Customer gifting platforms can help companies build and nurture business relationships while also improving customer retention and increasing customer loyalty.
Introduction
As the business world grows and continues to become more competitive, companies across the globe are searching for ways to set themselves apart from their peers. Each firm needs assets or processes that make them a more attractive destination for customers. A customer gifting platform is an addition to the marketing mix that is helping firms improve their client retention and loyalty.
Sending gifts is a selfless act that helps take relationships beyond aspects that show up on a balance sheet or income statement. Business is done well when there is mutual trust between all parties – creating a relationship that is deeper than business. For this reason – marketers and sales personnel often use gifts to build and maintain relationships.
This blog will discuss what a customer gifting platform is and how one can improve customer relationships. We will also detail the different business metrics you can look at to monitor the success of your campaigns, and finally give some customer gift recommendations.
What Is A Customer Gifting Platform?
A customer gifting platform allows you to send a variety of corporate gifts to customers across the globe without having to worry about the logistics of gift delivery. It is a simple process that businesses everywhere are adopting. The platform enables users to simply select gifts and the delivery method, provide personalization details and pay. Platforms like Giftsenda handle all the logistics of gifting – making sending gifts internationally as easy as a few clicks. Customer gifts come in many forms, whether it’s baskets of goodies or gifts personalized with company branding.
Imagine you are a salesperson who is attempting to keep a customer from choosing to leave for a competitor. To set yourself apart from the competition, you decide to send an appreciation gift through a platform like Giftsenda and ask to catch up with a meeting. You start by creating a campaign, selecting your recipient, and then selecting the gift. One of the benefits of a customer gifting platform is the ability to personalize gifts with written messages. You then pay using the balance on your account. It’s that easy!
Customer gifting platforms also allow users to personalize gifts without knowing the recipient too well.This is possible through gifting links that give recipients the gift of choice. They let recipients select from a curated list of gifts that are filtered by category or price. Gifting links also allow recipients to fill out shipping information themselves to minimize the risk of gifts being sent to the incorrect address.
A gifting platform is more than just a means to send gifts, but a fully automated and integrated sales and marketing tool that allows users to become more efficient with time. You can also track a gifting campaign’s performance to see what gifts are gaining solid ROI and which are not. The ability to track gifts allows senders to improve their gifting over time as they learn their customers preferences.
Why Improve Customer Loyalty Through Gifting?
According to a study by Soocial, 43% of respondents said that the main benefit of corporate gifting is the improved relationships. Customer loyalty heavily depends on the relationship that exists between both parties. The best way to improve business relationships is through thoughtful and personal gifts. Sending a gift, even if it is for business reasons, is an incredibly selfless act. There is no promise of any return from the recipient, so the gift is nothing more than a kind gesture. Logically speaking, the recipient owes the sender nothing. However, a great customer gift has a lot of positive psychological benefits that can lead to great customer loyalty.
First, people who have received positive energy often want to reciprocate that onto others. This is the principle of reciprocal altruism. In the context of a corporate gift, they may reciprocate the act by purchasing whatever product or service the sender is providing. With positivity going both ways, both parties can begin to form a business relationship that is beyond revenue and one of loyalty.
Another piece of psychology associated with customer gifting is the endowment effect. According to Investopedia, the endowment effect is the emotional bias where individuals value an object higher than it is worth. This bias comes into play with customer gifting because the recipient can place value on the gift, as well as on your brand. A high quality gift makes the customer believe that the company sending the gift is also high quality. This will in turn make them a loyal customer since most rational customers are searching for the highest quality.
How to Nurture Business Relationships With a Gifting Strategy
The best part of customer gifting platforms is that you reap the benefits as long as you send gifts. This means that gifts are not only a great way to build business relationships, but nurture them as well. You can nurture these relationships by incorporating gifting into your marketing or sales strategy. Sending timely gifts to customers lets them know that they are valued and aren’t forgotten. Gifts can be sent strategically on holidays, birthdays, business milestones, or any other major dates throughout the year. Sending gifts on these days shows a level of care that an email or phone call can’t compare to.
Sending gifts throughout the year helps keep communication between both parties. One of the keys to any good relationship is communication. How can you expect someone that hasn’t heard from you for six months to want to purchase your product? If you only reach out hoping to get a sale, the customer will feel used. They will feel like nothing more than a means to profit. As we previously discussed, positive relationships are the key to a successful business. If you want loyal customers, you need them to feel valued, as if they are a part of the company themselves.
Metrics to Measure Success
We have already laid out the many benefits of using a customer gifting platform and it is now time to look at ways for users to measure the success of their campaigns. There are many KPI’s to study when sending gifts. These metrics will help show users what gift types are working and help improve their gifting over time.
Response Rate: This is a simple metric that shows the amount of responses your firm got in comparison to the amount of recipients received gifts. This will tell you a lot about your campaigns. If your firm is not receiving many responses, then you must look inward and analyze the campaigns and what the problem is.
Acceptance Rate: This metric is an indication of the number of accepted gifts. If your gift invites aren’t gaining high acceptance rates you need to look into your messaging or the gifts themselves.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): This metric shows a particular customer’s value to your firm. It shows how much income your firm can expect from a specific customer. Calculate CLV by looking at the amount the customer spent with your firm over the course of your business relationship.
Return on Investment (ROI): This is by far the most popular metric and possibly the most important metric for gift senders to study. You calculate ROI by comparing the revenue gained in comparison to the associated costs. In the specific case of customer gifting, you can use the revenue gained from the last sale and the cost of the last gift sent to see the ROI on the specific gifting campaign.
Cost Metrics: One of the concerns that marketers and sales personnel have with sending gifts is the costs associated with the process. The two main cost metrics to look at are cost per send and cost per conversion. Cost per send looks at the average cost of all gifts sent by the firm. Unsuccessful campaigns may be a result of low quality gifts and a low average cost. Cost per conversion shows the necessary costs needed to convert a lead into a customer. This helps firms not raise their average cost too high when a certain number is good enough for conversions.
5 Gift Ideas to Send to Customers
Now that we have gone over all that is needed to know about customer gifting, we would like to offer some ideas for the best customer gifts. Here are 5 of the best customer gifts that Giftsenda has to offer.
- SWAG Gifts: SWAG gifts are any items with company branding. SWAG items can range from t-shirts and baseball caps to office supplies and even bluetooth speakers. These are great for introduction gifts and especially for boosting your company’s brand awareness.
- Gifting Link: Another great option for a first time gift or introduction. Gifting links are a way to get the recipient what they want when you are unaware of their preferences. The link will offer the customer a choice from a curated list of gifts filtered by category or price. This is also a great way to send eGifts!
- Personalized Gifts: Once you form a relationship with a customer and know their preferences, you can begin sending personalized gifts. For example, say you are on the phone with a customer one day and discover that they enjoy a nice glass of whiskey at the end of the day. The next occasion where you send a gift in accordance with your business strategy, why not send the recipient a bottle of whiskey? This will be an effective gift because every time the recipient picks up that bottle, they will instantly be reminded of you and your firm.
- Gift Sets/Baskets: After you discover your customers preferences and begin sending personalized gifts, the only way to improve is to make it bigger! Take our whiskey drinker as an example. If you buy them a bottle of whiskey every time you send a gift, they may run out of counter space. Instead get a gift set to improve their whiskey drinking experience. For example, try a smoker set that will give them new glasses to use and a smoking kit. Whether they enjoy fruit, coffee, wellness or anything else, send it in a gift basket!
- Luxury Items: Following years of devotion from a loyal customer, the relationship between both parties will have exceeded just business. Long lasting loyalty deserves a reward. Sending a luxury gift sends the message that their years of loyalty have not gone unnoticed and that they are important to you and the firm. Luxury is a fairly subjective term and can mean different things to different people. The key is to tailor the gift to your recipient and your firm’s budget.
These are just a few of the many great gift options available through Giftsenda’s gifting platform. To learn more about customer gifting, sign up for a demo today.
