Today”business environment is highly competitive. Customers have multiple alternatives when it comes to making their buying offering the same product you are offering in the market.

Due to the above-stated fact, salespeople and marketers walk with their customers even after they have made the sale. This leads to repeat business and breeds customer loyalty.

Research shows that it is 10 times harder to acquire a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. It takes 10 times more effort and financial investment. Therefore, it is easier for any business to have existing customers make multiple purchases than to get a prospect to make a purchase.

Existing customers already have what it takes to create demand for your business products. As we all know, demand is created when there is a human want/need that is backed by the individual‟s purchasing power. Existing customers have shown interest in your product already and have proved to have the ability to purchase them (Holding all other factors constant).

It is therefore critical for marketers and salespeople to think about the lifetime value of a customer. They should not only have the customer make a single transaction but should be concerned

about creating strong business relationships with the customers for the sake of the future. This is called relationship marketing.

Your aim as a salesperson is not to sell your goods today but to win the heart of your customers forever. This is why professional salespeople never abandon their prospects whether they make the sale or not. They continue walking with them to create beneficial and lasting relationships with them.

After making a sale, it is important to thank your customers and make them feel good for making the purchase. Thanking them distinguishes you from the typical salesperson who only cares about the sale and the commission and never the customer and their welfare.

Thanking the customer makes them want to buy from you again. This is because you have shown that you are not just a business partner but a personal one. This is what we alluded to earlier when we talked about creating a rapport. This is because people tend to do good to people who have a personal relationship with them.

Ways of thanking your customers

There are unlimited ways in which you can thank your customers. It is just about a way of making them feel good that they made the purchase and have a perception that you were not after their money but after making their welfare better.

Here are some of them:

1. Send them a ‘Thank you’ message

The easiest way to thank your customer is to tell them Thank you. After making the sale, send the customer a passionate Thank you message the following day.

In the message, make them understand that they made the right decision to buy from you. Make them know that you appreciate the fact that they chose to do business with you and not with the thousands of competitors out there.

It is also important to reassure them that the product will serve them as promised. This is promoting the product even after the sale. It is like preparing the ground for the next sale.

It is also vital to tell the customer not to hesitate to contact you in case they have any difficulty using your product. Promise to give them after-sale services if need be.

2. Send them a gift

A better way of thanking your customers is to send a small gift to them. You can take a small percentage of your commission/ profit to buy them a gift. Therefore, the value of the gift will depend on the amount of money you made from the sale.

It is important to understand that the gift does not have to cost much. This is because people appreciate the small things other people do for them. It makes even a bigger impact because you

do not have any personal connection with the person at this point.

This is like getting an unexpected gift from an unexpected person. It becomes a surprise. This will not just make the customer happy, it will astonish them. They may never want to buy from your competitors (Ceteris Paribus).

It is important to make sure that the gift is special enough for the individual. Do not give them what they can easily get from their nearest shop. Let it be rare and special to them.

3. Giving them an offer

Another way of thanking your customers is to give them an offer. This can be in the form of a discount or a bonus. A discount means that you allow them to buy another product you are offering at a price lower than the market price. A bonus means you give them something extra if they purchase one of the products you are offering. This can be in the form of „Buy one get one free.

Giving your customers an offer make them feel special. They know that they will spend less than they should for the same features and benefits bundled in your product.

When you give a discount, make sure it is significant enough to be material to the customer. However, the price you sell to the customer should be enough to cover the cost of producing and

delivering the product to the customer. It could also be important to make a small profit even after giving the discount.

The second way is to give them a bonus. This means giving them an extra item when they purchase one of your products. Make sure you do not lose money even after giving the bonus item.

Other ways of saying Thank you

·     Pay for the customer an annual magazine subscription in their field of interest.

·     Pay a seminar entrance fee for them.

·     Promote their business on social media.

·     Sponsor them to attend a comedy show of their choice.

·     Pay a session‟s mentorship fees for their children.

·     Buy them a plane ticket.

·     Sponsor them to visit a local tourist attraction site.

·     Pay for their club membership fees.

·     Sponsor them to study a short course in a local institution.

·     Get them an insurance cover for their car.

·     Get them a life insurance cover for a year.

·     Buy a novel for them.

There are unlimited ways of saying thank you to your customers. You just need to know your customer and their tastes and preferences. Make sure you give them something special and memorable.

If you do that, your customers will become loyal to you and your products. They will rather not purchase from your competitors.