Virtual Assistant: Client Appreciation Ideas

Fotolia_27977284_XS I think it's important to build client appreciation gifts and gestures into your business.

I like to send birthday and Christmas gifts, and I also like to send a note every once in a while just verbally expressing my appreciation for the client.

I know some folks draw a blank when they're faced with the prospect of giving someone a gift, so here are some very simple, tried and tested, gifts that pretty much any client would love:

1 - Homemade treats.

I have sent homemade cookies, dessert bars, and other sweet treats to clients several times, and they loved them! Who doesn't like to get a surprise tin of brownies or chocolate chip cookies? It's a sweet gesture that manages to convey a friendly smile across the miles.

Sending homemade baked goods is easiest if you're in the same country--it's kind of hard when the client is on a different continent.

If you do happen to live too far away from each other for this to be practical, you can still order some sweets from a distributor in the country where your client lives. Most countries will have some sort of company that sends food gifts.

Hint: When you do this, ask the client if he or she is going to be in town during the time when the delivery is made, and let them know they have a suprise that should be arriving at their door on a certain day.

2 - Business Books.

This is a safe bet---most business owners are interested in reading books that will improve their business. I like to pick interesting books that I don't think the client has. Here are some of my faves:

Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead Of Big by Bo Burlingham Small-giants

This book gives lots of real life examples of successful small businesses who at some point in their development were given the opportunity to get super big fast. The book details the decision making process the owners went through in deciding if they wanted to become a mega business over which they don't have as much creative control or one that is small and great. It's an encouraging book, especially to small business owners who take pride in quality, personal integrity, and in seeing their vision through.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future by Daniel Pink Whole-new-mind

The left side of your brain is logical and linear. The right side is creative, intuitive and empathetic.

According to the book, "knowledge workers" such as doctors, lawyers, etc used to be the most valued because they had specialized knowledge that others needed. But, due to technology and other important factors, knowledge is not as hard to come by as it once was and the working world is rapidly changing.

I found this excellent synopsis in a review at Amazon:

The Agricultural Age and Industrial Age have fallen away, and the Information Age is fading fast. We're hurtling into the Conceptual Age, where the majority of jobs will be held by people that create something, or by people that are capable of empathizing with others. Most of these jobs will require care, humor, imagination, ingenuity, instinct, joyfulness, personal rapport, or social dexterity.

This book would probably appeal most to people who work in creative fields.

Success Made Simple: An Inside Look Into Why Amish Businesses Thrive by Erik Wesner Amish-business

One of my faves! If I weren't a virtual assistant and if I didn't work on the internet every day, I think there's a decent chance that I might try "going Amish".

Not really-It's hard to become Amish if you weren't born into that community. You need to learn to speak Pennsylvania Dutch (a form of German) fluently, for one thing. That requirement alone makes my brain hurt.

I really admire the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle though, and the Amish have an incredible entrepreneurial spirit. Lots of Amish have their own businesses, and most of the time they succeed.

In the US, 80% of the small businesses fail. In the Amish world, 80% of the small businesses succeed. Obviously they're doing something we can learn from! This book is interesting culturally and business-wise and makes a great client gift.

3 - Family Gifts.

If your client has a family, then it's nice to include them in on the fun sometimes. It depends on what kind of activities they like to do, but you might consider board games, lawn games, or other sorts of family activities.

4 - Share Your Culture.

This works particularly well if your client lives in a different country. It's often fun to give gifts that represent the type of food that people in your part of the world enjoy.

It's also good to keep your ears open during the year--did your client mention that she's interested in learning to cook authentic Asian food? Why not buy her a cookbook?