AMiable Solution #179: Don’t Forget Your Staff

Celebrating your clients, members, or donors helps develop and grow relationships.  It shows them that you recognize their value and worth to you and your organization.  But they aren’t the only ones worthy of saluting.

Celebrating employee anniversaries (hire dates) is just as important.  Even taking just a few minutes to say, “Thank you for working here,” can boost not only the recognized employee’s morale, but also the morale of everyone else in the group.  Who doesn’t want to feel appreciated?

So what’s the best way to honor employees on their anniversaries? 

·        Keep it simple but sincere.  A half-hearted or “check-the-box” attempt could actually create hurt feelings, not feelings of appreciation.  Whatever you do, mean it.

·        Keep it personal.  Depending on the size of your organization, you could be recognizing employee anniversaries frequently.  To keep them from becoming monotonous, and to maintain their value, be sure to personalize each recognition.  Think about what the individual has done to change or improve the dynamics of the group, the way things get done, or the effectiveness of your work.  Make each individual feel special, not like the next name on the list. 

·        Keep it appropriate.  Of course, there are some occasions that just beg for more than a card or a speech.  Employees with long lengths of service deserve a little more hype, whether that means a special party in the break room or a small, personalized gift.  Just make sure you establish a policy regarding such occasions ahead of time and stick with it. 

Whether you present the celebrated employee with a card signed by management or the whole department or you devote 5 or 10 minutes of your department meeting to highlighting the impact the employee has had on the organization or department, taking the time to recognize an individual’s commitment to the company will make your work environment stronger and your organization greater.

AMiable Solution #178: More Reasons to Celebrate

If you have a good relationship with your significant other (and want to keep it that way), you remember your anniversary.  Doing so tells your girlfriend, wife, boyfriend, or husband, “You’re important to me.”

You can apply that same sentiment to your customers, members, and donors.  By taking the time to say, “We recognize and appreciate you,” you’re not only creating a memorable customer experience, but you’re also improving your relationship.

Celebrating your customers’ anniversaries doesn’t have to be involved or expensive.  All you need is the date your customer first ordered from your organization, signed up for a service, became a member, or supported your cause and a sincere desire to thank them.

We have a few suggestions for marking the special occasion, but feel free to use your imagination to surprise and delight your clients:

·        Email a short but sincere message. 

·        Offer a special (and free-of-charge) upgrade to a service or product.

·        Mail a card by your entire staff (if small) or the head of your organization.  This could be particularly suitable for special anniversaries such as 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, etc.

·        Create a place of honor on your website for identifying companies or individuals celebrating milestone anniversaries.

No matter what you say--whether it’s anything from “You’ve been a member of our organization for eight years, and we want you to know that we appreciate you.  Best wishes for a successful year ahead,” to, “One year ago today you made your first purchase with us.  We hope you have gotten great value from .  Thank you, and we look forward to providing you with many more years of excellent service”--be sure to change your message every year to maintain the integrity and authenticity of your appreciation.

AMiable Solution #177: Looking for the Perfect Gift?

You want to build long-lasting relationships with your clients, right?  Have you ever sent them a birthday card?

Incorporating a birthday email program into your marketing is an easy, relatively inexpensive, and potentially very profitable way to show your clients you care about them.  Birthday emails have higher unique click rates than regular promotional emails (179% higher, according to a February 2014 study by Experian Marketing Services), and they help you build a rapport with clients that can open opportunities for business later.

To maximize your impact, keep the following tips in mind:

1.      Personalize your subject line.  According to Experian Marketing Services, emails with subject lines that include first-name personalization have 17% higher unique open rates than emails with subject lines that don’t include personalization.

2.      Personalize your message.  Your clients trusted you enough to give you their birth date.  Don’t disappoint them.  Make sure your message includes something special: a free product or service relevant to their prior purchases, or a special discount or price you don’t generally offer.  The email should feel like a gift, not an advertisement.

3.      Send a reminder email. Whether you send out your birthday email one month early or on the client’s big day, sending a reminder increases open rates by 20%, according to Experian.  Only 12% of brands, however, send them.

If you don’t have customer birth dates as part of your database, consider running a promotional campaign to collect them.  Let customers know you want to help them celebrate their birthdays with a special treat.  Or, make it part of your email sign-up page or online order form.  Be sure to explain why you want the information to encourage participation and diffuse hesitation.