The Strange Box That Increased Sales for 6 Years

I've written several times about how the power of "Thank you" can produce repeat and referral sales with your clients. Here's another winning example ...

... a very nice thank-you gift I got from Villa Landscapes, in Burnsville, MN.

The box with iris bulbs came in the mail after Villa Landscapes finished putting a patio and garden in our backyard.

The note inside says, in part:

If you're like us at Villa Landscapes, you take pride in watching your yard grow year by year with each new planting. So we'd like to help your Villa Landscape grow with these complimentary Dutch iris bulbs ...

Sincerely,

Villa Landscapes
Your landscapers for life

This is a perfect example of how you can delight your clients -- and stimulate referrals -- by saying, "Thank you" with unexpected gifts.

Here are two of the many benefits of thanking your clients creatively:

1) People keep thank-you gifts longer than thank-you notes.

The box above has been sitting on my bookshelf, as a silent reminder of my happy experience with Villa Landscapes, for 6 years.

This kind of long-term goodwill can NOT happen when you cop out and thank your clients by email. (How many emails have you kept for 6 years? I thought so.)

2) A thank-you gift can be a tangible reminder of a service.

Villa Landscapes did my patio and garden -- outdoors, where I don't always see it. This box sits next to my desk -- indoors, where I see it daily.

That means many opportunities to be reminded of what this company did for me. So I can recommend them to others.

(Of course, if I had planted the iris bulbs in the garden, I would have had another reason to fondly remember Villa Landscapes :-)

When you creatively thank your clients, you maximize the chances that they will buy from you again AND refer you to others.

Win-win. Big time.

(Kevin M. Donlin is author of the Special Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Small Business Professionals.)