The “Right” Customization Matters
There is a hot trend going on right now with business development and SDR teams - the personalization of prospecting gifts to the prospect’s hobbies and interests. I’ve personally talked with numerous sales and marketing leaders who want to their prospects gifts based on their Facebook and other social media information. While I understand where they’re coming from, we care too much about our clients brands to offer them a service that we believe could tarnish their brand credibility.
Here are 3 reasons why we don’t encourage this trend of sending prospecting gifts tailored to prospects’ personal interests and hobbies:
The information may be outdated. Just because someone liked Nickelback’s page in 2001 doesn’t mean they still are an avid follower of the band (and sending anyone a Nickelback shirt is like encouraging your friend’s smoking habit).
Anyone can do it. Yep, even that competitor whose customer service and product is lackluster can also send your prospect their alma mater hat. Do you really want your brand getting confused with them?
Why should they care? Imagine your a busy decision-maker and you just got 6th Florida State or Lady Gaga gift. You have a P&L report to worry about it, a sick team member out and the server just went down. In your frustration you think, “Another Gaga bobble head isn’t helping me save money, time or help my business in anyway” [CHUNK].
Here are 3 ways we encourage clients to personalize prospecting gifts and packages:
The gift itself should be clever and relevant to their business. We’ve seen our clients send prospects everything from Rubiks cubes, to tape recorders and Pac-man gaming consoles but each one had a single thing in common. The gift itself spoke to a challenge or opportunity that the prospect cared about; telling a story in a compelling, tangible fashion.
Hyper-personalization is key. Anyone can mass-produce and mail a generic widget with their own brand and “To Whom it May Concern” message. By customizing the physical piece with the prospect’s logo, name and a personalized message, prospects are much more apt to respond if they know they were specifically targeted by a real human.
Have a personalized, follow-up plan ready to go. It would be great if every prospect who received your gift blew up your phone immediately but don’t count on it. It’s imperative that sales and marketing are on the page in terms of the timing and follow-up on the prospecting gifts. The more punctual, personalized and integrated the follow-up process - the greater the likelihood of conversion (getting the demo, meeting etc.)
-CM
Caleb Musser is the Founder of Craftom and the Musser agency.