After tens of thousands of conversations with business owners, we’ve concluded that one of the key determinants between thriving and struggling businesses is how appreciated customers feel. While that insight might seem fairly commonplace, what’s rare is discussion on how business owners go about making their customers feel appreciated. So, we reached out to some of the most loved and admired entrepreneurs and small business owners in the community and asked them to open up about how they show appreciation to their customers.

Angela Huling

As a small business owner, I’m focused on creating relationships through fashion & fun. We host monthly Sip & Shops where all customers are invited and encouraged to bring their friends. We serve drinks, have sales & giveaways and mingle with other ladies. Everyone looks forward to these monthly events as we provide a place to relax and have fun. Recently we hosted our 6th Annual Christmas Party where we had giveaways throughout the party. Read more>>

ZONTAYVIA SOLOMON JILES

The best thing I have seen done to show a customer that they are appreciated was recent. A woman car was in a car fire and her Stanley cup remained intact although her car did not. She made a video, and it gained attention via social media. The company bought her a new car and gave her a supply of Stanley’s. Read more>>

Liz Cox

We always love sending stunning floral arrangements to our clients on milestone moments for them – business anniversaries, their personal birthdays, etc. – to let them know that we see them and celebrate all of who they are, both in business and in life. Our clients bust their butts day in and day out to make their businesses as successful and thriving as possible so being able to help them to take a moment to pause and celebrate how far they’ve come is always really impactful. Read more>>

Sophie Wizmann

When we began the Ourika Soap journey , we definitely had our customers in mind. We were launching a Clean bathing lifestyle with a Moroccan twist in a pretty wide industry. We needed to convey a message and have the world discover what made us different. Each order we ship is carefully reviewed and client’s order history is taken into consideration as we include samples of our other products for them to discover. Read more>>

Christi Slider

I have seen some amazing gifts to clients. Some of the best gifts I have seen boutique portrait artists give are small canvases of one of their favorite client’s images. We like to do different things each year personally. During the year we have been known to give sweet metal ornaments to our best clients, and we love to give out beautiful handwritten joyful notes with our clients images printed on them. Read more>>

Timothy Munson

Well, as an avid (some say crazy) animal lover it’s a dream come true to be trusted with so many family pets! To show my appreciation I make sure that each pet is given tons of love, treats, positive reinforcement while socializing/desensitizing to more than their family life. Each day I snap beautiful group and individual photos to send to owners. Either when they’re on vacation or at work, a beautiful happy dog picture brightens their days! Read more>>