Customer appreciation gifts are a great opportunity to reinforce your brand and strengthen your connection with clients. Showing your gratitude to clients through an appropriate gift elevates your business in their eyes, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
The Wrong Way to Use Gifts in Your Business Branding
Some businesses order large quantities of branded promotional items and then hand them out as if they are gifts. Business owners love their brand and their business. When they see their logo printed on something, it feels magical to them. There is a sense of pride – like showing off your new baby photos. Close friends and family may be impressed, but to the average person, it’s just another marketing piece. Hand them out at trade shows, but please don’t call them gifts.
Other businesses take a product that they sell and give it away for free. This makes a great bonus, but if it is your own product, it shouldn’t be given as a gift. A gift needs to be all about the recipient, not about the giver.
Another approach involves coming up with a nice, generic gift card that will appeal to everyone. Sending out Starbucks gift cards may seem like the easy way to show a little love, but it won’t make a big impact. It is a step in the right direction, but if you are using your business budget you want more than a nice gesture, you want something that will be memorable.
A Better Way To Branded Gift-Giving
You can connect your gift to your brand without branding it with your logo. Think of words or images that you use frequently in your branding and incorporate those into your gift. Maybe you are known for a certain word, phrase, or quote that you use with your clients. Sharing that on a gift will tie the gift to your brand in a way that will be meaningful to your clients. You might use a certain flower or animal as a metaphor for the work you do. When a client receives a gift that incorporates that symbol will be a meaningful connection to you and your business.
A gift should reflect your brand personality. An edgy/ in-your-face company won’t reach their clients by giving them a hug and sending flowers. A nurturing business that touches people on a personal level won’t be well served by sending their clients and irreverent gag gift.
Your clients have something in common. They come to you because of the problem you solve. When you give a gift that is related to what you do, it will remind your clients of you and reinforce your brand. If you are a coffee company, giving out a mug is a great reinforcement of your brand. If you are a holistic healer, natural body products or essential oils would make a better connection to your clients.
If you have a product that you LOVE and it relates to the work you do, that can make a great gift. Think of Oprah’s favorite things, but for your tribe.
Take the time to give meaningful gifts that relate to your brand. When you do that, it will be more memorable and make a bigger impact on the recipient. When you make a big impact on the recipient, it will make a big impact on your business in return. You will see an increase in client retention and referrals.
Deb Brown is the Chief WOW Creator at Touch Your Client’s Heart. She believes that client retention and referrals can be directly influenced by meaningful client gifts. To learn how to WOW your clients, go to: www.WOWClientsNOW.com. To learn more about Deb and Touch Your Client’s Heart, go to: http://touchyourclientsheart.com/about-us/.
