The #1 Reason Albert Pujols and Your Customers Break Up With You

Baseball great Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit earlier this month. 

I’ve rooted all my life for the St. Louis Cardinals. So it broke my heart when Pujols broke up with the Cardinals in 2012 to join the Anaheim Angels.

The heartache reminded me of my ninth-grade girlfriend, Susie Wallace. Susie and I had just finished a slow dance at the mixer when she broke the news: She was dumping me for Stevie O’Shea.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because he appreciates me,” she said. And then she strolled across the dance floor, grabbed Stevie’s hand and left the gym without looking back.

“But I DO appreciate you,” I mumbled. Too late.

After signing a $254 million contract with the Angels, Albert said he might have taken less money if the Cardinals had appreciated him more.

“But we DO appreciate you, Albert,” Cardinals’ management said. Too late.

Albert and Susie have me wondering:

Do you appreciate your customers? Do you show it?

If not, brace yourself. They might bolt to Anaheim or run to Lover’s Lane with Stevie O’Shea.

Customers break up with businesses for various reasons. A vast majority of them will bolt when they feel unappreciated, perceive indifference or simply forget about the previous business.

In fact, many will forgive a service slight or tolerate a slightly inferior product – as long as they feel appreciated.

That’s why you need a customer appreciation communication plan – before it’s too late.

Whether you communicate by email, snail mail, social media or some other medium, here are four tips to guide your customer appreciation plan:

1. Stay in touch – at least monthly. If you don’t have an email or print newsletter, you need to launch one.

2. Educate and entertain. If all you do is pitch products, your customers will tune out.

3. Be interactive. Let customers post on social media, in online surveys, in comments on your blog. Thank them for praise. Thank them for constructive criticism. Show them you’re listening. Appreciate their feedback, and they’ll appreciate you.

4. Get personal. Use personalized salutations in your emails. Tailor your content and special offers to specific audiences. Don’t send everything to everybody. The more you tailor content to customers’ interests, the more you say, “I know you and appreciate you.” They’ll feel the same.

Want to learn more about how to appreciate your customers so they’ll appreciate you?