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For an individual, birthdays are special days that only occur once a year. It is their dedicated day for celebration. The birthday honoree may have a party with their closest friends and family where they will receive presents and delicious food.
However, you can recognize birthdays at a business level, too. The goal is to make those individuals feel like valued members of your community. A business may have to keep track of dozens, hundreds, or thousands of birthdays, year over year. But at the end of the day, it is all worth it because celebrating client birthdays is an effective and easy tactic for retention. Let’s think about how client appreciation gifts, cards, and deals can bring them more birthday joy and earn you more sales.
Start a birthday club for your company.
When someone creates an account for your website, include a field that asks for their birthday. This will help you collect birthdates so that you can send out emails on that day. Building an email list is very important for any business. Clients will subscribe to this in order to get updates about your products and services, learn more about your resources, and earn exclusive deals. One of these deals could come from a segmented portion of your email list known as your birthday club. Figure out which incentives you would like to offer as gifts, such as events or coupons. And make sure that you advertise the club so that customers know it exists.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to limit your birthday efforts to your customers. You should also make your employees feel that their birthdays are valued. Organize a work birthday club. Get your colleagues to sign employee birthday cards. These can be sent in the mail if your team works remotely, or handed off face-to-face in the office. Set some funds aside to get small, but meaningful, presents. Ultimately, this show of your cultural values is going to make them feel more comfortable in their working environment. That means you are strengthening the bonds of your team, birthday after birthday.
Personalize fun products for client birthdays.
You should get creative with your client appreciation gifts year-round. A big part of this is going to be moving away from your branding. Customers aren’t going to necessarily want to receive a T-shirt with your logo on it for their birthday. This could be great as an employee onboarding gift. Those employees will be able to wear this around the office, or show off where they work when they go to events. A branded T-shirt could even be used as your key promotional item for other times. But when it comes to birthdays, don’t put your business at the forefront. Instead, you need to think about presents that focus on your customer and your appreciation for them.
One option could be a gift box or basket. Compile together a series of small items that go together and put them in a nicely decorated container. It could be gift cards, event tickets, gourmet snacks, colorful stickers, or a desktop succulent. This gives you the chance to provide them with a little bit of everything, which is helpful in the case that you aren’t completely positive about what they like best. That isn’t to say, though, that you need to go overboard for every client’s birthday. You might just want to send this out to your VIP clients that have been major supporters for many years. But each customer deserves to receive a stunning client birthday card in the mail.
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Partner with another business for client birthdays.
By supporting small businesses in your area, you can build up your networking connections. Both of you will be able to benefit from the other. As you are searching for a business to work with, consider those that share your same values. Do the necessary research to find how who is going to best complement you. You should have overlapping audiences that don’t take one another’s sales away. Upon starting your partnership, there should be a clear definition of the responsibilities of each party. And once you have established a track record together, you can continue to achieve your common goals.
But why would you start a partnership with another business for your client birthday gifts? The answer is simple. Perhaps you don’t have products that you feel would be worthy of a birthday. Your services may be related to insurance and technology, but do not include the creation of sweet treats for special occasions. However, your popular local bakery does do that. So, have a conversation with them about regularly creating personalized cupcakes or cookies for your loyal customers’ special days. Another option could be for your client birthday cards. You can work with Austin’s own Awesome 3D Cards on a unique collection for your business.
Host a monthly birthday contest.
Although the topmost industry to run contests is entertainment, any business can take advantage of them. Giveaways offer a fun opportunity to get involved for the sake of potentially receiving free items. They are perfect for increasing engagement considering 33% of participants report being open to receiving further information about brands. That is why social media is full of them. You can go on Instagram and find businesses of all types asking users to tag their friends in the comments for a chance to win one of their products. If your contest is open to anyone, this is a good move to make. By using the right string of hashtags, you can pull in brand new followers and prospective customers.
However, if you want to narrow your giveaway down to solely your supporters whose birthdays are coming up, you need to be able to segment your audience. Luckily, you already have that email list, so you know whose birthdays are right around the corner. Send a message specifically to those subscribers with the details of your latest birthday contest. Give them the steps for how to participate and what they can expect to win. Or you can make it into a mystery contest, where they sign up but don’t know for sure what product they will be receiving in the mail. No matter what your client appreciation gift is, the point of it should be that it is something they will get use out of and enjoy.
Create impressive client birthday cards.
Direct mail is a great way to get in touch with your VIP client base. You are able to reach them in a personal way that will undoubtedly be meaningful to them. But you shouldn’t just use any old, flat client birthday cards. Those aren’t nearly as special as 3D pop up birthday cards, which are an exciting choice for every age group. Whether your recipients are Gen Zers or boomers, you can expect them to be pleasantly surprised by this present. Give them a taste of the childhood that they may be many years beyond.
Customize your 3D pop up birthday cards with a one-of-a-kind design, or opt for a Ready-2-Go option. One choice is a three-color gift box model. It's sure to make anyone smile on their birthday, given that it is a core symbol of the occasion. When they first get it, they will see an illustration of the gift box on the cover. The message that reads “Happy Birthday!” makes it clear to the recipient what they are receiving it for. But the real joy comes from opening the card. The 3D gift box includes stars and curled ribbons to give it that playful touch. Added with the bright gold background, there is a lot to celebrate about this client birthday card.
Let Awesome 3D Cards make your clients’ special days that much more special. We offer custom 3D pop up cards for companies and non-profits of all types. Our team believes in focusing on building emotional connections with those who mean the most to you. So, you should value your clients every day. But on a day like their birthday, it means the world to provide them with something more personal. Contact us to get a quote for your unique client birthday cards.