Show Your Customers & Employees That You Love Them on Valentine’s Day

Show a little customer love. How do you do it? Start with your employees. Thought for the day:

Romance the employee and they romance the customer.

In other words, if you are a part of – or create – a fulfilled, happy and engaged workforce, you will most likely have customers who enjoy and want to do business with you.

And, if your customers know you love them, will bend over backwards for them, and do what it takes to not just make them happy, but also successful, they will reciprocate and send a little more love back to you in the form of more business.

I call this corporate love. So how do you go about showing a little love? It’s really no different than what you should be doing all year – not just on Valentine’s Day. Here are five ways to show a little love to your customers and employees:

1. Pick up the phone and just say hello! No strings attached, no hidden agenda, just a friendly “thinking of you on Valentine’s Day” call.
2. Surprise employees with a special lunch or a dessert. How about a heart shaped cake. Just something to put a smile on everyone’s faces and put them in a great mood for the day. Happy employees lead to happy customers!
3. Make a donation to a charity that is important to your customer. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It really is the thought that counts. If you know a customer is involved or passionate about a certain charity or cause, it’s a great opportunity to connect on another level. And this is a great idea for employees as well.
4. Publicly thank your customers and your employees via social media. Tweet out your appreciation. Post something on Facebook. Create a Valentine’s Day video on YouTube.
5. And most important, say thank you! Show appreciation. This goes for both customers and employees. It can be a note, a card, or even a box of candy. (Chocolate if appropriate – it is Valentine’s Day!) Really, it can be anything that sends the message that you appreciate your colleagues for the job they are doing, and that you appreciate your customers for the business they give you.

As mentioned already, but worth mentioning again, these ideas are timeless in the sense that they don’t have to be saved for Valentine’s Day. Delivering amazing customer service and showing appreciation to customers and employees is an all-of-the-time thing.

So, what are you waiting for? Show a little corporate love!

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert and New York Times bestselling author. Find more information at www.Hyken.com.