Show Customer Appreciation During the Holidays

October 6, 2008 By Mary White

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s essential for small business owners to think about what they can do to make sure their best customers know they are appreciated. While it’s always important to let customers know that you value them and their business, it’s certainly a good idea to do something special around the holiday season.

Business Holiday Greeting Cards
One very affordable thing you can do is send out business holiday greeting cards to your clients. For the price of a greeting card and a first class stamp, you can get a message directly into the hands of your customers, wishing them a happy holiday season and letting you know that you are looking forward to continuing a relationship with them into the future. Be sure that you select cards that convey an appropriate professional image for your organization. Don’t send out cards with images that are too cute or too spiritual. Instead, choose something tasteful that conveys an air of professionalism.

Gifts for Customer Offices
If you provide a service for your customers’ office, consider dropping off a gift that everyone on the staff can enjoy. A tin of holiday cookies with your business card attached might go over very well. You might also want to consider delivering a holiday themed cake, tin of popcorn, or other type of treat that staff members are sure to enjoy snacking on during the hectic days leading up to holiday vacations.

Gift Baskets
If you want to give something to your point of contact at your customers’ offices that the individual can choose to keep or share with co-workers, a holiday gift basket might be a good idea. Select a basket filled with items that can be used at home or at work, such as fruit, cookies, candy, coffee, tea, holiday ornaments, desk accessories, etc. Don’t drop it off at the front desk, as it may end up in the employee break room. Instead, make an appointment and put it directly in the hands of the individual you want to receive the gift. You might want to throw in a gift-card to the person’s favorite restaurant or retail store, if not, consider a gas gift card–everyone uses gas, that way they won’t have to use their shell credit card or other gas credit card.

Considerations for Dropping off Customer Gifts
Keep in mind that many people plan vacations around the holidays. You don’t want to show up with a gift when your primary customer contact is out of the office. Additionally, many companies close early a few days before the holidays to host a holiday party for the employees. The last thing you want to do is “crash” an employee party. That’s why planning ahead is an important part of making sure that holiday gifts send the right message to your most important customers.

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