As you prepare to enter the holiday season, it’s time to think about how you want to express your gratitude for those who have done business with you in the past year. According to research, “68% of customers leave because they feel the company is indifferent to them. Not because of slow service, not because they found a better price somewhere else, but because they don’t feel appreciated” (business2community.com).
Appreciation is important for retention! Although you’ll always have obtaining new accountholders as a goal, keep in mind that your current ones are keeping your business thriving; acquiring a new customer or member “is more costly than retaining an existing one” (verticalresponse.com).
Here are some ideas for showing your appreciation this year:
- Offer free, decorative envelopes for use when giving cash gifts.
- Send greeting cards. Consider personalizing the cards with a picture of your employees. It’s best to send actual cards, not e-cards, which are less likely to get noticed in a deluge of holiday sale emails. Another option to increase the likelihood of your cards getting noticed is sending New Year’s cards, which are less common.
- Print a personalized 2021 calendar to give away.
- Host a holiday open house. Consider scheduling it after New Year’s, when schedules are likely more open. Feed the crowd by providing warm cookies, fresh popcorn and seasonal beverages – like hot chocolate and hot apple cider. Include giveaways, like balloons for the children, and hold a drawing for a more substantial gift for the adults.
- Create personalized food gifts for your business members or customers by printing your logo on mints, M&M’s® or candy wrappers.
- Hold a kids’ contest like a make-your-own-ornament contest or a holiday coloring contest. Give a big prize for winning and a small prize like a candy cane for participating. Display the entries on a wall inside your branch locations.
- Reward children for saving their holiday gift money by entering them in a drawing for a prize when they make a savings deposit in January. Be sure to promote this offer now so that children keep it in mind when they start to receive gifts of money.
- Participate in a charity event and encourage your accountholders to join you. Options include donating gifts for Toys for Tots or hosting a holiday giving tree, which ensures that low-income families have gifts for the holidays.
- Share your gratitude on social media. It’s a great place to quickly and easily tell your accountholders how much you appreciate them. It’s also a way to engage them. You may want to suggest that they post a favorite family holiday photo on your Facebook page or share a favorite holiday recipe.
As long as we’re talking gratitude, we at image.works want to thank you! We appreciate your business and wish you all the happiness that the holiday season can bring. We love what we do, and we couldn’t do it without you!