Your employees and customers are the foundation of your business. So it’s only natural that you want to show them gratitude during the holiday season when you’re counting your blessings and in the spirit of giving. Showing gratitude with these key audiences can increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire sales and even build relationships that last a lifetime. We recently asked several NAWBO members how they show gratitude during the holiday season. Here’s what we heard:
Pamela McAfee
The Flower Room
NAWBO Virtual member
“It’s just me in my small business. For my employees in my health care job, it’s making sure to say ‘thank you,’ even for just the little things, like thanking them for staying positive in a really tough and challenging situation and keeping the smile on. What I’m most grateful for are my women friends who have supported me through my recent move. I cannot say enough about those women who have stood behind me when I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. They are my biggest champions and supporters for nothing else than to just be my friends. I am so grateful. I still send ‘thank you’ cards instead of e-mailing, to say, ‘Thank you for how much you have helped me grow.’ I appreciate being able to say thank you to those people in my life. We can’t take anything for granted. They say, ‘You don’t need to do that,’ but I say, ‘It isn’t okay for me to not thank you.’ Thank yous are not said enough. I’m glad that I can do that for them.”
Tina Lee
Chew & Lee Accounting Group
NAWBO-Wichita member
“For customers, I usually will send out some type of gift. We have a special person in town called ‘the cookie guy.’ It’s not only about delivering cookies, but also a message from your company about how much you appreciate them. One year, I sent him out to do that. I always try to find a unique way to show our customers that we do appreciate them at Thanksgiving and Christmas when they’re being hit up with so many other things. For employees, I give them the usual bonus and extra time off. I probably should do more and try to find a special thing that will mean something special to them. I will try to listen and find something that will mean something to them.”
Barb Girson
My Sales Tactics
NAWBO-Columbus
“I use a variety of intangible special ways to say thank you. One of our members, Kelly Harvey, has a business for personalized bottles of wine with a company logo. I’m thinking of that for this season. One member has a company, Sugar Daddy, that does individual round brownie cakes. What a way to get brownie points! If all things are given equal, do business with another NAWBO member, even in everyday life. When we can, we do that because we believe in the mission and values.”
Gladys Agwai
G&L Global Services
NAWBO-Atlanta
“For me, because I’m just starting out, it’s really a ‘thank you’ for their consideration and openness to hearing about how I want to impact their business and for the contributions they make to the economy as well.”
Jacki Ramirez
Ramirez Group
NAWBO-Southern Nevada
“In my business, we give a week off for the holidays. It depends how the holidays fall—it can be up to two weeks. Prior to the 24th on through the 2nd, we give those holidays off. For Thanksgiving, we do Thanksgiving and family day. We made a decision when we opened our doors to take off major holidays as well as state holidays. I also give flextime as well as personal leave time. It’s important that when the employee has something to take care of, as long as he or she is managing projects and can delegate to someone else, they can take time off when they need it. It’s important to us not to put the pressure on employees, to make sure they’re there when they have something they need to take care of.”