Make Them Feel Like They REALLY Matter
I wish I could tell you that making people who matter feel like they matter is a no-brainer and that such a noble goal simply happens naturally. If only that really were true. Well, in our experience, companies that subscribe to this ‘natural’ approach actually are more likely to sabotage their well-intended efforts to show their stakeholders some love.
Think about it this way: Would you wait until the last minute to find just the right way to honor a special someone’s special occasion? How would you thank your dearest friends and family? How much thought would you put into the effort? What would you do to make it memorable? How far would you go to make it meaningful? Going from a potentially naturally occurring encounter to a planned, positioned, and personalized experience that drives a feeling of true connection takes careful thought paired with experience and knowledge.
All about Planning Details
If you haven’t already guessed the secret to making people who matter feel like they REALLY matter, it’s PLANNING. And there’s no limit to how much planning it takes to succeed, whether you’re planning a trade show experience or recognizing business achievements and personal milestones like weddings, bereavement, new birth, etc. Planning is inextricably linked to ROX (return on experience).
It’s never too early to start deliberating about the many details that go into creating a solid annual plan for intentional gifting. Here’s some of those details to get you started.
- Establish objectives: Keep stakeholders engaged, if they are engaged your brand is top of mind.
- Review previous year’s programs—what worked, what didn’t.
- Determine who you want to recognize and specify for what (business and personal milestones, performance achievements, etc.) to identify programs. Consider if each program is a one-off or series, such as a huge initiative that merits recognition at each major milestone. Segment programs into categories: employees, clients, prospects, and partners.
- Determine the budget for each program.
- Identify recipients and create recipient personas (demographics, psychographics, preferences).
- Think about how each program overlaps with other programs—timing, presentation method, items, etc. Stakeholders may be eligible for multiple programs, so making each program unique is advisable. Develop a program calendar to visualize and keep each program on track.
- Analyze product options: budget, functionality, quality, sustainability, and how well they fit with your brand, culture and the message you want to send.
- Determine packaging and presentation methods for each program/product.
What is Success?
We’re so used to focusing our businesses on a cold, hard cash return (ROI). Granted, it’s more difficult to assess the soft return on investing in programs that engage people to make them feel like they matter. However, we need to recalibrate results in terms of the roles they play in employee and client retention, prospect-to-client conversions, and event-driven lead generation. Emotion is a key driver in business and life!
Refocus your thinking from ROI to ROX (return on experience) when deciding on how to convey appreciation, mark milestones, and more – specifically, when selecting products for recognizing clients and partners and retaining talent. The ROX metric extends impact on the recipient beyond the physical product to strengthen the emotional connection between giver and recipient. Creating the right “experience” is the true measure of a successful recognition effort.
The ROX focus should be the foundation of an overall strategy to nurture key stakeholders. Start with the emotion you want to create for them and choose a product to match the feeling and make it last. The more emotionally laden, sought-after and practical products that are used, the more they contribute positive feelings to your brand.
When it comes to analyzing the value of these initiatives, recipient response certainly wins the prize. When we hear from our clients that their recipients are sending messages saying: “I received a package today, to pretty to open” and how appreciative they are for being thought of, we know the program is working.
A Program on Steroids
One of our clients wanted to leave no stone unturned in keeping their brand in front of their high-value clients. I recall our client’s key words: “We want to be in their lives from the moment they wake up until they go to bed.” So we developed a program dubbed “Day to Night” dedicated it to making their clients feel very much loved and appreciated at key points in a 24-hour period.
It starts with a new-client onboarding gift, a personalized blanket and branded mug that can serve as a cozy morning or evening ensemble. A charcuterie board branded on the back and branded stemless wine glasses for entertaining in the late afternoon through the evening.
Our client takes multiple opportunities to get in front of clients throughout the year. This year for their birthdays, we send a personalized tube of high-quality cookies delivered in a matching box that screams, “It’s your special day.”
“We like to thank our clients from the bottom of our hearts,”. So the plan naturally included a gift at Valentine’s day. 
At a significant additional milestone purchase, this client will be thanked with a “well-being” package that includes a Theragun pressure massager, aromatherapy shower spray, and a his and her towel wrap.
For July 4th, a gift presentation that will help recipients kick off the holiday with a tasty bang, including a barbecue board, meat seasoning, a personalized kitchen towel, and a meat shredder set.
Talk about the need for razor-sharp planning, we began ideating 2025’s Thanksgiving gift in January. It’s taking lots of behind-the-scenes legwork to create a cookbook featuring recipes from their clients and internal team, but it will make a unique keepsake and create a community around our client’s brand.
“Hillary and her team are exceptional, our partnership took our business to the next level. We continuously receive beautiful client feedback. Hillary & team deeply understand our goals, anticipate needs, ask insightful questions, and deliver authentic solutions.” Robin Hoppes, President of Big State Financial
Final Thoughts
The cardinal rule for making people who matter feel like they matter is thoughtful, intentional planning and making those people central to your efforts. People recognize it when they receive something that is personal and speaks to them. If it all sounds overwhelming, consider sharing the load with us. We partner with our clients to help with planning, organizing, creating, personalizing, and sourcing. We can do as little or as much as you need, but the end result should be the same: making the people who matter, feel like they matter.
As always, if you’re looking for more solutions to make your employees, clients, and partners of all generations feel seen, heard, and appreciated, let’s start a conversation. Call 800-742-6800 or email us today. For more information and tips for engaging your team, sign up for our monthly newsletter at askhillarys.com (bottom right corner of the page).
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