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Do You Appreciate Your Offline Clients?

by Avanyx
22 replies
Hey all again, as most of you know I am in the process of setting up my own offline consultant business and so far within the first week I have now got my first 2 clients.

Ok so on with this post...

I have been thinking of ways of being unique and going above and beyond what my competitors are currently doing.

What I want to do is show those clients that sign up and pay me for my services that I really do appreciate the business that they are giving me and that I am very grateful and do not take them for granted.

So I was thinking of after a few days of a client signing up with me that I would send them a bottle of wine and a thank you card.

What are your thoughts on this and do you do this in your business.

Also what other ideas do you have in regards to offering something to shows your thanks?
#clients #offline
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    Hey Avanyx,

    It's great reading about your progress with your new business-- it's a very exciting time! And getting 2 clients in your first week is a very excellent start.

    I think sending a thank you gift is a great way to show appreciation for your clients. One thing to remember though is that you don't want to eat up your profits by sending out a bunch of expensive gifts. A hand written thank you card will go miles.

    Another thing that I use to keep in touch with clients is MailChimp (Email Marketing and Email List Manager | MailChimp). It is a lot like AWeber in terms of being an e-mail management system, but I find that it is better for sending out monthly newsletters because they have great templates. Every new client that you get you should add to your Newsletter list and then send out a monthly newsletter that give progress on your business and new services you offer. Business owners will love hearing updates on how your business is progressing and it is a great way to soft sell new services you are offering.

    MailChimp has a free option for up to 2,000 people on your list and allows you to send out 12,000 e-mails a month for free. This will be more than enough for your needs. If you get to the point of having 2,000 clients you will have enough money to pay for their service.

    Anyway, I hope this helps and keep posting updates on your progress of starting your new business!

    -Ben
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    • Profile picture of the author tydy
      thanks. i am really pleased to u.
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  • Profile picture of the author Avanyx
    Has anyone else any further suggestions or would this be too much money to put each time new client signs up?
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    • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
      Hi

      I like your thinking.

      It's a great idea. Your customers are not going to forget you in a hurry.

      Who else gives out gifts? They will tell their friends. (I give personally give £20 vouchers for a popular store here in the UK (Marks And Spencers) to my affiliates who sign up for a Hostgator account via my affiliate link. They love receiving a gift through the post).

      You could also get some really useful promotional gifts made up too (eg. Promotional Products, Branded Merchandise, Promotional Goods and Business Gifts)

      it's a nice thing to do. Even just a handwritten card without the gift will go a long way and show them that you appreciate their business.

      Let us know how you get on

      Gary
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      • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
        We give a plastic candy bowl ( quite large ) of dark chocolate candy bars, with a custom wrapper, top of bar is the clients bizz name, back of candy bar is OUR info ... clients love it, and we get some extra clients this way
        ---
        and its a lot cheaper then it sounds.
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  • Profile picture of the author Morphius
    Bad idea. First it shows that you are desperate. That's my opinion. You also need to preform a job. Make sure you preform the job, then trust me they will be very happy. You don't need to send chocolate to every client. Do you see Walmart? or costco sending out gifts? NO. You don't need either. That is a rookie move. No disrespect to you. I know you mean good, but the message will be wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author fitz10
      Originally Posted by Morphius View Post

      Bad idea. First it shows that you are desperate. That's my opinion. You also need to preform a job. Make sure you preform the job, then trust me they will be very happy. You don't need to send chocolate to every client. Do you see Walmart? or costco sending out gifts? NO. You don't need either. That is a rookie move. No disrespect to you. I know you mean good, but the message will be wrong.
      I agree with you to a point, but Walmart and Costco are B2C, the OP is B2B and its more typical to send gifts to establish a strong relationship in that sphere. I used to work in the corporate world and when I was a client I never traveled anywhere without getting a big basket full of wine and other goodies sent to my hotel room. I think it's a nice touch that shows the client you care, not that you're desperate. I never once assumed the people who sent me gifts were desperate to have my company as a client.
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    • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
      Originally Posted by Morphius View Post

      Bad idea. First it shows that you are desperate. That's my opinion. You also need to preform a job. Make sure you preform the job, then trust me they will be very happy. You don't need to send chocolate to every client. Do you see Walmart? or costco sending out gifts? NO. You don't need either. That is a rookie move. No disrespect to you. I know you mean good, but the message will be wrong.
      I have to disagree with you.

      1) There is nothing desperate about giving a gift. It's a nice touch that a lot of businesses appreciate. Businesses will realise that you are not a large corporate business so will be grateful and will expect a more personalised service.

      2) Walmart, costco and other companies do send out gifts....but on a different scale. Most stores reward you and try to keep your business by giving your coupons and points with reward cards etc.

      3) Although they might not send an actual gift to each and every ordinary customer who go through their tills, you can be sure that they WILL send gifts to the buyers, manufacturers, distributors and other CEO that they value at the top end. They are just as keen to keep clients and lavish very expensive gifts to ensure that they keep the contracts.

      Only the most cynical and hardened client would look down on a Thank You gift or card and think that you were desperate for sending it.

      I am sure that most would think it was a very nice touch and it would set you apart from all of the other businesses that they use.

      There really is NOTHING desperate about saying thank you or showing a client that you appreciate their business.

      Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author SiteSmarty
    Send them a PayPal payment when they refer someone to you. Then they refer more. I agree with Morphius.
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  • Profile picture of the author ephame
    I think the how/when and why you send a reward/ incentive is important. I agree with Morphious to a point but i also believe that in the right circumstances it will be a good thing to do.

    Use your instincts and judgement and i'm sure you will work out what is best to do. Also one thought is to put yourself in the clients shoes what would your reaction be if you got a bottle of wine for not even doing anything? If it's a positive response in your mind then by all means try it.

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author SubUrbanHype
    I think you're heart is in the right place. But I don't think you shouldn't be so generic and just send them wine. If you are going to show them you appreciate them, spend some time to actually get to know them and something that they like (sports tickets, a movie, wine, event tickets, etc.) along with a personal note. You do some digging and find out the business owner loves the Lakers, and you decide to save a piece of however much he is paying you each month to buy him tickets to a upcoming Lakers game, and now he will love you to death, and brag to all his friends, and just maybe refer you some business. That's how you create experiences, and more or less gain a almost lifetime customer (on top of you doing kick ass work). Thats how business will work soon, and its good you are at least heading down the right track ahead of the rest.
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    • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
      Originally Posted by SubUrbanHype View Post

      I think you're heart is in the right place. But I don't think you should be so generic and just send them wine. If you are going to show them you appreciate them, spend some time to actually get to know them and something that they like (sports tickets, a movie, wine, event tickets, etc.) along with a personal note. You do some digging and find out the business owner loves the Lakers, and you decide to save a piece of however much he is paying you each month to buy him tickets to a upcoming Lakers game, and now he will love you to death, and brag to all his friends, and just maybe refer you some business. That's how you create experiences, and more or less gain a almost lifetime customer (on top of you doing kick ass work). Thats how business will work soon, and its good you are at least heading down the right track ahead of the rest.

      We posted at the same time.

      This is a good post and shows the power of a thank you gift.

      This is exactly what corporate businesses do. Obviously they are dealing with multi million dollar orders so you will scale down your gift accordingly.

      Gary
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    • Profile picture of the author Avanyx
      Originally Posted by SubUrbanHype View Post

      I think you're heart is in the right place. But I don't think you shouldn't be so generic and just send them wine. If you are going to show them you appreciate them, spend some time to actually get to know them and something that they like (sports tickets, a movie, wine, event tickets, etc.) along with a personal note. You do some digging and find out the business owner loves the Lakers, and you decide to save a piece of however much he is paying you each month to buy him tickets to a upcoming Lakers game, and now he will love you to death, and brag to all his friends, and just maybe refer you some business. That's how you create experiences, and more or less gain a almost lifetime customer (on top of you doing kick ass work). Thats how business will work soon, and its good you are at least heading down the right track ahead of the rest.
      Great idea, I was thinking of other things apart from wine but agree with what you say that if I build relationship and dig a little deeper I can send a gift that is more personalized to each of my clients.

      To comment also on another post who said it is a desparate method, I disagree sure I respect your opinion but I think that it is not something that is being done that often as many people are more focused on generating more sales instead of building a relationship with a customer that could be more long term than short term.

      Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions so far.
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      • Profile picture of the author tuscan
        A handwritten thankyou note, as mentioned before, will score a lot of points (not everyone drinks, so wine might give those people a chance to think about little you know them - and that's not a good thing.
        Also, don't forget that now's the best time to ask for referrals.
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  • Profile picture of the author emory27
    this should be a common tactic in any business that deals with offline clients, i factor in a 10% overhead cost that goes directly back to the clients every other month in the way of gift certificates to local eatery's.

    i also offer the first month of services free for my offline clients making it much easier to not only get the customers but once they see how effective my services are also get them hooked.
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    Agree with the suggestion that if you're going to do it, find out what your client likes. Not everyone drinks wine...
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  • Profile picture of the author sidraing
    I have a buddy named Matt here in Seattle that created a site called Thankuz.com, it's an innovative, easy and classy way I let my clients know that I appreciate them and their business. During these times I believe that all appreciation is well received and it also doubles as another positive action in the ever continuious marketing funnel.
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  • Profile picture of the author Avanyx
    I have looked at promotional items as suggested by another warrior member and this is very doable but it has to be something that they would use in order to get the full affect for example mugs, pens, umbrella etc...

    I will be looking into this as there is discounts available for min of 10 orders which is great.
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  • Profile picture of the author TyBrown
    I haven't signed up yet but I believe with Send Out Cards you can send a hand written note with brownies or other treats.
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  • Profile picture of the author Avanyx
    I just thought of another thank you gift that would be cheap and also would be able to be used for the clients that I would give them too, a thank you card along with a preloaded gift card for a high street retail shop.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChristopherDittemore
    Personally I think the best thank you gift is something you put thought into... for instance, what do they enjoy doing, simple question.. if they like golfing give them a year subscription to a popular golf mag... if they say spending time with family, give them a gift card for 50 bucks at a nice restaraunt, they will talk about you while they are enjoying their time together...

    and best of all - say thank you by making sure you do what you say you will do.... help them with their business any chance you get... spend time thinking of how they can be more successful... then implement it for them...

    then ask for referrals

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Surran
    Has anyone thought about or tried making a donation to a local charity in your client's name? Particularly if you can find one that your client is passionate about.
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