6 Ways to show Gratitude to your Landscaping Clients
One size does NOT fit all when we’re talking about how to show generosity and gratitude to clients. As owners we can often feel stumped as to what we could do to show thankfulness in a simple and sustainable way.
We wanted to share a variety of ideas with you so we called a number of our clients and business owners within our industry and asked them how they show gratitude to clients. As predicted, each of them do it differently and we’ve compiled some ideas for you below.
Random Acts of Kindness
“We have random acts of kindness that we do for clients & customers.” - Jeff (Jeff’s Outdoor)
When we spoke with Jeff he shared that they have a donation budget and that throughout the week their staff are encouraged to keep an eye out and bring ideas to their supervisors if they think there is a project the company might like to get involved in. Then, during the weekly meetings, the managers talk about the ideas brought up. For example, one of their staff has a mom in the nursing home and so they redid the gardens for all the residents to look at when they are enjoying time outside. They also had a client creating a memorial garden and when Jeff’s Outdoor realized the client couldn't afford the whole thing, they donated the other half.
Give back to the community
Mountview Landscaping likes to give back. They say thank you to clients but don’t have anything set in stone. "We really try to give back to the community we work in. We’ve participated in Come Alive Outside for a number of years, donated mulch to properties we take care of, been involved in Landscape Ontario initiatives, helped with Christmas lights and mulch at the local public school, and volunteered time to participate in the spring litter pickups. A lot of the time, all it costs is time. Giving back to your community means you are also giving back to clients."
Take care of your staff and they will take care of your clients
Jay Murray (TLC Landscaping & Pools) said that they focus on their staff. “Take care of your staff and they will take care of your customers.” They have found that a focus on gratitude with their staff means happy customers. We will share more about that next week but during our conversation Jay shared multiple times about the importance of positive interactions with staff and how your staff should know they matter with every single interaction. “Say ‘thank you’!” When staff feel valued they enjoy coming to work and when they enjoy coming to work it leads to positive interactions with customers.
Good Service means Happy Clients
Ed Hansen (Hansen Lawn & Garden) has a similar approach. “We thank our clients for the job but believe that when your staff are happy and showing up to the job site on time, your clients are happy. Staff working hard, knowing what to do and how to do it shows clients they are getting good service. Good service = happy clients.”
Say Thank-you
“We do the best we can to deliver the best end results and we say thank you, a LOT.” (Chris - Mr. Mow It All)
Get creative with client gifts
Besides the usual Christmas baskets and client appreciation events, Web ROI has given some really unique gifts. They’ve used a service that sends out freshly baked pies and sent videos of congratulations to their clients when they experience a win, but they actually get the best reaction from simple things. “We often use a service called Send Out Cards which sends our cards with the option of a gift (cookies or brownies are the big winners) to celebrate things like a client anniversary with us.” (Denise, WEB ROI)
As you can see from the examples above, there is not a specific formula that you need to use to show gratitude to clients. Each person does it a little differently and that's awesome.
Do you have something unique you do to share gratitude to your clients? We’d love to hear about it.
