????2009年，克里斯蒂娜?鮑威琳開始舉辦客戶答謝午宴，當時她覺得這樣做僅僅是為了照顧一位朋友蕭條的生意而已。

????她沒料到的是，這些通常在華盛頓特區周圍像The Palm和Capital Grille這樣的高檔飯店舉辦的午餐會竟然給她帶來了近900名客戶，有力地推動了她自己的生意。

????鮑威琳意想不到的成功說明，答謝和感恩可以在生意場上產生多大的威力。

????“我們并沒有開發新客戶，而是決定回到老客戶身邊，向他們致謝，進一步發展關系，”她說。近20年來，她的萊斯頓豪華車租賃公司（Reston Limousine）很少、甚或從來沒有采取過任何方式來感謝其近2萬名客戶。現在，“我認為這是我最重要的舉措，”鮑威琳說。

????一些商家并沒有選擇僅僅只在一年中的某一天（比如感恩節、元旦或一年一度的感恩顧客促銷活動）表達感謝之意，而是將其納入每天和每周的計劃和決策當中。它們正在看到這樣做的好處：員工們覺得自己受到了賞識，通常會更加積極地工作；而客戶們則更有希望成為“回頭客”，同時帶來新主顧。

????“感激可以激發起積極的互惠行為，”里士滿大學（University of Richmond）營銷學教授蘭迪?拉希奧說。如果客戶認為企業把顧客的最佳利益放在心上，他就更愿意跟這家企業發展長期的關系。

????拉希奧第一次對感恩行為的效應產生興趣是在卡特里娜颶風襲擊美國之后，當時路易斯安那州舉辦了一場感恩活動，感謝民眾的捐款。根據他的研究，許多看到這場活動的人更有可能在未來捐款或從事志愿活動，甚至那些之前沒有參與捐助活動的人也會這么做。

????企業可以采用多種方式表達其感激之情。比如，面向最好的客戶舉辦私人銷售活動；在賬單上附上幾塊巧克力；或者僅僅是說上一句謝謝你。感激務必要真誠，如果不是面向所有人，效果會更好。

????拉希奧說，客戶回饋的方式通常表現為：介紹一位朋友，在網上寫上一段正面的評語，或者是愿意以后購買更多產品。?

????When Kristina Bouweiri started hosting customer appreciation lunches in 2009, she thought she was just helping a friend boost her lagging business.

????Little did she know that the lunches, which have been held in posh restaurants around Washington, D.C. like The Palm and Capital Grille, would introduce her to almost 900 of her clients, giving her own business a jolt.

????Bouweiri's unexpected success is testament to the power of appreciation and gratitude in business.

????"Instead of going after new business, we decided to go back to old clients and thank them, and develop relationships," she says. For almost 20 years, her company Reston Limousine had done little or nothing to thank its almost 20,000 clients. Now, says Bouweiri, "I consider it the most important initiative that I have."

????As opposed to showing appreciation one day a year -- at Thanksgiving or New Year's or in an annual customer appreciation sale -- some businesses are building it into their daily and weekly plans and policies. And they are seeing the benefits to this approach: Workers are often more engaged when they feel appreciated and customers are more likely to come back and give referrals.

????"Gratitude motivates positive reciprocal behavior," says Randy Raggio, a marketing professor at the University of Richmond. If a customer believes that a business has his best interests at heart, that customer is more inclined to develop a long-term relationship with the business.

????Raggio first grew interested in gratitude in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when the state of Louisiana ran a thank-you-for donations campaign. Many people who saw the campaign were more likely to donate or volunteer in the future, according to his research, even those who had not previously participated in that particular campaign.

????A business might show their appreciation by having private sales for their best customers, by offering a few chocolates with the bill, or simply by saying thanks for your business. It needs to be genuine and it's better if it's not open to all.

????Customer appreciation, Raggio says, usually comes in the form referring a friend, writing a positive review online, or perhaps a willingness to pay more later on.