I recently responded to a forum thread about various ideas to say thank you to your clients. I thought I would also share some ideas here…

I use a varity of “thank you” gifts for my customers. Here are a few of my ideas. I don’t want to blend in with all the other seasonal cards / gifts, so I try and send them out throughout the year (helps with my budget too!)

1. If I meet with a potential JV partner, mentor, or cross promotor, I will try to send them a hand written thank you card in the mail one week after I meet with them (I include 2 business cards as well for them). The purpose of this is just to keep me at the top of their mind for another week or so, and to also thank them for their valuble time. The cards are there so they can pass them out to potential referrals. Depending on the contact, I may also throw a Starbuck’s gift card in with it ($5-10)

2. Corporate gift baskets - I use these for my “key clients”, and usually spend about $100-200 on them. These go into the staff room at my client’s location for their staff to munch on for a couple of days. Depending on the client, I usually exclude wine from the baskets.

3. “Man Buckets“  - These are gift baskets for guys! They aren’t so girly, come in a metal tub and come with a variety of soft drinks and snacks. price = $100-$200.

4. Ice Cream Gifts - We have a company near us that packs ice cream in dry ice and ships it via courier to any location. I tested how long the product lasts, and it is about 3 - days, so you could ship this virtually anywhere in North America. It comes with spoons, dishes, sprinkles, and syrops, plus your choice of various flavors of ice cream. I usually send a few of these out on during the summer months. Price is between $50-$100. If you want the name of the store, e-mail me.

5. I also have sent out personalized pens, or marble stonework with an enscription on it. These last longer than consumable gifts, and usually stay on desks or counters for years. I gave a client a personalized pen about 4 years ago and they still use it (he has refilled the ink 3 times). These cost around $20-30.

Got any more ideas? Feel free to add your comments.