Today is Remembrance Day in the UK, when we remember and honour those who fought and died for our country in two world wars, and those who are serving in the armed forces today.

I'm very anti-war, although I have great respect and gratitude for the men and women of our armed forces, so I'm out and about today wearing my poppy and I make a point of thanking the people who are selling poppies to raise funds to help ex-servicemen and women.

I've been told that servicemen and women, and their families, really appreciate seeing everyone with their poppies, as it lets them know that the public cares about their service and that their efforts are remembered.

Showing your customers that you remember them, and appreciate their support of your business too, is also very important. It's a great way to remind them that you're there, that you still have something to offer them, and that you value your custom - and who doesn't like feeling valued!?

If you're wondering how you can show your customers that you value them, keep reading for this week's tip.

this week's tip: show your customers that your remember them

There are many ways, little and large, that you can show your customers that you remember them and appreciate your their support.

First of all, when ever you contact them by email, telephone or through old fashioned (but valuable) snail-mail, make sure that you use their name.

"The sweetest sound to any human being is their own name" - Mark Horstman

For phone calls, that's easy, just ensure that your customer database includes their first name and last name. Then all you need to do is check the database whenever you call them, and actually use their name in the conversation, for example "hi STEVE, it's Tamsin Fox-Davies from Enthuse Marketing. I'm calling because...."

It's just as easy to do this with email (in fact, it's easier but most people don't believe me when I tell them that). If you are one of the people who thinks that personalisation of email doesn't make a difference, here's a statistic for you: Using your recipient's name just once at the start of the email (like I do) is proven to improve your open rate by 30%. Any email marketing software will allow you to do this, so if you're still sending out your newsletters and email campaigns through Outlook or even (heaven forbid!) as attachments, please do yourself a favour and sign up for a free trial of the software that I use here.

The other way to  show your clients that you remember then is to give them exclusive information, special offers or individual added value gifts on specific dates. These could include:

    * your birthday
    * their birthday
    * their customer anniversary
    * Christmas
    * Valentines' Day

Comment on my blog if you've tried any of the above with success, or you've experienced this yourself.