How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

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Here are important tips for writing a thank you letter to your customer, complete withsample thank you letters to help you show your customer how much you appreciate them. Originally from blog.hubspot.com, it was written by Sophia Bernazzani. Follow her on Twitter at @soph_bern. Image courtesy of iqoncept via Bigstockphoto. 

Your parents might have taught you about the value of a well-written thank you note when you were younger. Mine did.

After every holiday or birthday when I received gifts, my mom made me diligently write out and mail thank you notes the next business day.

Even if you thank them in the moment, she explained, an additional note expressing thanks shows people how much you care and appreciate their time and generosity.

This same logic should be adopted for thanking your customers. They spend time and resources supporting your business, and they deserve a thoughtful acknowledgment of how much they mean to your business.

In this blog post, we’ll teach you how to show appreciation by sending a customer thank you letter that will be sure to delight them — and make my mom proud.

How to Write a Customer Thank You Letter

Here are a few best practices to writing a successful customer thank you letter, no matter what industry you’re in.

1. Say something positive in the subject line.

If you’re trying to get your valued customers to click on your email, make sure your subject line gives them a preview of what’s awaiting them. Words like “thank you,” “valued customer,” “your loyalty,” and “appreciated” are all good signals that the customer can expect a positive message from you.

2. Be judicious with what you promote.

A thank you letter should not be used as an opportunity to get your customers to spend more money. Full stop.

Nothing makes a letter from a company (masquerading as a thank you letter) seem more insincere than immediately asking the recipient to buy something else. There are plenty of other opportunities to share offers and new products with your customers — and this is not one of them.

It’s perfectly fine to send a customer thank you letter that’s just that — a thank you note. Other acceptable options could be including a link to a customer feedback survey, personalized educational content, or information about a loyalty program — or anything else that doesn’t require more money from them.

3. Write like a human.

If you’re going to enter your customers’ email inboxes, make sure the thank you letter is well-crafted, personalized, and sincere.

Our inboxes are already overflowing with automated email templates sent en masse from brands every day. Make sure your thank you email sounds as human as possible to communicate just how thankful you are for a customer’s business and loyalty. As an added touch, address the email from a real person at your company — ideally in leadership — to further communicate authenticity.

4. For maximum impact, send it via snail mail.

This is a maneuver so advanced that I only have one such letter to share with you. Receiving genuine customer appreciation at your home or business address is a truly memorable way to demonstrate value, and if a gift or treat are included, all the better.

Now that you know how to write an effective customer thank you letter, here are a few examples of how real brands are doing it:

8 Customer Thank You Letter Examples

1. Loom

Here’s a thank you email I received from Loom — a screen and video recording software my team at HubSpot uses quite frequently:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

The heart emoji and personalization (along with the promise of a very short survey) made me click to read this email, and the hilarious union of both companies’ logos was very human and funny.

Loom effectively communicated thanks, personalized the email, and didn’t ask too much of me — I was happy to answer a couple questions about a tool I use every week. They got valuable customer feedback, and I got a funny note I shared with the rest of my team.

2. BioClarity

Here’s a thank you letter I received from skincare company BioClarity after referring a new customer:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

Ecommerce brands love to send out emails about new products and offers, and what I appreciated about this thank you email was its simplicity. All BioClarity did was thank me for referring a new customer — and let me know about the reward coming my way for doing so.

BioClarity’s thank you letter wasn’t pushy or sales-y — it thanked me for my loyalty, told me about a prize, and the authentic writing style made me smile.

3. JetBlue

Here’s a thank you letter I received a couple days after a trip on JetBlue:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

You might already know that JetBlue has some of the best customer service of any airline out there, consistently going above and beyond for their customers. But sometimes, simplicity works too.

This letter thanked me for flying with JetBlue on a recent trip, and it showed me how to sign up for its customer loyalty program — and how to get reward points for the flight I had already taken.

Frequent flyer programs help travelers book expensive flights at a discount — so I really appreciated JetBlue pointing out how to get more value out of my future bookings with them. That’s true customer appreciation — sure, JetBlue wants me to book future trips with them, but they’re also showing me how to get more bang for my buck with their loyalty program.

4. SoulCycle

Here’s an end-of-year thank you letter I received from cycling workout brand SoulCycle:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

SoulCycle has built a brand about creating a sanctuary away from the rest of the world to exercise, and this thank you letter really drives that home. It’s not pushing me to book another exercise class, but it is welcoming and encouraging me to show up and feel included — and thanking me for being a part of its community.

This letter is sincere — it’s not trying to do anything or sell me anything, it’s just about cultivating community and appreciation. Well done, SoulCycle.

5. Discover

Here’s a thank you letter I received from my credit card company, Discover:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

This is another great example of a short and sweet thank you letter that has no agenda other than saying thanks. By letting me know it won an award for customer satisfaction (and thanking me for being one of those happy customers), Discover makes it clear that they value customer feedback.

It’s also worth noting how infamous credit card companies are for inundating customers with unsolicited credit card and loan offers — which makes this offer-less email even more appreciated.

6. World Wildlife Fund

Here’s a thank you letter I received from the World Wildlife Fund at the end of one year when I donated:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

The letter led me to this thank-you video WWF produced, which showcased how my donation was used in action:

This is an effective way to thank customers, especially if they’re donating to a cause — by showing them where their money actually goes. (Plus, who can resist cute animals?)

A sincere thank you note paired with engaging content is another great way to go.

7. Ann Handley

After subscribing to her newsletter, marketing expert and author Ann Handley thanked me — and asked me a question:

How to Write Thank You Letters to Your Customers to Show Them You Care

I didn’t reply to this email when I initially received it (if you’re reading this, sorry Ann). However, this email does a fantastic job of taking the thank you one step further by providing me with details about what I can expect — and some awesome content right off the bat. Additionally, Ann made it clear that she valued her subscribers’ feedback, and for those who did reply, she was able to tailor her next send based on the preferences she learned about.

8. Capital One

Here’s the snail mail example of customer appreciation that I promised — a thank you letter (and a pan flute) I received from Capital One:

Thankful for great customer service from @CapitalOne & @JetBlue today! Thanks for the Peruvian flute, Zeus & the help rescheduling, Girard! pic.twitter.com/zCWrd92yhh

— Sophia Bernazzani (@soph_bern) March 20, 2017

Here’s the necessary context: A few days after contacting my credit card company to let them know I’d be traveling to Peru, I received this pan flute in the mail — along with a hand-written note from the customer support rep who helped me out that simply said, “Have a great trip to Peru! Thanks for being a valued Capital One customer.”

This care package probably cost Capital One less than $10 in total, but I haven’t stopped telling people about it since it happened more than a year ago. This thoughtful and personalized gift and thank you note were totally delightful and made me feel like the agent who helped me really cared.