Thanksgiving

The upcoming holidays are the season to give thanks.  It is the season to give thanks to your employees for working hard throughout the year for your business.  You are also looking to give thanks to your clients for using your business as their resource.  For these reasons and more - it is the time of year to give thanks.  And with our current economic situation, this is as important as ever. 

 

With our economy’s lack of expansion, it is as important as ever to keep your client base in your corner.  Over the years you have worked hard to earn your clients’ trust and business with your products and service.   So saying thank you during the holidays accomplishes two objectives.  First, it provides you an opportunity to formally show your gratitude for the business over the past year.  Second, if done correctly, this gives you another chance to solidify your relationship with your clients. 

 

We feel that your showing of gratitude will be stronger and more memorable if it is done in conjunction with a gift.  Do not think of gift giving as buying influence but as a true thank you.  If you view this as a true thank you gift, you will come across as sincere and heartfelt.  And it does not matter how much money you spend, the most important factor for successful gift giving is that is done right.  You can spend a lot of money and your message can be lost.  Or you can spend $2 and achieve your desired result. 

  So how do you effectively say thanks and give a gift to a client?  I learned a lesson on how to give gifts when I used to manage a large purchasing department for a manufacturing company.  We would receive a tremendous amount of gifts during the holidays.  Many of the gifts would arrive via UPS or the mail with no personal follow up call or visit.  Most of the products we received was food, which fell into a large conglomeration of food gifts and the message of saying thank you by our suppliers was soon lost.    

 

The gifts (food and non-food) that I remember to this day were the ones that were personally delivered.  My suppliers made it a memorable experience by coming in to say thanks.    

 

So when you are giving a thank you gift this holiday season, make sure to follow one of these two actions;

 

1.  Personally deliver the gifts to your client, look them in the eye, and thank them.

2. If your clients are not local and you need to send the gift, follow up with a personal phone call after you know they have received the product.  This way you make sure to reinforce your thank you gift with a conversation. 

The time of year to give thanks to your clients is quickly approaching.  Make sure to not miss this opportunity to thank your client base and implement a plan to ensure this is done effectively. 

 

Michael Wolaver

Magellan Promotions, LLC

Owner

www.magellanpromotions.com

Comments

[Bill Mews]

You can't imagine how important and beneficial that "personal touch" is. It's a great way to show that they aren't just another customer - you really care.