Appreciation Marketing | The Secret Sauce of 7 Figure Earners

Appreciation marketing is one of the most underrated and forgotten aspects of good customer service and marketing now that almost the entire planet has turned to emails and social media.

I mean I get it! I totally use email and social media to connect and stay connected with my customers, partners and prospects.

However, when it comes to getting return customers and referrals and just making a lasting impression on your audience in general so they want to keep coming back to you, there is NOTHING like appreciation marketing.

Once considered a staple of every major business and company’s marketing system, appreciation marketing kind of fell by the wayside when the concentration was more on getting customers (lead gen) rather than keeping them.

But now, many savvy business owners and entrepreneurs are starting to realize that appreciation marketing was such an effective idea back then and it still works now!

You know the saying… People do business with people they Know, Like and Trust?

Well, it’s true!

By building strong relationships with your clients and customers, you are able to build brand loyalty, driving up sales for your business while constantly increasing your interaction and sales.

Ok, I know what you are saying…

What is Appreciation Marketing?

Simply put, appreciation marketing is lovin’on your customers!

… As often as possible! Lol!

Seriously though, it is showing your appreciation for your customers in a way that makes them feel loved. It keeps you and your business in the forefront of their minds and causes them to immediately think of your awesomeness when they get the idea to refer you.

This is how it works…

It’s typically done using some type of follow up system, generally on occasions that will mask the overall “marketingness” of the contact. For example, if you get a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Birthday” card from a company you’ve done business with in the past, you’re not going to think “Oh yeah, they’re just trying to sell me something else!

How dare they….! LOL!

Right?

You’re gonna think, “Wow that was a really nice gesture.

I can’t believe they thought of me or remembered.”

Now, imagine this business also has a free gift a long with that card, thanking you for being such a loyal customer, great person or awesome biz partner…

It doesn’t matter why, it just matters that that customer is now thinking positively about that brand, they have incentive to spend or visit their site, and chances are, that customer will be motivated to reciprocate the appreciation with their credit card in a future purchase.

Notice there’s no mention of sending an instant FB message thanking your customer or a boring email in this example…

Sending an email to appreciate a customer is no Bueno!

Why?

Because think about it, how many people open emails these days?? Even from businesses they are somewhat familiar with?

Think about how many emails people get in their inbox a day…

Yours would more than likely get lost in space so to speak.

You want to have the special touch and get noticed if you want to 10X your referrals! And you want to do it in a way that won’t have you running around town or busting your budget!

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Okay, so, the key tactic is sending a card…

I know you’re like, Cards??! That’s insane!

Not really…

Remember, in business we also want to STAND OUT from our competition!

Hang with me…

When to Use Appreciation Marketing

Okay, so now you kind of understand what appreciation marketing is, now let me give you some ideas of when you would use it…

Here are some great situations you can use appreciation marketing for:

Birthdays for your clients, customers, partners and prospects
Holidays
Asking for suggestions or ratings from your past clients
Giving some news or hot tips that your clients and leads will appreciate
Offering “early bird” specials on new products and services
Saying “sorry we didn’t get your business” or “reach you on the phone”
Saying thank you for the order, referral, lead, time, lunch, etc.
Saying congratulations on promotions, awards, new homes, offices, etc.
Saying “let’s do lunch” or “welcome to the city!”
Wishing someone to get well soon or happy anniversary

Cool right?

Benefits of Appreciation Marketing

While it might be pretty obvious to some why appreciation marketing works (since it does), you as a direct sales marketer might like to know some of the larger benefits of using appreciation marketing:

Build better relationships with your clients through appreciation marketing.

Many marketers are so wrapped up in their daily operations that they forget get about the customer they just served. A lot of times they will just sit back and wait for a reorder or quickly ask for a referral after the sale and never reach out to them again.

Appreciation marketing can be a great way for network marketers to really hammer home the “personalized customer service” angle. Putting this emphasis on human relationships will set you apart from your competitors.

Use appreciation marketing for more effective follow-ups.

Follow-up marketing can be tricky to pull off without seeming pushy or spammy, but appreciation marketing solves both of those problems. This leads to a more effective follow-up campaign, especially if you are communicating at the right times and/or with the right “freebies” or discounts.

Use appreciation marketing to alter a negative impression a client might have. Just because a client didn’t have the best experience with your product doesn’t mean you should write them off. In fact, if you go out of your way to right the perceived wrong, you could earn yourself an evangelist.

Someone who shouts your awesomeness from the rooftops!

You can start off with apologies and show that every customer is of high value. Provide a coupon or other incentive to return and turn that negative into a positive.

I hope you are getting the picture here. Customers are the life blood of any and all business owners. Treating them like they are important to you will totally bring business your way without you having to chase people down.

The best customer is a repeat customer.

Alright, so how do you setup an appreciation marketing system for your business?

I’m glad you asked! 😉

If you want to boost your appreciation marketing efforts to reap the benefits mentioned above, it’s a good idea to have a system where you can keep track of all of your customers using a CMS or contact management system.

This will allow you to set up reminders and notifications so you know all the pertinent information on your customers to start implementing these strategies.

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If like many other marketers, you don’t have an effective CMS/ Contact Management System let alone an appreciation marketing strategy, don’t worry I’ve got you covered!

CLICK HERE to discover the #1 tool that I currently use, 7 figure earners, realtors and network marketers are using to send cards and gifts to build better relationship with their clients and customers to 10X their sales without having to chase or beg people for the sale.

P.S  If you're feeling stuck in your business even after you did everything your upline told you to do... Take a minute to Check out my 3 Step Marketing Blueprint to learn how to start marketing your business without feeling like a pushy salesman. CLICK HERE TO WATCH

"As an introvert entrepreneur I don't particularly enjoy chasing strangers online, networking events, talking about myself on social media or anything else you can think of that involves selling! But, because I learned how to market online the right way, I don't have to do those things."

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