Honour Your Clients In Unique Ways This Christmas - Even With A Mini Budget!
Typically Christmas is the time businesses honour their clients. Corporates budget for expensive gift baskets, cases of wine, sought after tickets etc. Wholesale and impersonal, but anticipated.
Continuing my mantra "not all marketing is rocket science... and not all marketing is expensive" some wise person probably once said to you "It is not the cost, it is the thought that counts" and this is where small business has the edge.
Carefully thought out gifts reflecting your brand, your niche, your tagline or your image will get you noticed so take inspiration from your history, your colours, your marketplace or your existing advertising for a memorable gift. Have some fun with industry terminology, trade talk, your tagline etc and you are sure to be remembered.And the best news is the most inexpensive gift can have the greatest effect if it is personalised.
Tips to consider
- Treat Christmas as another touch point.
- If at all humanly possible, hand deliver your gift to your recipient.
- Deliver anytime in late November or December - not just 2 days before Christmas.
- If clients are interstate or overseas, carefully consider a gift that will arrive in good condition and check deadlines for overseas post.
- Unique and quirky is good - tacky and disrespectful is not, so be mindful of your client's beliefs regarding alcohol, humour and religion.
- Will it be a universal gift or will you personalise it to male/female, clients with children, travelling clients, gardening clients, gourmet cook clients, book lover clients, young professionals, senior executives, warehouse staff etc.
Ideas to get your creative juices flowing
- Wrap or ribbon in your business colours and tie a business card in with your gift tag.
- Give some of your product in a basket or gift box.
- Make a commercial arrangement with another small business owner to buy product or gift vouchers.
- Support a charity, give something from their range and add a note explaining the charity or your reasons for choosing it.
- Put a special offer inside a Christmas cracker shape.
- If you have the skill, make your own Christmas cards.
- If you have a mountain of small clients or a retail outlet, wrap something small in cellophane (mince pies, shortbread, puddings, rum balls) and theme it with your business card/ribbons and give to all.
- Have some fun with your brand or tagline and come up with something quirky eg:
- a vet could say "put your paws together for ..."
- a hairdresser could give gel product and say "Christmas can be hair raising...."
- a lawnmower contractor could say Dr ... recommends you do ... to your lawn during summer".
© Marketing Talk 2010 www.marketingtalk.com.au and www.marketingtalkonline.com
Comments