Classic Christmas Lessons — What I’ve Learned From Scrooge About Client Relations

Ebenezer Scrooge has been held up as an example to us all since Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843. This wretched (but rich) miser of a man learns an important lesson about charity, love and kindness thanks to the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, and we could learn a thing or two from their lessons as well.

Of course the holidays are a time of giving and good cheer, but we can always work to be a little bit more generous and thoughtful! As a business owner, this is an obvious season to give back — to the community, to your clients and to the charities close to your heart.

Here is what those three ghosts can teach us as modern business owners:

Christmas Past:
Acknowledge your history with your client! Have they been a long-time client? Have you built a really great professional relationship with them? One way to acknowledge your appreciation for this is to give them a really good shout-out on social media. Not your regular Follow Friday, but a heartfelt message along the lines of, “This holiday season, we’d like to take the time to thank Company ABC for being a long-time client. If you need (your tires changed/windows cleaned/a great cup of coffee), I highly recommend you check them out. They are amazing people!”

Detailed shout-outs like this are nice because they are unexpected and remind the client that you really do notice and appreciate their continued business.

This can be in addition to a gift of appreciation delivered right to them. These are always touching for clients!

Christmas Present:
Take your Christmas charitable donations a step further by supporting your favourite causes on social media as well! Chances are, the non-profits near and dear to your heart have Twitter and Facebook accounts at the very least, and your engagement does help them out. By liking and commenting, you increase the chances that their posts will show up in more newsfeeds, and you can increase their reach by sharing their posts on your business page if appropriate. Retweeting on your business’s Twitter feed is a great way to increase their exposure.

Are you volunteering your time for charity this holiday season? Posting about it can inspire others to do the same! If your whole team is volunteering, even better. This kind of charitable action is inspiring and infectious!

Another way to give back to your clients is to support the charities that they have partnered with. Support them on social media, or send them a donation.

Christmas Yet to Come:
Give the gift of a better future by making a charitable donation in your client’s name. This is a really fantastic way to support someone’s (or some furry animal’s) brighter future, and also remind your clients that you appreciate them.

How are you showing your holiday spirit this year? Do you have any particular stories of service providers you’ve worked with who have really shown their appreciation in a touching way at Christmas? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. And if you need big-picture inspiration for your marketing and client relations, give me a call – I can help with that!