Can you ever say “Thank You” too much?

Everyone loves to know they are appreciated.

The right gift lets your clients know that their friendship and business is important to you and helps cement your relationship.

The best client gift takes your client’s personal interests into account and impresses him with your thoughtfulness and sincerity.

While giving client gifts during the holidays is popular, you’ll find that clients appreciate them any time of year.

Give your clients gifts any chance you can get. Birthdays. Holidays. Important events in their lives. They will be remembered for a long, long, long, long, long time.

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
G.B. Stern

Be creative, A box of chocolates, a magazine subscription, Tickets to the movies.

How about a gift certificate to Starbucks, Home Depot or Office Max
But, here’s my rub about giving gift certificates to specific businesses…
why aim your client to spend their money at a business of your choice? Let them choose.

Here are a few Gift Ideas:
•    Custom made gifts
•    Gift certificates to events or services you know for sure that  they would enjoy
•    Send edible enjoyment: cookies, cakes, cheeses presented with class
•    Flowers, on Monday so they last all week or living plants that sometimes last for years
•    Books or magazine subscriptions relating to interests or hobbies

Warning: Be sure to look into the gift-giving policies of your clients’ companies before sending along your present.

Sadly, some companies have a “no gift” policy for their employees, and it could lead to an embarrassing situation if they must refuse your gift for this reason.

Now, how will you thanks your clients for their friendship and business?

What number IS the loneliest number?

Photo provided courtesy of J.D. Hillberry www.jdhillberry.com

We’ll in my humble opinion; the loneliest number in business is the number “one.”

When you have only one client, one product, one source of income or only one of anything, you are leaving yourself or your business vulnerable to any changes that might occur in your industry or in the general economy.

“Put all your eggs in the one basket and – WATCH THAT BASKET.”
- Mark Twain

Many stockbrokers made “big money” during the “dot-com” boom of the “Roaring 90s and more so during the latest stock run up before the bottom fell out.” They are hurting now because the stock market crashed and many investors moved their money out of the market into safer investments or took a big hit in their 401k’s.

Up until recently, mortgage brokers were enjoying a very profitable times, brought about because of the low interest rates and many other factors we’ve all seen in the media. Many of these brokers should be looking for new products, services or ideas to sell, because as we all know, things never remain the same.

Very few businesses can survive selling only one product/service.

The only one that I can think of is Lego.

How many of your product lines or services can be expanded?

Ask, what do people need before, during and after they make a purchase from you?

Can you think of anything you may offer to help fulfill those needs?

What can you do to offer more choices to your clients and add additional streams of revenue and profit to your business?

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

This statement also applies to your business.

What if you have developed a marketing campaign that is working well?

What if your marketing is bringing in all kinds of sales leads and increasing sales and profits for your business?

What if you have tested and proven your list and your headlines?

What if your offers in this campaign are the best that they can be?

What if no other marketing effort that you have tried has beaten its results?

Wouldn’t it be insane to change it?

You would think so.

However, many business owners get bored with using the same marketing message over and over again.

Consequently, they change their campaign midstream.

These owners never get the full benefit of their campaign.

This, folks, is insanity.

Sometimes the reason that these business owners change their approaches is that they listen to their spouse, employees, family members, friends, clients or someone else who has gotten tired of the campaign.

As a result, the business owners changes his marketing before they should.

Whatever the reason, if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
If a marketing campaign is working, then stick with it!

A profitable marketing campaign must be allowed to run its course.

You will know when it is time to change or develop something new when your current campaign stops working.

Again, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

You can see this mistake made over and over in many businesses.

Advertising and direct-marketing efforts that are working are abandoned midstream for the “next big thing.”

Don’t waste the money, time, and effort that you have invested in creating a marketing campaign by making this same mistake in your business.

How sane are your marketing efforts?