Honor What Customers Care About

CustomInkis a $70 million T-shirt shop that prints custom T-shirts for family reunions and group and business events. Because actual people at CustomInk personally review every single order, they know what events their products are being printed for. The company saw so many shirts being created for charities that they decided to become personally invested in these causes.

So whenever a T-shirt gets printed by CustomInk for a charity event, the company also sends a donation. Initially, this started as a casual gesture by Lori Mayfield, a CustomInk order analyst. Now, Mayfield says,“We try to donate to every charity event that our customers hold close to their hearts.”

Giving Back to the Customer’s Cause

CustomInk wouldn’t feel right printingT-shirts for a charitable organizationwithout giving back to theircause. With this one gesture theylet their customers know they backtheir efforts. What’s most importantabout this gesture is that CustomInkdidnottake this action as a marketingeffort. It began as a personalexpression by an order analyst whowanted to give back to companiesthat trusted CustomInk.

In the end,like many other noble decisions, doing something good returns to the sender. CustomInk’sgenuine gesture to contribute towhat their customers care aboutseparates them from other T-shirtsuppliers. It draws customers backto do business with a company thatthinks this way.

Growing Business by Connecting With Customers

CustomInk has delivered over 15 million shirts, with 98.9 percent of their customers saying they will purchase from the company again. Though their donation to charity customers is small in amount (as little as $30), this gesture connects the company personally with what their customers care about. And it shows customers that CustomInk’s service is not just about getting and filling orders.

With this gesture, CustomInk figuratively sticks their hand out of the shipping box and warmly embraces customers. And customers embrace CustomInk in return. Says one:

“I definitely was not expecting an email asking if CustomInk could give a donation to our organization. This makes me proud to have picked this company to do our printing for us.”

And as you can see from the increase in CustomInk’s growth in donations, charities are rewarding CustomInk because they care. The percent of CustomInk’s charitable donations is directly related to the growth rate they are experiencing in charities flocking to them.

How do you connect in that personal manner with your customers?What selfless acts tell your customers and employees about what matters to you on a personal level?

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