Cheat Sheet – Gifts for Customer Experience

Discover specific use cases for creating great customer experience through direct gifting, gift links and branded email gift invites; and propel your brand in turn. 

Part of building a memorable brand includes great customer experience, or CX as it’s known. But why is that? It’s quite simple if you think about it. A customer who experiences satisfying interactions with your business throughout their entire buyer journey is more likely to become a repeat customer and loyal to your brand. 

In fact, as per a global CX study by Oracle; 74% of senior executives firmly believe customer experience to be a factor that impacts the willingness of a customer to become a loyal brand advocate. 

Simply put – a happy customer is a returning one. It makes sense, right? And if you’re looking for the simplest ways to create great customer experiences for your potential (or existing) brand ambassadors, we’ve compiled a cheat sheet of the some best use cases that create content customers and how to implement them. 

Using Direct Mail for Unforgettable Customer Experience

Any type of physical correspondence used in the hopes of getting customers to patronize your business is considered direct mail. This type of marketing can significantly help increase conversions and website traffic when done correctly. Let’s delve into five ways to use direct mail to create great customer experience:

1. Customer Appreciation: possibly one of the most obvious ways to create good customer experiences is by appreciating your loyal customers. Showing your gratitude for their continued business is a way to say you value them and are vested in creating a long-lasting business relationship. 
   
   
2. Rewards: if your customer has gone the extra mile to be supportive of your brand, for example by making a significantly large purchase or repeat purchases, you can reward them for their efforts with a thoughtful gift. Gain a little insight into the profile of your customer and relay your efforts accordingly. If you are aware your customer is a chocolate lover, send a gourmet chocolate gift box tailored to their taste preferences. 
   
   
3. Surprise Gifts/ Just Because Gifts: what’s better than receiving a gift for no reason at all. A gesture like that can create a great customer experience and make your brand stand out among the rest in the minds of avid brand loyalists.

4. Negative Customer Experiences/ Complaints: not all customer experiences are good. There are times your customer can have a negative experience but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for the professional relationship. You can do damage control with a gift and apologize for the inconvenience caused. This creates a brand image synonymous with care and respectful concern. 

5. Special Occasions: you can make days that are important to your customers, important to your business as well. This, in turn, will create a meaningful and emotional touchpoint your customers will appreciate. 

Using Gift Links for Unforgettable Customer Experience 

Automated gifting is an excellent way to streamline your marketing efforts. Shareable gift links give you the opportunity to scale your gifting and the flexibility to deliver great customer experience your way. They are links that direct your customer to a specific gift to redeem or a collection of gifts from which to choose. They can also be shared via any messaging platform of your choice. Here’s five ways to do just that with gift links:

1. Online Tutorial Attendance: if you have added to your services or website, you can ensure your customers know how to navigate these changes by inviting them to attend a tutorial. As a thank you, you can express your appreciation with a gift. You can also send them a coffee voucher beforehand to enjoy during the meeting! 
   
   
2. Social Media Customer Support: when addressing a customer issue on social media, you can close off your interaction with a gift sent via shareable link. Now that’s a way to turn a frown upside down.
   
   
3. Referrals: show your appreciation for receiving a referral – or encourage your customers to “refer-a-friend” – by sending a gift link to your customer. Not only do you increase your customer base but you also generate unforgettable customer experiences. Create a referral rewards programme with a pre-curated collection of gifts that your recipients can choose from. 
   
   
4. Virtual Event Invites: ensuring good event turnout can be challenging but offering an incentive can be just what your business needs to increase virtual event attendance or registration. Using a gift link as an incentive, especially one that is personalized to the event or your customer, will ensure you generate momentous brand awareness and CX. 
   
   
5. Customer Feedback: you can create better customer experiences by finding out what your customers need or want to make your offerings more useful. Using a gift link as a reward when requesting this information from your customers is a great incentive and surefire way to gain insight into the buyer’s world.  

Using Email Gift Invites for Unforgettable Customer Experience

An email gift invite is a delightful way to showcase your brand and stir up unforgettable customer experience at the same time. This way of gifting combines the simplicity and convenience of a gift link with the creativity of a branded email. You can generate memorable CX using email gift invites with these five use cases:

1. Welcome / Onboarding Emails: you can create a special onboarding experience for your customer with an email gift invite they’ll never forget. What better way to say welcome aboard than with a meaningful and thoughtful gift, like a customized onboarding kit. And to be as effective with resources and revenue as possible, you can automate the process and create triggered workflows that automatically send a gift email to a newly onboarded employee.  

2. Customer Anniversaries: a customer anniversary is a thoughtful occasion on which to appreciate your loyal brand followers or supporters. You can brand an email, marking this special occasion, and use a gift to create a remarkable customer experience. You can also automate your workflow for seamless gifting using Zapier or a CRM integration; so you don’t have to physically send a gift email to each customer on their purchase/ joining anniversary but rather have it done automatically. 

3. Surveys: what better way to know what your customers need and want than from them directly? A survey will give you insight into their thoughts and concerns, and by applying their feedback you are sure to generate better CX in the long run. And as a reward for completing the survey, you can create an automated workflow that triggers a gift email. Not only do you get the insight you need and with minimal effort (because the gift email invite is sent automatically) but you also create great customer experiences for your valued patrons. 

4. Online Reviews: an online review is a useful way to generate brand awareness and dedication. Thank your customers for leaving a review or encourage them to do so with an email gift invite perfect for creating great customer experiences.  

5. Re-engaging With Customers: if you have customers who have lost contact with your business, you can encourage them to rejoin or support your brand again by offering them an incentive. Sending a “we’d love to see you again” email gift invite will incentivize them and create a great touchpoint for your gifting strategies. 

Use Relationship Marketing to Delight & Retain Your Customers Effectively

In this day and age it’s the customers who have the power, not the sellers. And they’ve gained this insight and power through the plethora of options they have at their disposal. This is why it’s now-more-than-ever necessary to build purposeful professional relationships. 

Let us help you create human-to-human touch points with corporate gifts. With delivery to over 200 countries, you can connect with international customers and create unforgettable customer experiences.

You can integrate your CRM with the Giftsenda platform and have all the information you need for your gifting campaigns at your fingertips, without the need to toggle back and forth between systems. You can also automate your gifting strategies and use triggered campaigns to save your business time, manpower and resources; all while tracking your efforts to measure ROI and optimize your approach.