Small Business: Spurring sales with holiday thanks

The holidays are fast approaching, and what better time to reconnect and say thanks to customers.

Whether you offer an incentive or a note of thanks, it's a good idea to show your customers just how much you appreciate them, say experts.

Saying thank you is always important, but it's especially so in the holiday season, says Jill Griffin, author of "Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer" (Jossey-Bass/Wiley; $24.95) and president of Austin-based Loyal tySolutions.com. "It's a good time to express gratitude and reinforce that the customers are the reason you're in business."

That said, here are a few holiday marketing ideas to consider this upcoming season:

Send a Thanksgiving card. Customers usually expect to get holiday cards later in the season. Why not get a jump-start and surprise them with a word of thanks earlier? "It's a way to get out in front of the pack," says Griffin, who's done this herself.

Offer a loyalty perk: The holidays are a perfect time to do something extra special for your top customers, like an insider's event or special gift offer. Select them by using the 80/20 rule, suggests Griffin: "What 20 percent of your customers have driven 80 percent of your sales in 2010?"

Be philanthropic: Instead of sending out that typical holiday gift, why not make a donation to a charitable organization on behalf of your clients, suggests Laura Wiletsky of Laura Wiletsky & Associates, a public relations/marketing firm in Commack. "It positions you as someone attuned to the needs of the community," she says. Send a card letting customers know you've done this, she adds.

Invite them to an event/outing: Find an event or meeting your clients would find particularly beneficial and extend them an invitation to come as your guest, says Wiletsky, who has done so. It's a nice way to say thank you and reconnect with a current or past client, she notes.

Provide a freebie/giveback: There are plenty of givebacks you can provide your customers or prospects that wouldn't cost you a lot. For instance, an oil company might give customers a complimentary inspection of their burner for the New Year, says Wiletsky. For the past three years City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill in Westbury has rewarded customers during the holidays with a complimentary $10 gift certificate for every $50 in gift certificates they purchase from now through Dec. 31, says partner Todd Herbst. "It's a nice way to reward our guests for their continued patronage," says Herbst. It also helps accelerate gift card sales, he notes, adding, "we sell thousands of gift cards during that promotion period."

Send a recipe greeting: Take the first week in December and e-mail or snail-mail recipes out to your clients, suggests Ginger Marks, author of the "2010 Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide" (DocUmeant Publishing; $19.97). "Not only will they see your business, but they are likely to keep your logo-clad recipe forever," says Marks, chief executive of DocUmeant Designs and Publishing in Manhattan and Clearwater, Fla.

Celebrate an unusual occasion: November and December are filled with some nontraditional celebratory days: Nov. 11 is Origami Day; Dec. 7 is the birthday of the late social activist and singer/songwriter Harry Chapin; and Dec. 26 is National Thank You Note Day, just to name a few, says Marks. Why not find a way to celebrate these occasions with your customers and separate from the pack? For example, you might sponsor a food drive on Chapin's birthday to commemorate his efforts in fighting hunger, she notes. He founded Long Island's first food bank, Long Island Cares, Inc.-The Harry Chapin Food Bank. Honoring something like this "makes you stand above the crowd," says Marks.