Do you really care about your customers? Your marketing communications tell the story—for better or for worse.

I have been a customer of a certain company for over 20 years. Yet, more often than not, I get seemingly great offers from them in the mail, but upon perusing the fine print I discover they are for "new customers only."

Other mailings I receive misspell my name, or they address me as "Dear Friend." Am I your friend?

Reflect back on the last three communications you received from a company with which you do business. What were they? Most likely, they were marketing pieces that someone at that company deemed important to send, such as an upsell, sales offer, or simply a bill or invoice. Now think about what you might have preferred to receive from that company. Acknowledgement of your longevity as a customer? A thank-you note? News that is important—to you?

Every touch from every department is marketing, whether or not the communicator has the official title of "marketer." Each customer interaction, whether via phone, email, direct mail, or Web, leaves an impression about your brand. Are your marketing communications self-serving, or are they serving customer needs?

Consider what the following communications say about your company.

Bills and Invoices

A company can't not send bills and invoices to customers; they are a necessary part of doing business. However, when these are the only types of communications I see as a customer, I feel as if you only love me for my money. Well, do you?

Newsletters

These are great for helping to keep your company top-of-mind with your customers. But what kind of messages are you sending in them?

I knew of one company with several different product lines, each with its own newsletter. If a customer had more than one product (which is what we want!), they received multiple newsletters. Solution: Better to send them all the newsletters consolidated into one mailing; best to create one cohesive, "custom" newsletter for this customer (and others like them).

New-Product Announcements

Businesses want to share certain information with customers, but do customers want to hear it? Which ones do they want to hear about?

Information about products and services is most helpful to customers when it is relevant to their interests and complementary to existing products or services they already buy from you. And about those "special deals" for new customers only? Please don't send them to your current customers—it makes them feel as if (1) you aren't aware they are already customers or (2) the best deals are being saved for other people.

Better to create two versions of your announcement, one for new customers and one that acknowledges existing customers and builds on the ongoing conversation with them. You are engaging your customers in conversation, aren't you?

Email Announcements

In this day and age of information privacy, we all know that permission-based emails are critical. But content and relevance are also important. If the subject and body of the email aren't consistent with your brand, you will cause customers to doubt their trust in you, and they may unsubscribe.

I recently saw one example cited on Peter Kim's blog (www.beingpeterkim.com); he hadn't heard from a particular company for months via email (actually, he couldn't recall when he'd last heard from them, if at all). Yet, this email message looked more like a grouping of advertisements for partners than a valuable consumer communication.

The company appears to view its customers more as a list to be mined or sold rather than as a set of relationships to be nurtured. Email frequency and content are critical to building those relationships.

Phone Calls

A communication via the phone will be closely scrutinized, or quickly dismissed, as it interrupts someone's already-busy schedule. What kinds of calls are you making to your customers, if any?

Constantly calling to "share the news about a new service we think you will like" is annoying at best. Calling to let me know you appreciate my business and looking for my feedback on a recent interaction with your company is more likely to be openly and positively received. Be careful, though. Customers will notice what you "slip in" to these calls.

For example, I once received a call from my insurance agent wishing me a happy birthday; nice, I thought. He then slipped into a soft sell for their long-term care insurance! Made sense to him; felt a little bit insulting to me.

A great call I received recently was from a realtor, congratulating us on our two-year anniversary in our house. He was the realtor that represented the seller, not the buyer (us) two years ago, yet he maintains contact with us on a regular basis just to say hello and to build a relationship. I know who we will call when we are ready to move into another house!

Blogs and Twitter

Many companies are starting to use social media marketing as a way to reach out to their customers. Anyone who follows Zappos on Twitter (a rapidly emerging micro-blogging tool) will find fun and sometimes funky information about the happenings there, in addition to the occasional product announcement and contest.

When the tweets or blog posts are completely self-serving (i.e., talking only about your company), customers lose interest. When the communications highlight something useful to customers or allow us to see the people behind the company, relationships with customers begin to grow stronger.

In-box Messaging

When you send out an order to a customer, what goes in the box? A receipt or invoice, most likely. I am always pleased when I see a "thank you" note included. The best one I received was from a small internet-based company, The Busy Bunny, which had the words "Thank you for your business" handwritten on a Busy Bunny-branded notepad. It was unexpected and brought a smile to my face; I still think of it every time I use the notepad!

What Customers Want

Customers want to know that you value their business. They want to know that you know how long they have been with you. They want to feel appreciated. They also want information to be sent to them the way they want it. Be sure to ask customers what type of information they want to receive, how often they want to receive it, and via which channels (email, phone, text message, Twitter).

After you understand your customers, by all means send the birthday card—just keep it at that, a greeting. Southwest Airlines sends out cute cards every year with a short congratulations, and no sales pitch.

Send thank-you notes; a little bit of thanks goes a long way (see the Busy Bunny example above). Invite them to join you at special events, just for current customers. Coldwater Creek did this recently by sending a "royal" invitation to a tea and fashion show at a local store: tiaras optional. Customers felt special even if they didn't get to attend the event.

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What do your marketing communications say about how much your company values customers? Do they look like you just care about your own sales?

A well-planned communication strategy that includes notes of customer appreciation, informational tidbits, as well as the necessary sales messages will build stronger customer relationships.

In a tough economy, that may make all the difference in making your sales and retention goals this year.