Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Tax season (the first round) is over. Think about all the work you did. Now read the quote below:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

While Angelou’s quote sounds great, its meaning can be frustrating, particularly as it pertains to the work you do as a tax professional. Let’s break it down:

• “People will forget what you said.” As any tax professional knows, clients rarely remember anything you told them if they were even listening in the first place.
• “People will forget what you did.” Think about all the work, stress and late hours you endured during busy season. Are clients going to give you credit for that? Nope.
• “People will never forget how you made them feel.” How did you make your clients feel this tax season? It’s possible that, in the thick of things, we didn’t make our clients feel as appreciated as we could have.

Good news: We’ve got time now to refocus and show them how much we appreciate them. Let me tell you a story with an idea.
Like every other child in America, my daughters love Chick-fil-A. It’s even better if they can get those nuggets in a Happy Meal. They get their nuggets, a fruit cup, a kid-size drink and a little prize. (Disclaimer: The author receives no compensation or promotional consideration from any companies, brands, products, or services mentioned in this article.)

My girls received a unique prize this time. Inside their Happy Meal were two postcards with the Chick-fil-A logo on the front, saying, “You brighten my day” and “You brighten our day.” On the back it said, “Just wanted to say……” with room to write a personalized message to send to someone. To get the ball rolling, a Chick-fil-A team member named “Jennifer” wrote, “You Got This!” on one of my daughter’s cards. And she included a smiley face for good measure.

My nine-year-old was blown away. “Dad, that is so nice,” she kept saying about those cards for the next half hour. And then she said, “I can’t wait to figure out who I’m going to give this to.” 

It was a tough tax season for many of you. You’re probably not thinking of ways to tell clients how much you appreciate them. So, why now? They didn’t see all the hard work you and your team put in. They just see two big bills in front of them when they look at their tax return — one bill from the IRS and a second bill from you (i.e., your invoice). 

 What small things can you do to show clients you appreciate them? Things that make an impact but take little time, money, or effort? 

Let’s go back to Chick-fil-A. If you look closely at the cards my daughter received, the company branding and logo are subtly included. It’s not in your face, but it’s clear where customers are getting these clever pay-it-forward note cards. Chick-fil-A is not the star of the show, but they’re along with each customer for the ride as they pay the nice gesture forward to someone they care about. Then, notice what the handwritten note from Jennifer does to your subconscious. The company (Chick-fil-A) doesn’t appreciate you; the individual person (Jennifer) appreciates you. Wow!

Companies aren’t people. Companies don’t have feelings. Chick-fil-A is smart enough to make it about the customer, not about itself. Then they take it a step further to make it more impactful — they give customers another pay-it-forward card. What does that do? It gives the customer buy-in. You made them feel good, and now that allows them to make others feel good, which makes them feel even better. My nine-year-old understands that. She likes the card. She loves the ability to write her message and give it to someone she cares about. 

So, imagine if you sent branded appreciation cards to your clients and then gave them extra appreciation cards to send to their friends and family members. Your message would be passed along in the tiniest way that implied: “We are not the heroes of the story. You (the client) are the hero. We are along for the ride. We’re just in the background taking care of things.”

You’re all smart people reading this article. I’m not going to tell you exactly how to create branded client appreciation cards, but if you’ve read this far, you get the idea. The most important point to remember is to ensure the gesture is coming from you or another team member — not the firm itself. Clients don’t have a relationship with your firm. The relationship is with you.

If a company that sells chicken can do this so well that a nine-year-old picks up on it, then a professional services firm should be able to figure this out too. But it goes even further. By training your team to brighten up the days of your customers/clients, they feel better about themselves and they become better, more engaged employees who will go the extra mile for your organization. Chances are, they’ll stay around longer. It’s like a flywheel of happiness.

How does your firm show clients how much you appreciate them? I’d love to hear from you.