Marketing isn't cheap and thousands of dollars are spent daily trying to grab the attention of the consumer. Keeping this in mind this it's important to put a process in place to keep your clients once you've gotten them. Your clients need and want to feel appreciated. A number of studies show that more than 50% of churn is due to clients feeling that businesses don’t care about them. There are many ways to show your clients that you care about them and their lives. Frequent check-ins, thoughtful cards, and the occasional coffee date are all great options.
Here are a few tips.
TIP 1
Set a budget for your client appreciation program.
I recommend 5-10% of your client contract or gross sale. For example if a client purchased a product or service from you that cost $1,000. You should allocate a min. of $50-$100 When you have a higher price point you can send a gift to the decision maker and the executive assistant who helped.
TIP 2
Schedule the shipping for this gift so that it happens as part of your business practice. For example: One of our clients sends a client gift within 24hours after
their contract is signed. This client is a doctor that gives presentations around the country.
TIP 3
Stay away from overly branded items. Meaning the coffee mug with your logo, the stress ball, the water bottle. These items have a place and in some cases it makes sense. However when you're saying thank you to a customer and you want to do it in a meaningful way you want to stay away from pushing your your brand it can feel impersonal and more like a sale tactic. Imagine a friend giving you a gift with their company logo on it. Unless they work for a notable high end company like Vogue, Louis Vuitton, or Mercedes you may not wasn't a water bottle or mug with their logo.
TIP 4
Ask the client to let you know they received the gift. Post it, take a picture and tag your social media or send an email. You can and should also follow up with them personally to make sure they received the client appreciation gift.
TIP 5
Be sure to include a note letting your customer or client
know why you're sending the gift and that you appreciate them.
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