Personal Touches Can Mean Repeat Business

 

  
  Showing appreciation to your clients can boost your referrals through the roof! The job in itself could be enough to compel new business, however, your clients are very likely to talk about the simple, yet memorable things you did. In fact, you may even call it bragging- about you!

Gift certificates to restaurants are nice, but the thought into something personal will gain far more mileage. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Picture album: You will most likely take pictures of the project for your own use. How about getting doubles made, and putting them in a photo album? Better yet, have your crew sign the inside cover with personal notes.

Framed and Matted Picture- I was at a wedding a few weeks ago. Instead of a guest book, they had a picture of themselves in a nice frame. All the guests signed on the matting. This could be done with one nice picture of the finished product, with all the crew signing around it.

Flowers/Plants- Deliver flowers to a new home as a welcome gift. That will make for a nice touch, especially if you happened to overhear the homeowner’s favorite flower!

Accessory Specific to Job- This is broad to list here, but think about the specific job. If you are remodeling, this works out great. If you did a nursery, buy a mobile or something for the room. If you redid a den or home office, perhaps a nice globe or desk clock would be nice. If it were a TV room (or a bathroom!), a subscription to TV guide would be neat. If you redid a kitchen, give them some cookbooks. If you installed hardwood floors, maybe a nice area rug. This list is endless!

Magazine Subscription- This is a great gift, as everyone has a hobby. If you were on the jobsite for a while, you may have gotten to know the people well and this could be easy. If they have a sense of humor, you could give them a home improvement magazine and tell them to “Do it themselves’ next time..”

Personal Chef- If you did a kitchen job, or perhaps for a new home, hire the family a personal chef for the night so they can enjoy one of their first meals without doing any work.

The possibilities for personal gifts really are without limit. You will get to know your customers. Perhaps there will be an ongoing joke, or you will hear a great family story.

You can plant these seeds in the back of your mind for when you are ready to present a thank-you gift. But one thing is for sure, no matter what it is, it really could knock their socks of and have them praise what you did to no end. Their friend, neighbors, family and colleagues will be searching for a project to do, just to get the same treatment!