How to Send Gifts to Your Bookkeeping Clients and Unique Client Gift Ideas
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If you own a bookkeeping practice or accounting firm, you probably serve some amazing clients! One of the best ways to show your appreciation: client gifts!
When someone hires you, it is the BEST feeling to be able to provide a service, get paid for it, and build your authority in the industry.
My favorite part about running my own practice is that I get to decide the culture of my company and make it authentic to my personality. When you are your own boss, you have the opportunity to customize the priorities of your practice and how you build client loyalty. Something I love to do that truly delights my clients is sending them gifts!
If you haven’t thought about sending client gifts, perhaps it’s just because you weren’t sure when or what to send...
Sending client gifts can accomplish great things for your brand and practice! Gifts can show your client that you care about them, not just their business. They are also an easy way to keep your brand top of mind at the beginning or end of the year, when many other business owners are actively looking for a bookkeeper or accountant (hello, referrals!). A client gift is the perfect way to show your client exactly what sets you apart from your competition and gives them reassurance that you are a good fit for their business. Finally, sending client gifts is a lovely way to nurture the relationship you have with your clients and their staff, which helps to establish your reputation in the industry.
There are so many fun reasons to send a client a gift, depending on the relationships you wish to build with your clients, there are endless possibilities!
In my practice, I might send a gift to a client:
After completing the onboarding process
When they’re company has an anniversary
On their birthday
When their company hits a big milestone
During the holidays
If we disengage services
Keep reading below as I expand on each event that might prompt me to send a gift to a client!
After the Onboarding Process Gift
What better way to welcome someone to your brand than a fun little gift! This sets the tone for the relationship and lets them know that you are committed to serving them at the highest level (within scope, of course).
A Company Anniversary Gift
Being in business for any amount of time is a huge accomplishment. If the client is celebrating a business anniversary, send them a gift that lets them know you pay attention to the little details.
Client Birthday Gift
One great thing about birthdays is that everybody has one! This is a perfect time to send your client a gift as a quick reminder that you prioritize client care and that you are super organized. (If you use Asana, set a recurring task two weeks in advance to give you time to order a special gift for your client’s birthday!)
Company Milestone
As a bookkeeper or accountant, you are the one in the thick of it when it comes to knowing your client’s bottom line. That means, you are most likely one of the first to know when the client’s company hits a big milestone and can take this opportunity to reach out to them with congratulations. Did they do $10,000 this week, massively exceeding their goals? Perhaps send them a surprise congratulations gift!
Holidays
Sending clients a gift on holidays doesn’t have to be complicated. A sweet and simple card might even do the trick when you just want to send a client well wishes. The end of the year is also an appropriate time to send off a card to say, “Yay! We made it through the year, cheers to many more!”.
Offboarding Clients
This one seems counterintuitive but it truly helps to send a client off in a highly professional manner. Of course, not all instances would warrant a gift, but more often than not, a gift after disengagement is a great choice. This allows you to keep that line of communication open, in case they have the opportunity to refer you or leave you a review.
Ideas for Client Gifts
There are SO many fun things you can choose to send to your clients as simple, yet meaningful tokens of appreciation. Depending on your brand and the relationship you wish to build, these client gifts could be as personal and creative as you wish!
Flowers
If you have a client with a physical address or office, sending them flowers is a quick way to let them know you’re thinking of them! Bonus points if you know they’re favorite color or flower!
Gift Boxes
One of my absolute favorite gifts to send to a client is a gift box! I frequently order from Box Babe Gift Co. and they ship creative, adorable, and personalized gift boxes sourced exclusively from women-owned businesses with themes for all occasions. They always exceed my expectations and make my clients feel super special!
Branded Merchandise
Want to know my secret to making sure my clients feel cared for while also keeping my practice top of mind? The answer is branded merchandise. You may have thought of sending your client a gift with your logo before, but have you considered sending them a gift with their logo? I’m telling you, sending clients gifts with their own logo is such a game changer! Most business owners want to put their brand in front of their clients, so why not help your clients do just that?
If you own a business, you are likely super passionate about what you have built and want to show off your logo and your brand like a badge of honor. Sending your client a gift that achieves that exact goal is not only thoughtful, it is an extremely unique take on a client gift.
Some of the things you could send with your client’s logo include:
Mug
Mousepad
Pen
Flash drive
Reusable water bottle
Tote bag
Anything else you can dream up!
I use Vistaprint to order promotional products as gifts for my clients because they allow me to customize their products with text, logos, and photos!
Pro Tip
Here’s a pro tip, friends…
If you want to send your client a gift that is really unique, take a peek at their social media accounts to see what they like or do for fun! Do they have a plant collection? Boom! Maybe you send them a cute succulent. I’ve found that giving gifts to clients is so much easier when I actually take the time to get to know them beyond their business. Doing this shows that you care and creates client loyalty. Totally a win-win!
So in this blog we’ve talked about when it’s appropriate to send clients gifts, ideas of what to send a client, and how to get creative when coming up with unique client gift ideas. One point I really want to drive home here is that it’s not about just mindlessly sending a generic gift just to say you did it. If you really want to be effective in delighting your clients, be intentional with the gifts you choose and a little thought will go a long way.
Does your company send gifts to clients? If not, have you ever considered doing so? Jump into our free Facebook group and let us know!!
