With school back in session, the holidays will be here before we know it, and it's never too early to start planning! Below Meranda Vieyra offers some practical reasons to invest in client gifts during the holidays.
We spend much of our time leading up to the holidays deciding on the right gifts for our friends, family, neighbors, and even our children’s teachers. While there’s nothing wrong with this, we frequently forget about our legal clients in the hustle and bustle of the merry season. Should you purchase gifts for them too? Investing in gifts for your legal clients during the holidays has many benefits. Here are four to consider:
Showing Your Gratitude
One of the most basic reasons to give a gift is to show your appreciation and gratitude in a tangible way. Your clients have entrusted you with some of the most sacred details of their lives and business, as well as with performing significant tasks on their behalf. They are the lifeblood of your law firm. Giving a holiday gift shows them your appreciation and recognition of these facts.
Remaining Top of Mind
If you want repeat clients and referrals, it’s essential to stay on the top of their minds. One easy way to do this is through holiday gifting. Whether you are on retainer for a client or helped them with a legal matter earlier in the year, sending a token of your appreciation is never a bad idea. It will refresh their minds that you are there and available to them and others who may need your expertise and assistance.
If you give a gift that will last, such as engraved wine, scotch glasses, or a cheese board, you could remain top of mind for quite some time. This effort could result in return business and additional referrals for years to come.
Seizing the Opportunity to Show Them You Know Them
Holiday gift-giving is an opportunity to get to know your clients better and grow closer to them. Throughout the year in your interactions with them, pay attention to what they like or dislike, and their personal preferences. You may even want to take notes so that you can refer to them at the end of the year.
When the holidays arrive, think about a gift that would be meaningful to them. Maybe your client loves a specific coffee brand from South America or a vintage red wine that is hard to find. Focus on those things when shopping for the client. Your client will be impressed that you not only noted what they liked but remembered and thought about it instead of giving them a generic gift like an Amazon gift card.
Setting Yourself Apart
When it comes to your law firm and getting clients, you want to stand out and set yourself apart. Giving your clients gifts at the holidays can help you stand out from your peers and the competition, especially if you are thoughtful and intentional in your gift-giving.
Giving your clients holiday gifts is an investment in them as well as your current and future business. Not only are you brightening their holiday and showing your appreciation, but you are also planting the seeds for future business and clients for yourself. While gifting doesn’t have to be extremely expensive, complicated, or time-consuming, you should plan and create a gift-giving strategy before proceeding.
Meranda M. Vieyra is the owner of Denver Legal Marketing LLC. She is one of the most visible legal professionals in Colorado law with over 20 years of service in the Denver legal community. Her award-winning marketing firm has earned a strong reputation as the go-to for impactful, cost-effective legal marketing strategies. She has helped her clients secure coverage by well-known publications and has obtained local, national, and international awards on their behalf. Meranda enjoys working with solo practitioners and small law firms helping them attract recognition, promotion, and visibility to their practices. She also advises medium-sized and national law firms on business development and marketing strategy. Meranda is a lecturer and author on issues related to marketing including how lawyers can use LinkedIn effectively, how to develop a personal brand, and the promotion of legal services through community service. In 2018, she was honored to be named to the 40 Under 40 list by the Denver Business Journal and to be given the 10 Under 10 Award by the Metropolitan State University of Denver Alumni Association (top 10 alum of the decade). In 2019, Meranda was named in the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce and in the Top 100 young professionals in Colorado through the Gen XYZ Awards published by ColoradoBiz Magazine.
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