Company Blog

The Gift That Gives Back All Year Long

by Adam Zack — December 16, 2015

A heartfelt act of gratitude is never a wrong act.

Everyone likes to receive gifts, whether they admit it or not. We all know people who say, “No, no, I don’t need ANYTHING! Don’t get me a Christmas present!” But when the time comes and everyone else is exchanging a gift, they get a little tinge of “Well, a little something to open would have been nice…” It’s natural to feel gratitude and admiration when someone gets you a small gift that is well thought out and meaningful. It’s wonderful to be thought of. It makes you feel special and appreciated. So imagine how much loyalty and positive word of mouth you would generate for your store if you delivered or mailed a special gift to your BEST customers. Something like 80% of profits come from your top 10% customers, so they are actually giving you a gift all year round. If you don’t have a customer loyalty program, it’s a little tougher to do, but with your cashiers and customer service staff in on the plan, you can identify those customers and WOW! them with a gift at Christmas. Maybe pick your top 50 or 100 customers that spend the most in your store throughout the year. Hand address and sign each card, with a short message of thanks for their loyalty. Pick out a small, special gift. Give a gift of local chocolates, or a specialty dip and crackers, a poinsettia or fancy candle. Something unique. Wrap it and send a couple employees out to deliver them to the customer’s door. The reaction is astounding. “What? My supermarket is giving ME a gift!? No one does that!!” Well, you can be the first.

Now you’re probably thinking “It’s too late! I can’t do that! What, are you CRAZY?” Yeah, maybe it’s too late this year to have a great program, BUT you can talk to your customer service staff and tell them over the next week, every time one of your best customers are in to let you know. Have a bunch of boxes of Sees candy or something similar at hand. When you are introduced to the customer (and believe me, you will only about know 10% of them already), hand them the gift and thank them for shopping with you. Tell them how much it means and how proud you are to be part of their community. They will respond like you gave them a kidney and will tell the story over and over.

*I know there are lots of questions and reasons NOT to try this. “What if I forget someone? What if they don’t eat chocolate? What if another customer sees and gets mad that they didn’t get anything?” A heartfelt act of gratitude is never a wrong act. I have personally been involved in this initiative for the last 5 years. If you want some details on budgets, ideas and how to efficiently execute it, give me a call. Or drop me an email. Or send a gift!