Below are tips to endear you to your customers and friends to ensure their loyalty.

Below are tips to endear you to your customers and friends to ensure their loyalty.

1. Send Thank You Notes.

You would be surprised at how effective a simple thank you note can have in a relationship the impact it can make. It only takes a few moments and a few cents to write a short Thank You note, but what an everlasting impression your thoughtfulness can make by showing your customers, clients, and friends that they mean so much to you, that you want to take the time to acknowledge them! By nature we all like to be appreciated for what we do. When we tell someone that we appreciate the kind, efficient, or honest things they have done, we can effectively reinforce that behavior while making them feel great about who they are and how they act. (This can really be a great reinforcement of a behavior you like seeing in your kids!)
2.Make Thank You Calls

These should not take the place of the written "Thank You" but isn't it nice to receive a phone call unexpectedly, out of the blue from someone saying, "Thank You" for something? Any "Thank You" is appreciated but it's even more powerful to thank others unexpectedly.
3 Send samples.

This would apply mostly to businesses I guess, but if you can, try to send a sample of one of your products as a gift. Again, this is something so unexpected that it would be perceived as a pleasant, thoughtful surprise of great value. If you don't have a sample, you could just include something you think they would enjoy with a note saying, "thought you might enjoy this." That is something you could do for anyone and it would be considered a very thoughtful gesture because it is. It takes a little effort, but the rewards are great and lasting.

4 Send Birthday Cards

Who doesn't like to be remembered on their birthday? How about doing something really easy and send a birthday card to your friends and customers. Of course you'd have to find out when your customer's birthday is but if you've had a lengthy relationship with them, you should try to find that out. You could even go the extra mile and send a little gift with it. It wouldn't have to be much, maybe a "special offer" coupon or maybe free tickets to an event. Just a thought. Say something like, "I wanted to be one of the first to wish you a happy birthday and to offer you this special gift (or discount) for this special occasion.

5 Send Holiday Cards

Are your customers and friends worth a couple of bucks to you? That is about all it would cost (along with couple minutes of your time) to personalized a classy holiday card with a sentiment of appreciation, address it and toss it in the mail. You would be amazed at the impact that can make! If you really want to stand out from the crowd of all the other cards that might be coming in to that person, or business, send a Thanksgiving card and send it even a little early. That way you will be way ahead of the pack and they will have more time to soak in your message. Thanksgiving is a time of expressing thanks for friendships, associations, etc. Also, you don't have to worry about any cultural differences. Anyone would appreciate a Thanksgiving card. It would definitely be a memorable experience.