Not long ago, I was reading an article that discussed the different client personas. While I was already familiar with this concept, I became intrigued with how it related to the idea of gift-giving.
Businesses are constantly influenced and persuaded by promotional companies to promote their individual brands. These companies convinced us that a physical object with our own brand and logo etched into it would satisfy our clients and increase return on investment and loyalty.
However, when a client receives a gift with your logo, all it proves is that we want is to market our own business as opposed to caring for theirs.
The key is to send your client a promotional gift that has their company, organization or nonprofit brand or logo on it. In doing so, you show that you are invested in their company and that you respect and care for their organization.
In addition, it is essential to listen to what the client likes or what they are interested in and be sure to jot it down for any future gift-giving. Apart from listening and engaging in conversations, social media has become quite beneficial to understanding a client. I suggest following your clients professional and personal pages on LinkedIn and Twitter. Your client’s personal social media will likely reflect their lifestyle and interests, such as their favorite sports team or artist. This not only strengthens the relationship between you and your client, but it increases ROI and loyalty. In fact, researchers found that “if a customer feels genuinely grateful, there is a stronger chance they will remain loyal.”
I strongly stand with that statement, as I have found that many of our gift receivers continue to partner with us. Recently, we presented engraved, personalized golf clubs to a client that spent almost every weekend on an 18-hole course. He not only expressed his gratitude to us directly, but shared it with others on his social media, even mentioning our company. Shortly after, we received several referrals and the client even increased his services with us.
The predicament, though, lies in what gift to give the client. No two clients are the same, which can make it difficult to choose the right gift. This is where understanding the different client personas comes in. Once you understand the client personas, you are able to determine which gift works best for each persona.
Please note that the following statistics are based on a 1-10 scale of client personas.
Persona No. 1: Non-Promotional, Detractors
Detractors are often the clients that rate you from a zero to six as they are not particularly satisfied by your product or service. This persona requires proactive outreach to mitigate and limit any brand damage.
What Gift to Give: Detractors are not typically satisfied with your product or service, and many require consistent outreach. Due to this, simple, promotional products with your own company logo are the best possible gifts. For example, a mousepad, cup or pen with your company logo.
Persona No. 2: Medium, Passives
Passives rate your company between seven and eight, as they are satisfied with your product or service but are nothing more than clients. However, this persona is susceptible to competitive offerings and deals.
What Gift to Give: Passive clients are your in-between clients. The right gift solely depends on the persona of each passive customer. For instance, most scenarios and gifts are similar to your detractor clients. However, some cases require you to listen and learn about the client, as there is possible consideration of less-expensive, somewhat customized items for example, cups, umbrellas or a gym bag with their company logo.
Persona No. 3: Promotional, Promoters
Promoters rate you between nine and ten. They are extremely satisfied with your product or service and use word of mouth to promote your company. These clients are incredibly loyal and will likely remain this way, purchasing and repurchasing from you.
What Gift to Give: Since promoters are your biggest advocates and most loyal clients, you must go all out when it comes to gift-giving. Spend money and time on these clients. It is essential that you listen to what your clients like or are interested in and find a gift that best reflects that. Personalize it with their company logo, name or initials to truly show your appreciation. For example, you may want to choose fine wine glasses with engraved initials, a fishing reel or a golf driver with their name or logo engraved.
As you learn the different client personas, you are able to understand their behaviors and determine which gift would be ideal for a particular customer. In doing so, you have the ability to increase your ratings, loyalty and return on investment.
Although seemingly simple, gift-giving can be either beneficial or detrimental to your business. With such uncertainty, you must study and research the different client personas — detractors, passives and promoters — to ensure your company does not suffer.
