If you run a business, it’s extremely important to make customers feel satisfied. It’s not enough to just bring new customers in. Eventually, you’ll run out of new people and have to build some regulars. But you don’t need to take our word for it. 65 percent of a company’s business comes from customer retention. You have to make sure that your customers feel appreciated, so they come back to you. Client gifting is one of the best ways to keep your customers coming around for more and more.
If you care about employee retention, and employee recognition, you should care about client gifts as well.
This article will walk you through a couple of ideas for ways you can make your customers feel appreciated.
1. Get To Know Them
If you want your customers to come back, get to know them well. Client recognition isn’t about bombarding your customers with information and service, just about making sure the service you do give is personalized.
The first thing you should do — no matter what your business is — is learn what they like. The classic example of this is a great barista at a coffee shop who learns each of their regular customer’s orders. It’s hardly inconvenient for a customer to give their coffee order, but they feel appreciated — made someone — by the business when someone takes their personal preference into account.
The second thing you should learn is the customer’s name. It’s a little forward to ask them the first or second time, but by the time your customer becomes a regular, feel free to greet them by name. It lets them know you care about them, rather than pretend to care simply for business.
(Speaking of which, truly caring is important to a business in 2021. While businesses used to be able to hide behind corporate coldness, social media has made everyone want the business they work with to be good corporate citizens.)
2. Say Thank You
A little bit of thanks goes a long way.
Make sure that you’re thanking your clients for doing business with you. If they keep coming back, they know your product is good — they’re also coming back to you because they like the business you created. Thank them for that.
When you thank your customer, you’re not just thanking them for giving you their money, you’re thanking them for their support. Once again, this thanks has to be authentic. The last thing you want is to come off as not sincere.
Offer your client something small. If you sell products or services for cheap, offer them a discounted service. If you deal with bigger packages, consider gifting them an Amazon or Starbucks gift card.
But gifts and material representations of thank aren’t the only way you can show you care. Simply emailing them, or thanking them before they walk out of your story is the easiest way to show your thanks.
3. Return the Favor
The essence of the business and the market is give-and-take. Your clients most likely have jobs, interests, and hobbies. If you’re in the world of B2B business, then part of your relationship with your client is knowing exactly what it is they do.
Find out what your client does. There’s a very good chance that you could benefit from their service. It doesn’t matter how different your businesses are, you can find ways to patronize every sort of business.
Maybe you’re a marketing service who was hired by a local musician to increase his local SEO ranking. After your service, the number of gigs he booked went up, and he’s happy with your service. To show how much you appreciate him, consider booking his wedding band if you have a wedding coming up in your life.
4. Hire a Gifting Service
In the age of the internet, there are people out there who offer every service imaginable. It’s no wonder that there are companies devoted to helping you bring high-quality gifts to your favorite clients.
With Givenly, you can gift branded swag, which works twice. One, it increases the likelihood that your customer comes back; and two, it works as advertising.
Among the branded content you can give are teddy bears, duffle bags, volleyballs, hats, mugs, blankets, and candy. You can also give a gift box with a tag that has your brand name on it.
Branding is extremely important to building your reputation in the 21st century. When people see your brand label around, they’re more likely to remember you when they encounter you. It also offers opportunities for your clients to spread the news about you.
5. Treat Your Employees Well
A great way to lose a faithful customer is to show them that you treat your employees poorly.
You might be able to trick a customer into thinking you’re a nice person the first few times. But if they keep coming back, they’re going to start noticing how your employees act around you.
Quite simply — if your employees clearly don’t think you’re a pleasant person, your clients are going to look for flaws as well. Likely, if you’re the kind of person who treats their employees poorly, you’re not going to treat your clients very well.
Make sure you treat your employees kindly. They’re just as important to your customers in making your business run. Treat your employees kindly and they’ll teach your clients kindly in return.
Client Gifting is Important
As you can see, it’s extremely to show your clients that you care. Put time and money into client gifting — whether that be physical gifts like candy and swag, emotional gifts like thank you’s and remembering their names, or paying them back in business — and you’re far more likely to get said client to come back to your business and bring all of their friends.
For more articles like this, check out our article on the positive impact of gifting on clients.
