If you run a business where client relationships are key to success and/or growth is focused on referrals, then you are in the right place. A lot goes into building relationships and referrals; from your personality and ability to put client needs in the forefront of your interaction, to your availability and quality of service. Being personable and delivering a great service are imperative to your relationships and the trust your clients place in you when referring friends and family. But how can you take it to the next level? How can you stand out?
I interviewed leaders across a number of industries where client relationships are vital and I am going to share with you their key secret to building amazing client relationships that get them repeat business, referrals and a network full of friends.
The secret is effective gift giving. I want to point out that I said effective gifting. There are ways you can easily have gifts back fire on you. But I am here to help by explaining my findings about 1) what makes an effective gift and why, 2) major gifting mistakes and how you can avoid them 3) how to knock it out of the park with your gifts.
Why give gifts at all?
Humans are tribal by nature, we come together as groups to get more out of life. And in those groups, we are more likely to give to those that give to us. It’s called reciprocity. In most cultures there is a clear understanding of reciprocity. If I help my friend move into her place, she will likely help me when I need to move. When my colleague supports one of my initiatives at work, I am more likely to support his. When I received a gift for the holidays, I am going to feel a need to give one in return.
Culture has evolved this way because having a group of people that will support us when we need it creates security for us. We are far more inclined to help those that have given something to us, even if this inclination is on a subconscious level. When we give gifts, we fill up the reciprocity bank and our clients are happier to refer us and use us again, it makes it feel easy to them.
As humans we also have a need for significance, to be important and to be acknowledged. For example, when someone buys a home it is a major milestone in their life and they CRAVE the opportunity to be acknowledged and celebrated. When their realtor gives them a physical gift for their new home, they are really giving them acknowledgment, celebration, excitement, joy and a sense of wonder.
The best professionals realize that their client relationships really benefit when they acknowledge and offer significance to clients when it is least expected. The conclusion of a major deal together, such as closing a house or selling a business definitely warrants a gift and celebration. But it’s the professionals that remember clients during the holidays, on their birthdays, and during periodic check-ins with them, that really wow clients. And this very positive surprise has a strong hold in their mind for a longer period of time. So, when they give unexpected gifts, professionals are more likely to stay at the top of their clients’ minds and referral list.
What makes a gift effective?
There are 4 keys to choosing a gift that will build a stronger relationship with your clientele and generate return and referral clients for your business.
A gift with multiple positive touchpoints.
When a client has multiple positive interactions with your gift over a long period of time, the gift continues to build a positive relationship and association between you and the client. It is really important to think about how your client will interact with your gift over the life cycle of the gift.
This includes thinking about:
- How does the gift look when they first see it? Is it beautifully wrapped with care? Is it a beautiful gift box? This is the first impression of your gift and it should be amazing because it will set the tone. It indicates the level of thought you put into the gift and it NEEDS to convey that the client is special and appreciated.
This is why Fredrik Elkund, a successful high-end realtor in New York City, wrote about the importance of learning to wrap gifts perfectly in his book “The sell, The secrets of selling anything to anyone.”
Giftwrapping can be time consuming, costly, and a hassle, so a great alternative is to get products that already have beautiful gift boxes. - How does the gift feel? When they touch the box does it feel like a quality box? Sound like a quality box when they open it? Is it sturdy? Thinking about the interaction of all of the senses, which we will discuss more later, is very important in conveying the quality, care and thoughtfulness of your gift. Just like the excitement of opening birthday gifts or seeing what Santa brought on Christmas morning, the unwrapping experience is half the fun and makes it feel special.
- Once they get to the actual gift inside it should again speak to its quality through all the senses; sight, touch, smell, sound, taste. The quality of the gift should reflect the quality of your services and the image you want to set for you brand, which brings us to the second key point.
A gift that lasts and has a guilt free end to its useful life.
You need to think about how your client will interact with your gift over time. If it is a once and done item, like food, then that interaction may be positive but it will be short lived. If it is an item like a plant, then it may last a long time but it will require work on their part to water it, take care of it, potentially get frustrated that it is dying or dead.
You want an item that lasts and that the life cycle is positive and guilt free. For example, when the gift has finished its useful life, it should be recyclable so that the person doesn’t have guilt associated with the final interaction. The item should be enjoyable when they interact with it, giving them positive benefit each time instead of negative associations like having to clean it, water it, feel guilty from the calories, or bad from the hangover (more on these major mistakes below.) Long lasting gifts with multiple positive associations result in gratitude for you, over a long period of time, making your gift build your relationship when you are not present.
A gift that builds a positive association with you and your brand.
Your gift needs to establish synergy with your brand. More than just the positive touchpoints the gift should specifically supports the message you want to send your clients about your brand. If you are professional, sophisticated, and at the top of your field, your gift should be similarly sophisticated and high quality. In contrast to what many people think, brand synergy does not mean putting your logo on your gift. In fact, we will explain a bit later why this is a major gifting mistake so many people are making. Instead, you want an item that your clients feel is about delighting them.
Choose a gift your client’s friends and family will notice
If you want a great return on your investment in gifts, I recommend choosing items that your client will use when they have company over. A gift that your client or their friends and family comment on when they are over is what starts an easy referral conversation. For example, if they light a candle when guests come over to make the house smell amazing and feel cozy, it is easy to talk about you when their guests ask about scent. (We know this happens with our candles from the numerous client emails we have received, telling us how everyone comments on the amazing scent when they walk in).
This type of gift will help generate referrals more than just a gift your client loves because it starts the conversation “Oh my realtor/lawyer/broker/portfolio manager etc… gave me that, they are great to work with,” easily resulting in their guest asking for a connection with “I actually am looking for a realtor/lawyer/broker/portfolio manager etc.”
What are the biggest gifting mistakes?
You do not want your gifts to backfire on you. You want to avoid that embarrassing moment where you give a gift that offends your client, or demonstrates that you really do not know them very well. You also want to avoid gifts that negatively impact your relationship with the client or negatively affect their desire to engage in the all-important reciprocity that we mention above as being key to referrals and repeat business. You also want to avoid gifts that have a poor return on investment for you, they may not offend your client, but they won’t get you the returns you are looking for from the money you are investing in gifts.
Gifts to avoid
- Food is generally a gift you want to avoid. This may seem counter-intuitive with all the food baskets you see out there but here is why this is not a great gift idea. First, food allergies are on the rise, from severe nut and gluten allergies to lactose intolerance. Giving a food basket with crackers, cheese, meats, and sweets sounds greats but would be really embarrassing when your client says they are celiac, lactose intolerant, vegan, or diabetic. Or worse they may not say anything and just think you don’t really know them at all. And as much as this is the conscious or subconscious thought of your client, it is actually hard to know about food restrictions as many people don’t like the world to know their personal health issues.
Even if people are not knowingly allergic, if they have an upset stomach after eating your gift, they will associate that, and their time spent in the bathroom, with you. Additionally, food can often cause people to feel guilty because of the calories, or they may not like the taste, and it can spoil. Not a positive association.
Food gifts also have a poor return on investment because they are usually consumed once and finished. That makes any positive associations a one-time deal over a short period of time. It doesn’t build the relationship with positive touch points over a long period of time like we suggest with effective gifting. - Alcohol is also a common gift that can get you into some seriously embarrassing moments. Have you ever accidently gifted alcohol to someone with an alcohol addition? And in your defense, alcoholism is not necessarily something that clients share with their professional service providers. Even if they are not alcoholics, you run the risk of the final experience your clients have with your gift being a hangover. Similar to food, the interaction is often shortly lived, with most bottles of wine being finished in an evening instead of over several months. Luckily the bottles are recyclable, so at least they won’t have guilt over their environmental impact.
- Swag is a key mistake so many professionals across industries make. Swag usually has your company’s logo all over it; it might be a coffee cup, water bottle, mouse pad, laptop carrying case, or even something more unique and expensive with your logo on it. However, when you give swag the reciprocity that you get is that your client is being a billboard for your company. It doesn’t give them that sense of significance, joy, celebration or gratitude.
SWAG feels like a generic gift you give everyone, usually they are lower quality products, and often they end up in the garage sale or donation pile. Furthermore, if you have a sophisticated high-value clientele, or want one, they will have a design sense that does not have room for swag.
Swag does not create loyalty, giving your client something they will love and use and proudly display does create loyalty. Even if it is a high-priced or more unique item, when you have your logo printed on it, your client knows that you likely bought in bulk and didn’t pick a special item for them, so consider that even with the higher priced gift items, swag sends a message, and it is not “you are a special and valued client.” In contrast an item that doesn’t have your logo appears like a specially selected gift, even if you do get the same thing for everyone. - Plants can be a great gift but often have a negative and guilty end. Plants can be a beautiful, fragrant gift that can last a long time. They can be great, if they don’t die. I love plants, yet I can’t seem to keep them alive. Cut flowers are also beautiful, but eventually the stems seem to get moldy and I have to smell and touch the grossness when they die. One man explained to me how his realtor (a smart realtor) gave him a poinsettia for Christmas. The realtor gets points for the Christmas gift, because it was a great touchpoint for this gentleman to recommend the realtor to me when I saw the poinsettia. However, the poinsettia sat dead on the table for a while and the man was telling me how he really needed to dispose of it because it wasn’t looking so pretty anymore. He felt guilty that he wasn’t able to keep it alive and disappointed that it had died. This is a key example where the lifecycle of the item was not thoroughly considered. The first and last impression are crucial to gifting success.
- Beware of items that are only interacted with during cleaning. For instance, if an item is only noticed with it is time to dust, then that is the association you are creating, more work. One person I talked with gave front door mates, they are seen every day, but the biggest interaction is when they are cleaned. Similarly, avoid gifts that are not useful, like knickknacks, that just collect dust, there is not much interaction and the interaction that they do have is not very positive.
Finding Great Gift doesn’t need to be Overwhelming. We can make this easy for you.
If you want a gift that will avoid the biggest gifting mistakes, build reciprocity, reflect the quality of your brand, and easily start conversations that can lead to referrals, we can help you and make client gifting easy.
At Oojra, we create premium quality home fragrances loved by our clients and their clients as a sophisticated gift. And here is why:
- If you have a high-end clientele that cares about design, or appreciates the finer things in life, then Oojra products will support your brand and make your clientele feel that you took the time to find a thoughtful, unique and enjoyable gift that they will actually love!
- Oojra products are elegantly packaged in a gift box that is soft to your finger tips but sturdy in your hands. The quilt textured gift box with gold foiled lettering makes a great visual and textural first impression. And if you don’t have the time or skill to wrap it, just add a bow and it will look fabulous for your client. Our candles and reed diffusers come in glass votives that feel smooth and substantial.
- With Oojra aromatherapy your clients will feel good for months to come and associate all this positive feeling with you. The essential oil aromatherapy has scents that are inspired by luxurious destinations from around the wold and literally make your client feel good every time they experience the scent. Why is this? Because our sense of smell is our strongest sense tide to our emotions and our sense of well being. It has the power to make us feel relaxed, connected, cozy, romantic, energized, inspired, grounded and so much more.
- Great for health-conscious, environmentally-conscious, and even vegan clients. Oojra candles and reed diffusers are made with healthy ingredients that are paraben fee, phthalate free, paraffin free, and cruelty-free. The packaging and votives are recyclable. And there is no calorie guilt when your clients indulge in the pleasure of Oojra aromatherapy.
- Your clients will be grateful to you for months to come as Oojra candles and diffusers last for months. Each interaction of lighting the candle or walking by the diffuser is enjoyable, with no work, watering, or cleaning required.
- Our clients love to bring out their reed diffuser or candle when they have guests coming over. And this naturally has led to many of their friends and family asking what smells so incredibly good. When it’s a gift from a professional, the conversation immediately goes to “Oh my realtor/portfolio manager/ broker/ lawyer (insert your profession here)….gave that to me. They are great to work with….” And the referral conversation begins.
Get Started with Oojra’s Client Gift Program
We make client gifting easy. If you would like to place an order, we can help you select scents and send them out directly to individual clients with gift messages. And large orders that may qualify for a large order discount.
As one of our Client Gift customers said to us, “You guys just make this so easy I decided to come back again this year for Thanksgiving gifts.”
We can help you with client gifts to celebrate finishing a deal, to wish them happy holidays, to celebrate their birthday, to thank a client for a referral, to welcome a new client, or just to remind them they are a valued client.
To get started just email us at oojra@oojra.com, let us know what you need client gifts for and we will organize of the rest.
