Rochman’s staff made and delivered 90 gifts in 2004, taking the better part of a day to do it. But the time and effort pay off. Many clients keep the gifts and even display them on their mantles and display shelves. “Rave reviews,” Rochman says.
McCutcheon Construction, Berkeley, Calif., also struck around Thanksgiving last year with a “gift certificate” worth $1,000 off projects of more than $10,000. Ten or so clients acted on the offer, says Nancy Schmeltzer, operations manager.
Key to the card’s success was stamping it with an expiration date of March 31. This generated interest and got people to accelerate the projects they might otherwise have postponed, Schmeltzer says, adding that making the offer open-ended could create headaches years down the road.
McCutcheon will probably send gift certificates again this year, and Schmeltzer wants to increase both dollar amounts. “Even people spending a million dollars love to save money,” she says. “They count the pennies — that’s how they get them.”
Acheron Construction, Dallas, supplements its holiday festivities with an annual letter to subcontractors and vendors. The 2003 letter thanked them for their fine work that year, projected a successful year to come, and revisited company standards — “the extra steps we take to ensure the success of each project we produce.”
The typed letter comes from president Alex Dahlgren, who also handwrites a brief personal note to each recipient. “This isn’t the time to pound on people too much,” he explains. “I think the letter continues to reinforce that they’re very important to us and we’re working on this as a team.” He adds that it beats just sending out a card that says “Acheron Construction.”