Sometimes it seems like social media is full of tales of gifts, happily received by adoring clients. Does this mean that you should be sending them as part of your client onboarding or offboarding process?
Of course, you should do what feels right for you and your business. But in my opinion it’s best to only send gifts to clients as part of your process if it will elevate their experience of working with you. Otherwise you risk underwhelming your clients.
Which is the opposite of what you want to achieve here.
This is not the same as sending one-off gifts to celebrate a special occasion or to say thank you for referrals, which is a great way to show you care.
And remember that before even thinking about gifts, the best way to blow your clients away is by:
- Delivering excellent expertise
- Making your processes and systems easy for them to understand and use
- Getting your communications right so they’re never in doubt about what’s happening
First and foremost, give them a smooth experience.
Now, some gifts will enhance your clients’ experience and some won’t. Let’s take a look:
Marketing gifts
If you send something with your logo or branding on it, to my mind that’s a marketing gift, even if you’re already working with that client.
You already have their attention, so perhaps you’re hoping they’ll share it on social media? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it’s unlikely to change how they view the experience of working with you – and whether they return or not. So if you do this, then be honest with yourself and put it squarely in your marketing budget.
The same add-on gift for every client
This is probably where I differ from other people because I’m not fond of this option. I don’t think that receiving a gift for the sake of it actually makes the experience better (yes, even if it is cake).
As the client, it won’t make me think that you’ve done a better job. In fact, it might even make me wonder if you’ve bumped up the price of your service to cover the cost of the gift that may or may not make me happy.
Of course add-ons aren’t ‘bad’, as we’re only talking about ways to be nice to your clients after all! But if you do choose this option, then see if you can find a way to make the add-on gift bring a little something extra to the service itself. For example, Suzi Ratcliffe of Timeforge sends each new client a coffee shop gift card with a suggestion to take time out for a coffee and cake whilst thinking about the main priorities of what they want to outsource to her.
Personalised gifts that enhance the work you’re already doing together
This is where the magic happens, but you probably won’t be able to send personalised gifts during onboarding. You may have to wait a little while to really get to know your client.
Here’s some examples:
- You’re a coach and you’ve set your client some homework, so you send a notebook with thoughts and questions on the first page that are specific to their situation.
- You’re a branding designer, so you send a printed (even laminated) page with their brand colours and hex codes to put beside their desk for easy access.
- You’re a personal trainer, so you send a personalised water bottle with a motivational quote that you know gets that client going.
This is where you can really shine, and elevate your client experience.
An alternative: personalised cards
Personalised gifts take work and they aren’t the cheapest option, so it may not be affordable for you or a virtual assistant to arrange. But you can send a properly personalised card along the same lines – with a message that brings them real benefit.
What do you think about client gifts? Is it worth the extra hassle to go really personalised, are add-ons simply more realistic, or do you prefer not to send them at all?
NB If you’re working with any clients – especially corporate clients – you need to make sure that your gifts don’t fall foul of any anti-bribery rules in your country.
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