Book Review: Gift-ology by John Ruhlin
The art and science of using gifts to cut through the noise, increase referrals, and strengthen client retention.
“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
I’ve always been a big fan of thanking and rewarding your customers for their loyalty. This book is a little more directed at formal gift-giving, however, there are some great lessons in here to help us brainstorm new ways to show appreciation to our customers:
Blow them away by creating a unique, memorable experience to get them in the door. Focus on what you can do to make a lasting impression.
Hand in hand with the idea of gift-giving is reciprocity - a kind gesture is usually followed by another kind gesture. They will want to return the favour.
Be sure that your gift is also important to your customers’ inner circle. Strategic, thoughtful gift-giving provides the opportunity to treat your customers like gold and give them cool things that they’re going to use around their family, friends, and circles of influence.
Suprise and delight by not giving on the standard days, eg. Christmas. Go for Valentine’s Day, World Coffee Day etc.
Don’t consider giving them something with your business name on it a gift. If the gift is all about you, it’s not a gift. Gifts are meant to be all about the recipient, and anything else shows a genuine lack of appreciation for them.
Authenticity needs to show that same energy or effort when into it. Personalisation is what turns an ordinary gift into an extraordinary one.
Take 5% of your profits and reinvest them back into retention and loyalty and thank you initiatives. If you can’t afford that, a really thoughtful note written on nice paper is as effective as spending $25 on a worthless trinket. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to make a lasting impression.
People do business with others they like, trust and keep at the top of their mind. Your gift should be a conversation starter. Something that by its very nature will keep you on top of someone’s mind
Don’t wait until they leave the store to say thank you! Say it on the way in.
Giftology is rooted in the acknowledgment of someone’s time being the most precious commodity he or she has to share. We’ve all been given a ridiculously limited amount of it. So when someone shares it with you, let him or her know unequivocally how honoured you were to receive it.
If you’d like to read more, pop by our Wagga office!
- Cristy
