Last week’s Thanksgiving holiday is a reminder to us all to be thankful. But just because Thanksgiving is over doesn’t mean you should stop showing gratitude.
Many times, landscape business owners find themselves being thankful for things in their personal lives, such as health, family and friends.
But there are so many things to be thankful about in business, and that includes employees and customers.
Giving thanks is a great way to strengthen business relationships, extend goodwill and reestablish your brand, business experts say.
Let’s explore two key groups of people in your day-to-day life as a landscape business owner and talk about how you can best say thank you, and how those acts can benefit your business.
Three Ways to Thank Your Customers
Customers are at the heart of a service business. Without them, you’d have no business. Maybe they’ve been your customers for years or maybe they make up a new batch of referrals. Maybe they were your first customers and have been loyal for years, or maybe they let you know when your crews weren’t performing their best, and helped you perfect your systems and operations.
Despite when a certain customer came into your business life or how customers continue to enrich your company, thanking them is always a good idea. Here are some ideas on how to thank your customers.
- Send thank-you cards. In today’s high-tech world, paper thank-you notes stand out. Purchase them in bulk to save money and use them when needed. Want to kick it up a notch for the holidays?
- Offer a discount. Jumpstart a new service with a thank-you discount to current customers to add the service. Or offer a referral discount or gift to current customers for providing you with a referral who becomes a client.
- Offer a gift. Provide a thank-you poinsettia to every new holiday lighting client or to thank your renewing clients for upgrading their holiday lighting package. Some landscape professionals send wreaths or pies to their customers during the holidays to thank them for their business.
Three Ways to Thank Your Employees
If customers are important to a service business, one can argue employees are even more important since they provide the very service that keeps your customers coming back for more.
No one likes working for a company that takes them for granted. Employees who feel appreciated, challenged, respected and given room to grow work harder to do a great job. They’re also more likely to brainstorm the kind of creative solutions upon which the best businesses thrive.
Thanking employees can cement your long-term working relationships and ensure loyalty. That’s good for them, good for you and good for business. Here are some ways to thank your employees:
- Throw a party. Acknowledge your employees’ accomplishments with a party full of their favorite foods.
- Close early. Sometimes the best thank you for a job well done is to schedule no client visits or maintenance, and let everyone go home early before a holiday.
- Give out bonuses. Even small bonuses during this busy holiday season may be just enough to power everyone through.
Being Thankful Is Good for Business
Make the time and effort to show gratitude, and you’d be surprised how much it improves your customer relationships, employee well-being and business success.
As Lori Worth, president at Vibe Communications, says, “Good makes good. Business is personal and happiness is serious business. If we learn to tap into the values that create good, solid people, and bring a sense of life balance and happiness to work, we’ll see business success follow. Go ahead: Show thanks for someone or something today, and watch what happens.”
