The key to building a long-term, healthy relationship with your customers is actively engaging with them. Of course, focusing on business-related topics, deals, and discounts can get you a long way; small, personal gestures can also make a big difference in how your leads and clients feel about you. One such gesture is wishing them on their birthday. Remember that people value being appreciated during special occasions, especially their birthdays. So do not forget to miss the chance to send a birthday message to a client in order to strengthen your bond. Since generic birthday messages for clients seem insincere and mechanical, you must customize them for each customer. So here are some important elements that your birthday messages should contain. This post will help you come up with perfect ideas to send personalized birthday wishes.
Generic messages, as mentioned before, may not add much value and can even be perceived as an excuse to reconnect or sell something.
Personalize
The basic purpose of wishing for birthdays is to make the person feel appreciated; personalization is a great way to do this. Typing the same boring happy birthday message and sending it to the customers will not allow them to feel the personal touch. So, to stand out from the crowd, including the client’s name in the message. You may also add the name of their spouse, children, or pets to show that they are more than just a customer to you. If they are completing a milestone, you can also include a reference to their age, add emojis and make the message vibrant and fun.
Send Through The Right Channel
This is an essential factor that influences the impact of the message sent. Keep in mind that people have different preferences for sending and receiving messages. While some prefer SMS, WhatsApp, and iMessage, others prefer social media and email. So for choosing the right medium, look back at the channel where you have interacted with the client in the past. If it’s someone who rarely checks their mailbox or if all of your interactions in the past have been through WhatsApp, then your channel of choice should be WhatsApp and not email. Remember that commenting on their Facebook or LinkedIn accounts can make them feel like the wishes are just because the app reminds you of their birthday or after seeing others wishing them.
Moreover, delivering birthday wishes through different channels could be a great idea. However, this only makes sense if the recipients get the message on their personalized media first, as it makes them feel that you are truly aware of their special day. You may also send a hand-written card via physical mail and even accompany a small gift with it, but of course, this depends upon your relationship with the client. Although physical mail is outdated, many feel more than happy receiving special messages this way. But you must ensure that you send it out well in advance so it arrives on time.
Send It At The Right Time
When it comes to birthday messages, timing is the most crucial point. No one likes receiving late birthday wishes, let alone belated ones. Although the best time to wish is as soon as the day begins, sending birthday wishes until midnight may seem awkward in a business-client relationship.
What To Avoid?
- Generic Templates: There are hundreds of birthday message templates online, which are even offered by LinkedIn and Facebook and can be sent with just a click. But sending generic birthday templates adds minimum value to your relationship with the customer since they know where these wishes are coming from. So make sure that your templates are personalized and unique.
- Mentioning the wrong name: It’s embarrassing and annoying to receive birthday wishes with the wrong name. This can easily happen when copy-pasting a message. So please read the message carefully before sending it.
- Trying to make a sale: Since a birthday is a special day for the person, and the focus of attention should be on them, avoid taking any other advantage from it when sending birthday wishes, like trying to make a sale. Ensure that your message does not include any sales pitch or advertising. However, you may mention the products or services they purchased.
- Automated phrases: Avoid using terms that look automated as they make the message dull, as most people must have seen them elsewhere. Remember that to be special; your message should be original and creative.
Concluding
Birthday messages are a great way to nurture your relationship with your customers. So do not leave scope for any mistakes by sending generic and dull wishes.