Giving Thanks

Unless you were raised by wolves, at some point you learned that it’s polite to say thank you. It’s not just proper etiquette; it’s common courtesy...and good business. Your loyal members, patrons and visitors need to know you’re grateful for their support.

Of course the key to increasing loyalty and maximizing supporters’ lifetime value lies in continually strengthening the bond between you and your members. It’s no surprise that good communication and gratitude play a major role in this bonding process. By adding thank-you campaigns to your marketing, you illuminate the human side of your brand.

Thank-you campaigns break down into three categories:

The Immediate Thanks
Always thank promptly and with a clear display of your gratitude. Be sure to use a tone, style and design that match the channel in which your members took action.

Although I’m a member of a number of museums throughout New England, there’s one museum in particular whose director of member services always writes me a note of thanks each time I renew my membership. It’s a little thing, but I look forward to hearing from her each year and don’t think twice about renewing my membership year after year.

The Seasonal Thanks
Holidays—especially Thanksgiving—are a natural time to thank loyal members and patrons. One client I sent a Thanksgiving gift to liked it so much that she insisted on paying me for it so she could adapt it and send it to her employees and customers. Now that’s making a meaningful connection!

Consider going beyond national or religious holidays. Send a thank you card, gift or e-mail to members on the anniversary of their relationship with you or their first purchase, or better yet on holidays that are relevant to them, like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day, etc.

Birthdays are another great opportunity to say thanks. Each year our veterinarian would send a birthday card to Madison (my cat), complete with a kitty treat. Madison never knew who those birthday treats came from, but I did. We should take a lesson from Doctor Bliss and treat our human customers with the same care and thoughtfulness.

The Surprise Thanks
Most people appreciate any expression of thanks, but even more so when it comes for no particular reason and when least expected. You might launch a quarterly thank-you campaign to reward repeat business to your museum gift shop or online store. For example, as patrons reach specific purchase levels, move them into segments that receive exclusive thank-you gifts.

Make sure your thanks comes with a personal inscription, and don’t skimp on the gratitude. Always match the magnitude of your thanks to the action you are thankful for. The higher the purchase level, the bigger the gratitude.

When you integrate thank-you campaigns into your communication stream, you won’t be thought of as the organization that calls only when you need something. Instead, you’ll be considered—and appreciated for taking the time to be—sincere and human!


Share Your Thank You Campaigns With Us!
How does your organization show its gratitude towards members? Share with us an example of your thank-you campaign and how it’s a WIN for your organization. Connect with Élan’s online community by posting a comment to this blog or chatting with us over e-mail, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.