You put all the effort and money into sending out holiday rewards to your most valued customers. This action in itself is important for strengthening relationships and showing appreciation. But now that the holidays are over, it’s time to cash in on a little of that goodwill.
As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t first offer a sales pitch for an upgrade or make a big advocacy request right out of the gate. Most businesses are busy at the beginning of the year, compiling results from Q4, finalizing plans, approving budgets, and looking for a strong start.
Here are three ideas (with suggested text templates!) for you to capitalize on the holiday rewards you sent — without asking for too much.
READ MORE: 5 CTA Templates to Turn Customer Incentives Into Even More Engagement
“Happy new year! I hope you received and enjoyed the gift card we sent a few weeks ago. Now that we’re past the holidays, I’d love to get on a quick call with you, just to touch base and see how we can serve you best in [YEAR]. Will one of the following dates and times work for you?”
Having the client’s account manager or customer success representative reach out to connect early in the year is a great way to set the tone for the partnership for the next 12 months. This is especially important if the customer has a renewal coming up in Q1. It also allows your team to get an idea of any potential upsell opportunities, now that most customers know their final budgets. Again, you don’t want to start off with a big pitch, unless they request it, but the conversation may give you some additional information about their upcoming needs.
“Happy new year! We hope you received and enjoyed the holiday gift we sent a few weeks ago, and we’d really like to hear your feedback. We want to make sure that we’re giving our customers the best experience, with great gift cards they want and a smooth redemption process. Please let us know what you think by replying to this email or scheduling a call with your account manager!” (You could also build and link to a short survey.)
Sending holiday rewards to customers can be a big expense, and you want to make sure they’re working. So why not ask your recipients? Maybe they would prefer a different kind of gift or had trouble receiving it. You won’t know unless you ask! Requesting this feedback early in the new year has two advantages: the gifts should be fresh in your customers’ minds, so they’ll remember receiving and redeeming it, and you can know now if and how much you should budget for holiday rewards this year.
“Hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed the gift we sent! Now that it’s the new year, our team is off and running and need your help for just a few minutes. Could you [INSERT REQUEST]? It would really help us as we work to grow and give you an even better customer experience in [YEAR]. We really appreciate it and look forward to partnering more in the coming months!”
The messaging here will change depending on what your marketing and sales goals are for your customer advocacy program. Maybe you’re working on launching a customer community and you need beta users. Maybe you’re trying to improve your referral program. Or maybe you’re trying to get more online reviews. Whatever the ask, make sure you continue to show the customer your appreciation and your commitment to giving them a good experience.
Want to see how you can use rewards to engage with customers all year round? Check out our pro tips!
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
