Business Thank-You Ideas
Coming up with new ways to thank customers can be a challenge, but it's worth doing. Thoughtful, custom business thank-you ideas can increase goodwill and future sales. There are many ways to thank your customers and many price points from which to choose.
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Thoughtful Gifts
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All business thank-you gifts should be thoughtful, but as you get to know your customers, you can personalize them. Nostalgic candies or sodas can remind your clients of childhood, and several online retailers specialize in retro treats that are easily shipped with a thank-you card. Another idea is to give a framed postcard or art print from a favorite vacation spot. Both gifts are thoughtful and relatively inexpensive.
Useful Gifts
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If you have customers who appreciate useful thank-you gifts, perennial favorites include photo frames, calendars and pen sets. These can all be customized and can be useful.
An "unkillable" desk plant cleans carbon dioxide from the air and might be a pleasant addition to someone's office space. Small succulent plants generally do well in offices, as do ivy and miniature roses. You also could give something a little more unusual, such as a Venus flytrap. Other useful, inexpensive gifts include small USB hard drives and custom lanyards for ID badges.
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Luxury Gifts
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Large clients deserve larger thank-you gifts, especially if you're thanking a customer who provides most of your business. Some typical luxury thank-you gifts are spa gift certificates and high-end gadgets.
Going beyond the typical, consider sending a masseuse to your customer's office. Some massage therapists offer corporate specials and will give employees short lunch-time massages for a flat fee. Another idea is to send over a catered lunch on the anniversary of your first business transaction.
Donations
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One business thank-you idea that's often overlooked is charitable donations. If you have customers who are passionate about a certain cause, consider making a donation in their name to a favorite charity. You also could purchase tickets for them to an annual fund raising event.
If you decide to go this route, you may want to make it a standard part of every contract. Let customers know you plan to donate a certain percentage of every job, and let them decide where they'd like the money to go. At the end of the year, you can send them a thank-you card letting them know the donation was made.
Considerations
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A thank-you gift should be proportionate to the amount of business a client does with you. A good rule of thumb is to spend 5 percent of your annual business with a customer on the thank-you gesture.
Just as you wouldn't send a big-ticket customer a small-ticket thank-you, you also don't want to "over thank" customers with excessive, extravagant gifts.
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