How to Write a Thank You Letter to a Customer

No matter what kind of business you have, expressing gratitude to your customers is a great way to foster strong relationships and keep people coming back. Every thank-you letter you write should be unique, so there's no real template to follow, but there are guidelines you can keep in mind to make sure your letter hits the mark. If you want to know how to write a great thank-you letter to show appreciation to your customers, keep reading.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Composing a Professional Letter

An abundance of market research has found that almost all customer-centered messaging is nearly entirely ineffective if the customer's name is not spelled correctly. It's critically important to make sure that the spelling that a customer uses is what appears at the head of a customer thank-you letter.^{[1]XResearch source}
2
Identify the reason for the thank-you note. Make it as specific as possible. Saying something as simple as "thanks for your purchase" is fine, but it's helpful to identify what the customer ordered and how it was delivered. This helps to orient the reader back into his or her unique relationship with your business.^{[2]XResearch source}
- This is your time to be as sincerely thankful as possible. Adding a few lines that reference a conversation you had with the customer is appropriate.
- Do your best to avoid sounding rote, or making it seem like the same thank-you note is going out to a hundred people.
3
Include a few follow-up lines. A customer thank you letter is an appropriate time to ask some basic follow-up questions to make sure the customer feels that his or her needs are served. Good customer follow-up often keeps customers coming back and increases the bottom line of a business. You don't have to be too involved with this kind of follow-up in a thank you note, but being attentive to customer needs is a major part of serving the public.
- Mention that you hope the customer is happy with his or her purchase, and that you're available if he or she has any questions or concerns.
- Ask the customer whether there's anything you can do to increase his or her satisfaction.
4
Include your brand. It's almost always helpful to present the company name, logo or other branding information in the customer thank you document. Again, this re-emphasizes visibility for the business.^{[3]XResearch source}
- If you're writing your thank-you note on a card, be sure to mention your business name.
- If your thank-you note is written on letterhead, your company logo will be visible, so it's not necessary to mention your name in the letter.
- If your thank-you note is in the form of an email, your company name and logo should appear beneath your signature.
It should be in keeping with your established relationship with the customer and the personality you want to project for your business. Try a proper closing like "Warm regards," or "Best regards," before you sign your name.
If at all possible, use your own signature to close the letter. Bigger businesses often struggle with the idea of how to make a form letter seem personal. Even a computer drafted signature is often better than a typed name, in that it makes the letter appear to have been sent personally.^{[4]XResearch source}
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Striking the Right Tone

1
Resist the temptation to pitch your business again. You're writing the letter to thank your customer for doing business with you, so it's no longer necessary to subject the person to advertising. Assume good rapport at this point. Make the customer feel like an insider.
- Phrases like "we hope to do business with you again soon" sound like tag lines; best to leave these out. Don't say something you wouldn't say to an acquaintance.
- Don't include a product pitch, a mention of an upcoming sale, or anything else that could be construed as an ad.
Even if you're mailing dozens of letters, it's better not to use a postage machine. That's a giveaway that this thank-you note is one of many, and it will make the customer feel less special. In fact, it may mean your thank-you note will end up in the junk mail pile.
Again, the more personalized you make the thank-you note, the better it will be received. If you don't have time to address envelopes, have someone else do it. Even if you're not the person actually writing out the address, the customer will be impressed to see handwriting.
Make sure your phone number and address are included in the correspondence, and give the customer warm encouragement to get in touch for any reason. If your customer does contact you, be ready to meet his or her needs promptly.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting the Format Right

1
Write the letter by hand. Printing out a standard form letter is akin to sending your customer an advertisement flyer. Instead of making your customer feel special and appreciated, it might have the opposite effect and cause annoyance. Plan to write out thank-you notes individually in your own handwriting.
- Use your best handwriting so the letter is legible.
- If you have too many thank-you notes to write to be able to write each one out by hand yourself, ask another employee to help you out. It really will be worth the time it takes to write out letters individually.
- If it's impossible to write the notes by hand, you'll need to find a different way to personalize them. At the very least, the customer's name and your true signature should be included in each thank you letter.
- In some cases it might be appropriate to write a thank-you email, rather than sending a handwritten note. This can be appropriate when you have an established personal relationship with the customer. The key is to make sure it's personalized and sincere. If there's any chance your email could be mistaken for an advertisement, send a handwritten note instead.
2
Choose stationery for your thank-you letter. Both thank-you cards and company stationery are appropriate for a business thank-you letter. If you have just a few notes to write, an elegant thank-you card, such as the kind you buy in a stationery shop, will make your customers feel that they are a top priority. Otherwise, use heavy-weight paper printed with your company's letterhead.
- Avoid using regular printer paper for a thank-you letter.
- Nice stationary really adds an extra touch.
- Choose thank-you cards that would be appropriate to send in any business setting. If your business is quirky and fun, it's fine to use colorful cards that represent your company the way you want it to be represented. Avoid using cards with inappropriate or overly personal images or messages.
3
Consider sending a gift. If you want to go even further to express your appreciation, you can send a small gift along with your note. This is not at all necessary, but for special customers it might be just the right thing. The gift should be small and useful. It can be representative of the services offered by your business, or something unrelated to your business but professional in nature.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Small gift ideas include bookmarks, magnets, candy, a t-shirt, or a gift certificate.
- The gift should not exceed a $25 - $50 value. Some companies have ethics policies that actually disallow them from accepting expensive gifts.
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Could you provide a sample letter or statement referring customers to customer support for our book store?
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You could say something simple like, "Hi. Thanks for using our book store. To get a better experience with our book store, please join/ask our customer support any questions you may have. Thank you."
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