With all of the Holiday themes rolling out at coffee shops and stores, the pressure is rising to identify your holiday gift recipients and decide what to give. Before rushing to buy a gift, start by asking why you are giving a gift. Is it because everyone else is giving gifts at this time of year, or is it because you want to show your clients how much you appreciate their business? If you are gifting to show appreciation then here are some additional considerations.

The Best Client Gifts Are Personal

Gifts are about strengthening your relationship with your client. Gifts should be about the client. It’s not about you and it’s not about your business. Christmas is still four weeks away, so there’s time to think about who will be receiving gifts from you and make the effort to find out about the client. The best gifts are personalized and have meaning to the recipient. Bear in mind that the gift doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, expensive gifts aren’t necessarily great gifts.

But here we are, in the countdown, and you want to give a holiday gift. The question is how to go about choosing something personal and meaningful to the client. The easy answer is: pick up the phone and find out how they’re doing. Ask question like, “What are you doing for Thanksgiving,” or “Do you have any winter holiday plans?” In other words, ask questions that will elicit information that will foster ideas for a gift. If you know they like to read or listen to music, ask what they’ve been reading or listening to lately. If you see them in person, pay attention to what they are wearing and doing. Do you notice funky socks, particular colors or a fondness for cigars? These are all major hints at a great gift that will truly fit the recipient.

Choosing a Holiday Card That Feels Meaningful

For a relatively new client, you may not have the established rapport to have learned about them personally. This makes giving a personalized gift harder, but instead of going generic, send a personal note in a holiday card. Then, plan to give an appreciation gift next year at an unexpected time, such as in February or March, once you’ve had a chance to get to know the client a bit better. For a business client, it may not be a great idea to send the holiday card you are sending to your friends and family. Photos of the kids and vacations are meaningful to your intimate circle, but they are ultimately about you, not the client, particularly one who is just getting to know you. Stick to a holiday-themed card, and make an effort with the handwritten note you include. A card with a plain signature is not enough, and it will get lost in the piles of cards from other people.

Start With a Holiday Gifting Plan

If you still want to give a holiday gift, the best approach is to have a plan. Make a list of all the business contacts for whom you want to buy a gift, and then brainstorm, investigate, and compile a list of gift ideas for each person. Figure out your budget and get shopping. If you are feeling panicked and overwhelmed by the whole process, let VirtuArte help! Contact us here or give us a call at (866) 228-3497, and we will be happy to help you put your list together and talk through possible gift options. We can work with your budget and truly make your gifts memorable to your valued clients this year.

The post The Holiday Countdown Is On: How to Give Meaningful Client Gifts appeared first on VirtuArte.

Are you …

• Always thinking about the next sale?
• Having difficulty creating client loyalty?
• Not getting the repeat business or referrals you want from your current clients?

Well maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about client appreciation.

If done well, client appreciation is an integral part of the sales/marketing strategy of any business.  After all, it costs five times more to land a new client than to maintain the relationship with an existing client.  It’s not enough to interact with the customer only when a sale is happening.  A good client appreciation strategy should include regular check-ins that are not “chasing the sale” but a genuine “Thank you for your business.”  In order to stay top of mind with your client, you can include in person meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, handwritten notes, videos and intentional gift giving.

How the Customer Experience Impacts Loyalty

Think about your experience at a restaurant.  If your food is delivered, your waiter can just sit back and wait to clear the empty dishes or sail by with a perfunctory inquiry about the food.  Or, your waiter can make a real effort to find out how the meal is going, check on water glasses, offer more drinks or bread and otherwise contribute to your experience at the restaurant.  Which kind of service gets the bigger reward?  The answer should be obvious.  The bread and water offered by the waiter may seem simple, but these gestures, free of charge to the customer, make for a memorable, pleasant experience, as well as a big tip!  The extra attention that gets rewarded when dining out is the sort of attention that will keep your clients loyal and invested in your success.

What Is Client Appreciation?

Client appreciation programs have the same impact.  It has been shown that 68% of customers who stop doing business with a company do so because they do not feel appreciated.  An appreciation gesture — that phone call, handwritten note, or gift — at an unexpected interval puts the humanity back into the business relationship.  It creates a connection with the customer that goes beyond the sale, it builds trust and gratitude.  When a client feels appreciated, they want to continue the relationship, resulting in repeat business.  But also, a customer who feels a genuine connection with you and your business can become an advocate for your business — promoting it through referrals and positive reviews.

Why Investing in Existing Clients Pays Off

When thinking about client appreciation programs, some people balk at the time it takes and the cost. However, the success rate of selling to an existing client is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new client is 5-20%.  Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to your client relationships.  Given the time, energy and expense of landing a new client, investing in the relationships of your existing clients will inevitably be less expensive and more productive.

Be Thoughtful With Every Appreciation Gesture

At VirtuArte, we feel that a customer appreciation program should be intentional.  This means that every appreciation gesture needs to be thoughtful.  Take the time to call your client and find out how they are doing.  If you are going to send a card, handwrite it with a personalized message.  Sending a video?  Again, personalize it.  If you decide to give a gift, make the effort to find a gift that shows you’ve paid attention to the client as a person.  This makes the gift memorable to your client.  Use your periodic check-ins to do more than assess how the client is doing; use them to show your client you really appreciate their business.

Want to know more about how you can show your customers how much you appreciate them?  Contact us here to set up a consultation about customized client appreciation programs to strengthen your client relationships.

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