What’s the right thing to do around this time of the year? I know it’s a rather vexed question and is one of those conundrums that have many business people scratching their heads.
Frankly, I’m all for showing appreciation of customers, clients or patients and don’t believe you should wait until Christmas. After all, any time of the year is the right time to say “thank you”. And remember, it’s not what you do or say… it’s how you do or say it!
So, to give you some food for thought and hopefully action, here is a collection of tried and tested suggestions that have been used with success, in no particular order of merit.
- Just write a simple and sincere snail mail note to all of your customers, clients or patients wishing them the compliments of the season and thanking them for their support. (Don’t send it by email… it lacks the personal touch!)
- Send a Christmas card (or seasonal greeting card if you want to be really politically correct) but make sure that they are from some worthy cause that benefits by the purchase of those cards.
- Remember the power of Pareto and analyse your clients, customers or patients by their value (primarily fees during the year including value of referrals) to determine the 20% of them who give you 80% of your income and vice versa. Resolve to reward them for their support accordingly (the top 20% should get larger or more meaningful rewards than the bottom 80%).
Send a book they’d love to the top 20%. One of my clients did this and got gangbuster results. But don’t pay full price… go to my wonderful book remainder friends https://cloustonandhall.com.au/ and select books for around 20-30% of the cover price. - You might send a packet of sweets or other small token to the bottom 80% or ignore them completely.
- Tickets to the cinema are always a great reward and really appreciated, particularly if they are for Gold class.
- Talking about movies, you could always do what a dentist colleague of mine, Dr Mark Hassed, did regularly in conjunction with a chiropractor. They shared the cost of hiring a cinema and each invited 100 of their top clients to the screening of a first release movie as a thank you and introduction to the other professional. It worked a treat.
- Send a fax (remember them?) instead of a card. Prepare some appealing art work first to catch their attention. You could use the same art work on a poster with a pithy quotation. They’re likely to put this on the wall – and remember where it came from.
- A very convenient, low-cost and welcome gift for clients is a voucher to spend on any of your products or services.
- A very popular gift is the “free restaurant meal” which has proved hugely successful when used by the many different professionals. A great advantage is that the meal will not cost you a brass razoo although it appears you have paid for it. If you’d like details and the letter that goes with it e-mail miracles@winstonmarsh.com.au
I hope that this gives you a small indication of the range of options that are available to show people your appreciation. Of course gestures in the festive season should be just one of the six to eleven regular contacts that you should have with your database during a year.
Keep in mind that ours is a multi-cultural society. Although many people take holidays over the Christmas period some don’t celebrate Christmas.
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