10 Ways To Make Your Customers Happy

By Joanna Br and I

9. Use a little guilt. Napa Valley vintner Manfred Esser has coined his customer care strategy as “guilt marketing.” He explains: “You treat your customers soooo well that you create a sense of obligation for them to come back for more. They actually feel guilty if they forget about you.”

Naturally, the guilt strategy only works if you really do lavish attention on your customers. But it can work. The skin care company DHC sends me so many catalogs with cool little samples of skin cream enclosed (the stuff is great and fits flat in the single, one-quart plastic bag you have to take on the plane these days) that I’m about to place my first order — I feel guilty since they treat me so well!