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059: Using Gifts & Generosity to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention

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Using Gifts & Generosity to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention

Download John Ruhlin’s gifting playbook. This step-by-step guide will help you discover how to create your own 30x ROI gift marketing campaign.

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About This Episode

Corporate gifting is nothing new. For years, businesses have been branding coffee mugs, hats, and koozies and giving them away to potential clients. But John Ruhlin goes next level when it comes to gifting.

In this episode, Tricia and LZ chat with Ruhlin, a gifted speaker, author of Giftology, and founder of The Ruhlin Group, a gift strategy and logistics company. He’ll talk about how he uses high-end gifts customized to his clients to cut through the noise, increase referrals, and strengthen retention. He tells you how to give, what to give, when is the best time to give, and how to make a giving strategy that has the most impact on your clients.

1. The ‘who’ you are giving it to is more important than the ‘what’ you are giving.

Make it about them, not you or your brand. Send a handwritten note, not something automated from Amazon. Put their name or their family’s name on the gift. Make it truly special and recipient focused.

2. Give gifts that are unexpected.

The most meaningful gifts aren’t tied to an event or time of year (think 5 year work anniversary or Christmas). They are the ones the recipient had no idea were coming. They are the “just because” gifts. When gifts are tied yearly or timed events, they come from a sense of obligation, not gratefulness. Give gifts to your team and clients simply because you appreciate them – and catch them off guard when you give.

3. Give artifacts.

These aren’t branded coffee mugs or key chains. These are truly special gifts – if your house caught on fire, these gifts would be the first things you think about. Artifacts are items you use for years. They are passed down in a family and have an incredibly special meaning. Think about each person you’re giving to and what type of gift would have that level of impact on them.

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