A CRM agency can help you build, manage, and maintain key relationships that will help you attract new customers and retain existing clients.
Unlike transactional marketing agencies such as PPC or SEO agencies where the goal is to convert clicks into buyers, a CRM agency works on building and nurturing relationships over a longer period of time.
While this may take a longer time to see the benefit, it is our experience that building proper relationships will help you increase the lifetime value of the customer.
What is a CRM Agency?
A CRM Agency, or Customer Relationship Management Agency, helps businesses build and manage relationships with key clients.
This can be done through several means such as email marketing, public relations, events, and media.
In short, the CRM Agency is responsible for the communication that helps you stay top of mind in your current clients and introduces your business to new prospects.
How GIFTOLOGY compares to Other CRM Agencies
Most CRM Agencies are communications companies.
And they ask the following question: How can we communicate with the largest number of prospects and clients with the least amount of work?
That’s why they resort to mass communication tactics like email and public relations.
Your client has a birthday? Send them an automated, impersonal email.
Your client just made a big purchase? Enter them into a loyalty or rewards program.
Let’s face it. It would be better to not send anything at all than to insult their intelligence. They know you don’t care about them. No need to fake it.
Every time I get an automated email on my birthday from a vendor or contractor, I just feel the love.
That’s where GIFTOLOGY differs from other CRM Agencies.
You see, we’re obsessed with making your clients and prospects feel loved.
We don’t do it by sending generic, impersonalized emails or postcards. And we’re certainly not a pr firm.
Our philosophy is that in order to stand out from the crowd and endear your clients to you, you need to send highly practical and relevant gifts to your prospects and clients.
Before I share what a gifting campaign looks like, I want to fill you in on how our CRM agency can leverage a gifting strategy to grow your revenue.
Attract “Needle Moving” Clients
If you’re trying to attract “needle-moving” clients, you know, the type of clients who are going to sign 6 and 7 figure annual contracts, then you know they are surrounded by gatekeepers.
These are secretaries and assistants whose job it is to make sure that they don’t see your email or your postcard.
This is where a CRM agency who specializes in gifting can help.
Instead of sending an email or direct mail that you know they’re never going to see, your CRM agency can come up with an extremely gift that they’re absolutely going to love.
It will get their attention AND every time they use the gift, they’re going to be reminded to get in touch with you.
Close Big Deals
Now that you’ve gotten their attention, you need to close the deal. The best way to do this is to TURN their spouse or significant other into your biggest sales advocate.
And how do you do that? By gifting your prospect something that the ENTIRE family will use.
Imagine sending your prospect a beautifully designed cutlery set. One that will be used by the entire family every time a meal is prepared.
I can’t tell you how many times someone has come to us and said:
“My wife is your biggest sales advocate. Every time they use the cutlery set, they ask if we’re working with you yet.”
You don’t even have to sell anymore. Your gift and their spouse will do the selling for you.
Build Lasting Relationships.
The best business reason to build lasting relationships with your clients is that you can increase their lifetime value.
You do this through increased retention and through upsells.
Instead of sending clients autonomous birthday emails and loyalty programs, you can enter them into a cohesive gifting campaign.
Now this might sound expensive at first, but the amount of business that will come back to you will be 100x the expense of the gifting program.
We typically like to start what we like to call a “luggage” campaign. Once they become a client, we send over a nice piece of luggage just to say thank you. This is usually a carry-on or personal type bag.
A nice luggage set is one of those gifts that is going to be an heirloom that your client’s grandkids are going to fight over in 30 years.
Then, one year into the relationship is the perfect opportunity to send that second piece of luggage in the set.
This is going to be the under the seat bag.
Again, the purpose of this gift isn’t to get anything in return. It’s to continue to strengthen the relationship and constantly remain in the hearts and minds of your client and their family.
Always be thinking of the family. If the wife and kids love you, the client will love you.
The thought here is this. You’re going to spend a few hundred, maybe even a thousand, on a client who’s worth high 6 figures or more per year.
Finally, let’s say you want to upsell them a new service or have them beta test a new product that you’re releasing. What better way to introduce an upsell opportunity than by completing the luggage set?
You can gift your client the third piece of the luggage set – the piece that gets checked in when they travel.
What GIFTOLOGY can do for you
We recently finalized a ‘TOP 100 GIFTING CAMPAIGN’ for a rapidly-becoming known tech company.
The owner’s ROI goal was lead flow (first) and acquisition (second). The lucky 100 individuals were:
30 circles of influence (the people who KNOW people)
40 current clients (who could be referral partners)
20 prospects (that could pay for the investment 5x over)
And 10 referral sources who has provided numerous leads in the past.
100 recipients, 3 gifts each, spread out every 4 months.
Total gift investment for the year – $49,850
This individual was considering 2 gifts each, which would have cost – ~$34,600.
Another option would be to spend twice that (~70K) if they wanted to go bigger on gifts.
So as you can see? There’s wiggle room based on goals and budget spend.
We’ve done campaigns that cost $5K and campaigns that cost $250K.
Most of our clients hire us to be their agency partner (more on that below).
And when they do, we hear things like this:
“We’ve shifted our entire marketing budget to gifting and looking after customers. Revenue has catapulted as a result. Anybody who has had the chance to read the book can consider themselves lucky and fortunate. Fantastic work.”
-Jonathan Goodman, founder of The PTDC
Final Words…
Gifting is a powerful way to manage business relationships, especially if you follow the 7 key ingredients outlined in this article.
Click here for a free 30 minute strategy session and let us help you manage your relationships
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