Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Importance of Showing Year-Round Gratitude

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pIt?s easy to think about a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/clients/five-ways-to-spread-some-cheer/"doing good deeds during the holiday season/a, as giving (thanks and gifts) is pretty much society?s mantra from Thanksgiving to Christmas. But what about the rest of the year? Isn?t it good to be grateful in, say, March?/p
pAccording to a href="http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/23/why-gratitude-is-good-for-business-year-round/"this recent article in emFortune/em/a, gratitude is good for business no matter the month./p
blockquotepAs opposed to showing appreciation one day a year #8212; at Thanksgiving or New Year#8217;s or in an annual customer appreciation sale #8212; some businesses are building it into their daily and weekly plans and policies. And they are seeing the benefits to this approach: Workers are often more engaged when they feel appreciated and customers are more likely to come back and give referrals./p
p#8220;Gratitude motivates positive reciprocal behavior,#8221; says Randy Raggio, a marketing professor at the University of Richmond. If a customer believes that a business has his best interests at heart, that customer is more inclined to develop a long-term relationship with the business.?Fortune/p/blockquote
pHere are some ideas on how freelancers can a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-essentials/support-your-supporters/"give thanks/a, no matter the time of year or season!/p
pspan id="more-22668"/span/p
h3Thank You Cards/h3
pRemember when you were a kid and your mother made you sit down at the kitchen table and write thank you cards out to the friends and family members who gave you birthday presents? She did it for a good reason?people appreciate them! /p
pIn this day and age of emails, texts, and Facebook messages, there?s nothing more personal than a hand written thank you card. It?s a great way to thank a potential new client for listening to your idea, or a client who has been with you for years. A simple, sincere thank you note shows your clients that they are important to you. And a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/postcard-promotion-ideas-and-moo-giveaway/"getting something personal in your mailbox/a always makes people smile./p
pI remember I sent a thank you card after being interviewed for a job I really wanted. My note was sincere, and thanked the owner of the company for meeting with me after normal work hours. I ended up getting the job, and was tickled pink when I showed up to the office and noticed my carefully crafted thank you note was pinned to the cork board above his desk./p
h3A Small Gift/h3
pYou don?t have to break the bank when sending someone a thank you gift. Heck, homemade chocolate chip cookies always put me in a good mood. If your client is located far away, send them a gift card to an online store like Amazon.com where they can treat themselves to whatever their heart desires./p
h3Offer a Promotion or Sale/h3
pIf you have a client who uses your services on a steady basis, you can thank them with a reduced rate. For example, as a blogger you could offer a free blog post for every 10 you write, or as a photographer a discount on images after a certain amount. People love getting a deal, and are more apt to tout your services to others if they think you are fair on your pricing structure. Perhaps this is something you can offer during a particularly a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/more-promotion-ideas-than-you-can-shake-a-fist-at/"dry period of work/a to help boost your sales and stay busy./p
pNo matter what line of work you do, saying thank you is crucial to building relationships. Taking that extra step to say thank you outside of an email or phone conversation will show your client that they are on your mind, and give you another reason to stay in touch with your clients./p
pDo you have a successful thank you note story you?d like to share? We?d love to hear it! Leave a comment below./p
pemPhoto credit: a title="Attribution License" href="http://photodune.net/wiki/support/legal-terms/licensing-terms/"Some rights reserved/a by a href="http://photodune.net/item/thank-you-note-coffee/267921"xilius/a/em./p
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