We live with an awesome access to automation, tracking and inventory control software in computer sales terminals, cellphones, and tablets that help you keep customers coming back to our full shelves, friendly staff, and exceptional teas and tea accessories. These resources make taking orders seamless, helps you avoid errors, and makes the shopping experience for customers great.

We, too, love the convenience, speed, and accuracy of all these tools, but … sometimes the simplest, easiest, and most effective way to attract, and keep, customers is completely analog: saying thank you.

THANK YOU

At the point of sale, as you hand over the purchase, say “Thank you.” You can add “We appreciate your business” or similar phrases and, if possible, offer eye contact, smile warmly, and, if appropriate, remind them when any products or equipment they discussed will arrive.

ADD THANK YOU TO RECEIPTS

Whether you use paper or digital receipts, each should have a large, bold face Thank you! or Thank you for Shopping at [your shop name]. Once programmed into your sales terminal, shopping cart for online sales or similar media, it will amplify the message to the customer that you’re grateful for every sale, large or small.

Placing a card or flyer with a message of thanks in every shopping bag is another way to reinforce the message of gratitude to your customers. (P.S. Remember to add your website address and phone number to each card or flyer to make it easy to reorder!)

Or, add a free gift! Nothing says thank you more deliciously than a teabag sample with every order. It’s also a marvelous marketing opportunity to promote a particular tea.

SAY THANK YOU WITH SALES!

Everyone loves a discount, and it’s a generous and effective way to say thank you, especially to veteran customers. You can segment your audience by those who are your most frequent or biggest customers or seniors. Create a loyalty club for both in-person and online customers and watch your sales rise dramatically. If you cannot offer discounts but can discount or eliminate shipping costs, that’s a terrific incentive to buy!

You could stage invitation-only Artisanal Tea Tastings as an incentive for customers to buy newly-arrived teas before you make an announcement online or in-store.

GIFT WITH PURCHASE

This timeless sales technique works on many levels. It’s a way to say thank you for a specific purchase amount, such as “Gift with Purchase of $50 or more” and a fun way to offer new, unusual or wonderfully functional small items such as tea sugars, candies or cookies; tea measuring spoons, samples of teabags or sample jars of honey.

From our sister site, Selefina, samples of spices are an exciting way to encourage customers to flavor their teas with cardamom green pods, lemon or orange peels, rose or lavender petals, and many other yummy selections.

Increase the value of the free gifts with higher-priced items such as a stainless steel tea filter with your finest porcelain teapots or descaling tablets with your best electric water kettles.

WRAP IT UP WITH STYLE!

Whether they’ve bought something for themselves or as a gift, say thank you with beautiful gift bags in lively colors that hold the purchased items wrapped carefully in either white or colorful tissue paper.

This communicates that you care about the products and the customer who purchased them. For special occasion gifts, add ribbons, bows, or charming decals to the paper bags. These, too, are inexpensive yet pretty ways to say thank you for shopping with us.

SAY THANK YOU WITH SIGNAGE

When the customer exits, whether or not they bought a thing, say, “Thank you for visiting. Please come again!” This affirms that your place of business is a warm and welcoming place to visit.

You can also place a sign with the same message on the inside of the front door so that when customers leave, they read “Thank you for Shopping with [store name]”.

Create it easily as a computer print-out on plain or colored paper with an elegant font from your word processing software such as Microsoft’s Lucida Calligraphy or Apple Chancery or your favorite font in bold Italic. Tape the sign discreetly to the door and change it up for the seasons.

P.S. Thank you for reading TeaSmart. We welcome your ideas for news and information to share with tea selling colleagues!