Is a “thank you” enough or is a gift required?
We’re closing in on the holiday season, and with it, the age-old question for business owners: should we give our loyal clients a gift? Or is it enough that we do our very best, charge a reasonable price, and meet their deadlines?
I’ve given some gifts in the past; usually I send a generic holiday card. This year, it seems almost anti-American to give a big gift when so many people are hurting.
After mulling it over, I think I will give a monetary gift to a favorite charity in my clients’ name. (No, not like George in “Seinfeld” — I’ll pick a REAL charity!). I was considering either a manatee “adoption” or a gift to Second Harvest.
Let me know your holiday plans regarding your clients — maybe there’s a better idea out there we can all use.
Be well, stay safe, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Wendy
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Hi Wendy,
Great question. I like your idea of giving money on their behalf to a charity. That’s a wonderful gift.
And I think there are also other creative ways to create win win with gifts - namely not spending much (if anything) and yet your clients feeling appreciated. One way is (if you’re good at networking) to get gift certificates from local restaurants, shops, service providers… and you might not need to pay a cent if the providers feel that your list comprises the kind of people that might be their clients too. Lots of businesses are ready to give away things or have special offers in order to attract new customers. You might be able to score some free tickets to an event (if you know or know someone that knows the organizers)…. or membership to a club…. etc.
Books also make great gifts and there are some great offers on Amazon…another gift might be a free consultation (20-30 min) that you give… people feel great receiving that, and interestingly only a small fraction actually claim their gift… so in some ways you’ve given away more than you really have.
As for cards… I have stopped buying cards from shops. I use a great system you’ve probably heard of which allows you to create/purchase cards on demand - write them on your computer and have them sent with out you needing to stuff and stamp. All done for you and very cheap - and the best part is the cards are customizable with your own pix. So they can be VERY personal and memorable. My clients LOVE the cards I send them and never throw them away. I bought the system for clients and quickly realized it would ease my Christmas card burden with family too - and in addition it’s a great small sideline business too!! win win win.
Here’s the link: www.sendoutcards.com/flower
Great Ideas! Money is good and giving to a charity especially if it is a local charity can some times have other positive results by connecting people to groups that they might not normally have reached out to. The cards are excellent too especially when they are personalized with a photo…I have in fact received a few from my good friend Rachel Flower! Ah Ha!