Adding a personal touch to your small (personal) business

When it comes to running your small business, customer satisfaction should be one of your top priorities. One way to deliver a good customer experience is by adding a personal touch to your customer interactions.

Here are three ways to add a personal touch to your small business:

Send a happy birthday email

Sending a happy birthday email to customers makes them feel special and lets them know you value them. It humanizes your brand and helps establish and retain relationships. Not to mention, it gives you an opportunity to show some personality.

The first thing you need to do is collect your customers’ birthdays. You can do this by asking customers to enter their date of birth at the checkout page. If you already have an email list, you can craft a birthday collection campaign instead.

To give your happy birthday email a personal touch, use your brand voice in the messaging. You might even consider offering customers an exclusive coupon or discount on their special day. Subway, for example, gives customers a birthday cookie.

Ask for feedback

Another way to add a personal touch to your small business is by asking customers for feedback. Not only is it a great way to let them know their opinion matters, but it can also help you improve your business.

To get started, you can set up a simple feedback collection form on your website. Keep in mind that you should only ask customers for as much information as you need. Typically, this means their email address, the product or service they’re providing feedback for, and their feedback message.

Alternatively, you can ask customers to provide feedback over email. The benefits of using email to solicit feedback are twofold:

• You can automate feedback emails.
• You can ask customers for feedback after key interactions.

For example, you can set up an automated feedback request email to be sent to customers a week after their purchase. Or, you can ask customers to provide feedback after the onboarding process. Ride sharing app, Lyft, asks customers for feedback after a ride.

Thank them for their purchase

Thanking customers after they make a purchase is perhaps one of the simplest ways to add a personal touch to your small business while delivering a good customer experience. You can use this as an opportunity to let customers know you appreciate their business.

From an implementation standpoint, you want to configure your marketing automation tool to send customers a thank you email soon right after they complete their order. Alternatively, you can thank customers for their purchase after the product has been delivered to them.

To give your thank you email a personal touch, remember to use your brand voice and tone in your subject line and messaging. You might also consider signing off the email with the CEO or founder’s name to make it feel personal.

Conclusion

Adding a personal touch to your small business can help you build strong customer relationships from the get-go. The best part is that it’s incredibly easy to do and there’s lots of room for creativity. You can get started by sending customers a happy birthday email, asking for feedback after key interactions, and thanking them for their purchase.

What are some of the unique ways you add a personal touch to your small business? Let us know in the comments below.