Time to Be Thankful

It’s almost Thanksgiving (I know, Halloween was just last week, right?) and its time be thankful. In this economy, many are more thankful than in past years. I was talking to a colleague yesterday and he said he has noticed better customer service in the past two years than ever before. People are grateful for their jobs and companies are grateful for their clients. So lets talk about client appreciation and in this case, client gifts.

Fast Company had a great article back in February that I noted just for this blog post entitled “5 Tips to Get Maximum ROI From Saying ‘Thanks’“. You might be thinking that thinking about ROI in gift giving is wrong. We’re talking about client gifts, not your mom’s Christmas gift. Fast Company’s article is a great read and I want to talk more about this point – Think Non-Traditional Holidays.

Think about your office from December 15-26. Holiday decorations are up, people are our of the office, you’re leaving early for holiday parties, and your office is flooded with gifts, food, and cards. How do you stand out? Remember, we’re always talking about brand differentiation and holiday gifts are a great way to differentiate. In the past our company always did something personable, fun, and generally bulky. One year we did a “Warmest Wishes” campaign complete with red hots, hot sauce, beach towel, hand warmers, and cute gift tags with Santa at the beach that we illustrated. It went over well with clients and everyone in the office noticed. (Remind me to tell you about the party at the zoo invite on day.) Even with such an elaborate and unique gift, we were still amongst dozens of other gifts. So we transitioned to unique holidays.

As a construction marketing company, we celebrated Labor Day this year with our clients. I guarantee they noticed because I received numerous emails thanking me for the gifts and I’ve seen clients using our gift. Don’t worry, they will not miss us this Christmas. If you’re concerned about the repercussions of missing Christmas, send a nice holiday card in mid-December.

How are you going to stand out with those you are thanking this year? Don’t you want your gesture (and money) to be remembered?