Customers always receive custom postcards enticing them to shop retail stores during the holiday season with warm wishes. What does a service based business give their clients, vendors, or others for the holiday season that shows the right level of appreciation for them? This can be extremely hard if it is your first year in business or if you haven’t built great relationships with them just yet.
Regardless, everyone should receive some type of gift from you.
Holiday Card with Gift Card
If you have been in business for six months to a year, you probably have not forged a great relationship with your vendors yet or haven’t really gotten to know your clients personally enough to know what to give them. A simple holiday thank you card and gift card should suffice. Share highlights from this year and why you value them as a client or vendor. Tell them you look forward to working with them even more in the year to come.
If you have not ordered your holiday cards yet, you should check out Tiny Prints or Minted! You want your cards to go out the first week of December to ensure they deliver on time.
Books, Prints, and More
2014 was the year of the printing business. If you want to start one it is a perfect time. Ordering prints from sites such as Etsy, T+J Designs, H. Nichols Illustration and others are great ways to support a small business and give a great gift to a client for their home or office area. In addition, books are always great gifts to give people. Check out the top sellers or listen to what they like. A simple gesture with a great impact.
Custom Gifts
I have become extremely close with all my consulting clients and service businesses. I rely on them to run my business especially in these last 18 months or so of running my consulting firm. The best thing to do is customize gifts according to your clients and vendors. Say one of my clients was really into whole eating and living. I would purchase them a copy of 100 Days of Real Food as a gift. This would let them know I pay attention to what they share with me. For my service businesses that I depend on, I would maybe send them a Spa gift card. To be honest, when you run a business you need to detox. Or even send them an ecourse they can take to help grow their craft. Be thoughtful with these gifts.
Bulk Gifts
This year I am going the bulk gift route with my clients. If you follow Imperfect Concepts on Pinterest you know I love DIY projects and much more. Have you seen the mani in a jar, hot coco for one in a jar, or smore’s in a jar that you can make for the fraction of the cost? I will not be sending my clients these but something similar that is more jazzy. There is nothing wrong with buying gifts in bulk. Just remember to personalize your card to them.
Last year, I was personally overwhelmed with clients sending me gift cards. It was a great feeling to be appreciated by others. It also helps me purchase everything off my Nordstrom and Kate Spade wish list. This is the same feeling you want to give your clients. Show them they matter to you this holiday season.
Which route are you going to go, to show your clients and vendors, that they are the reason your business has succeeded this year?
