental Awareness Campaigns
Organize an environmental awareness campaign sponsored by your brand and invite your loyal customers to become a part of it.
Promote environment-friendly activities and sustainable lifestyle by conducting workshops and contests.
You can also use recyclable packaging material for shipping, it will promote a positive image for your brand.
Takeaway
While there is no limit to the number of incentive and reward ideas you can use to promote your brand and connect with your customers, some of them are just more practical than the others.
So make sure you study the likes, dislikes, and interests of your audience before reaching out to them with rewards.
