Gift Giving as a Business Strategy

Some people seem to have the natural talent to find the perfect gift for everyone on their list.  Others get it wrong every time; with friends and family scurrying back to shops eager to exchange their gift for anything else!

Are you good at Gift Giving?  (Would others agree?)  Far worse than answering yes or no, is believing that it doesn’t matter.  I’m not talking about the cliché corporate gifts; fruit baskets, wine sets, and cheese assortments, etc.   I am talking about personal gifts.  Pleasing your loved ones with thoughtful gifts requires the same type of attention and precision that wins over customers again and again.

Even if your Holiday Gifts bombed again this year, here are a few tips to help you incorporate the gift giving approach in your business strategy.

1. Set your goal.  When searching for the perfect gift, the ultimate goal is delight.  Customer Delight is a worthy business goal!
2. Make your list and check it twice.  You can’t please everyone, so define your target market and then define it further.
3. Know your target market’s needs and truly understanding their pain.  It will lead you to create and offer the most appropriate solution.
4. Make it personal.  It is the thought that counts- with customers too!
5. Does the value appreciate?  The gift should appreciate when the recipient takes possesion, so assess the value from the perspective of the customer, not yourself.  This will help you focus on benefits instead of features.
6. The most expensive gift isn’t necessarily the best.   Be cost efficient and remember that it doesn’t cost extra to be nice and treat customers well.
7. Wow factor!   Just as a perfect gift can be life changing, is your product or service remarkable?

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Plastered

Customer service doesn’t exist in the Netherlands.  To refer to the manner in which customers are treated as service would just be wrong.  Quite a contrast to the US, where the customer is King!  Since living here, I have decreased my expectations over the years to the lowest possible level.  When you expect nothing, the service can almost be laughable in shops and restaurants.  It is not so funny when the “service” being requested is medical care for my children, but my recent solo trip to the Bronovo Hospital is a great example of Dutch Service!  Please keep in mind that this hospital claims “Royal Service”! Continue reading »

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