IS YOUR GIFTING PROGRAM GENERATING RESULTS?

Written By Co-Founder, Suzy Leys

Is your client gift program generating results for your brand? It might be worthwhile considering ‘ROK’ (Return on Kindness) in place of ROI when measuring the impact your client gift strategy can have for your business.

ROK, coined by author Jill Lublin in her book The Profit of Kindness, examines the effect core principles centred around kindness – like generosity, gratitude and compassion – can have on your bottom line through fostering organisational culture, gaining positive publicity and building stronger client relationships.

In her research she uncovered “using kindness as a currency is a way to create solid relationships that will pay off for years. Kindness is the currency that keeps on giving, it’s remembered and it enables you to go faster, further and with more velocity.”

So, if kindness is king - how do you get the gifting right in order to create that long standing impression for your brand? It seems generosity is only one part of the puzzle.

It comes down to the science of psychology, and hitting ‘the magic trifecta of gifting’, described by Kit Yarrow, a professor of marketing and psychology at San Francisco’s Golden Gate University. Yarrow outlines why gift giving built on three principles - generosity, insight and emotional impact - will result in a truly memorable experience for the recipient.

To nail generosity, it’s about giving selflessly with more concern for the happiness of the recipient than for reciprocity or reward. So don’t gift to get something back; gift to genuinely show you value someone’s business.

Using insight to respond to the needs of your client creates serious impact. Yarrow says “Insight is thoughtfulness with a boost, because it’s built on a foundation of empathy- or the ability to understand someone else.” Empathy is a key pillar in fostering the best, most trusted relationships.

Finally, it’s the gift that exceeds your customer’s expectations that has the most emotional impact. Acts of unexpected kindness resonate with your customers, and fostering this throughout their journey with your brand – in real estate or other industries - can have incredible returns for your business. 

Here at Style Bundle, this is core to how we approach the creation of a customised gifting strategy for our clients. 

“Our clients understand that gifting with integrity and relevance are key to elevating customer experience” says Susan Beardsley, Director at Style Bundle. “Our team see first-hand, the businesses who invest in customised gifting strategies with personalisation for every client at the heart, are the ones who in turn see an amazing response from their customers .”

In today’s market, gifting strategy needs to be executed with thought and kindness, devised with your customer at the heart, and carried through the entire journey, across every touch point your client has with your brand.

So elevate your gifting game and reap the rewards kindness can bring for your business.