Surprise and delight marketing is a powerful way to build stronger customer relationships.
In a world of intense digital competition, surprise and delight marketing can set you apart from competitors. First impressions are essential, but even mistakes and blunders can smooth over if there’s a genuine desire to “make things right” for a customer or client.
What is surprise and delight marketing, you might ask? It’s delivering a product, gift, experience, or thank you that was unexpected. Have you ever received a surprise mailer from a company with a discount code to use in their shopping cart? Simply as gratitude for being a fabulous customer? That’s surprise and delight marketing.
If executed properly, a surprise and delight offer becomes a touchpoint for your customer to grow closer to your brand and build trust in your products or services.
Humans are emotional creatures and drawn to respect where you give it.
What does Chewy do?
Recently, the idea for this marketing lesson came from Chewy.
Our beloved Pomeranian mix, Turtle Dove, turns two on December 15th. Unplanned and out of the blue, we received a birthday card from Chewy for Turtle Dove. The card was handwritten, heartfelt, and included a QR code for our next product order.
How did the card make me, my husband, and our dog feel? Appreciated, valued, and part of the Chewy community. Chewy’s accomplished their goal.
We felt surprised and delighted and will return to Chewy’s online storefront once more!
Although the Covid-19 pandemic amplified chewy’s explosion on the pet product scene and market, you can see how their focus on relationship marketing has driven considerable dividends in a short time too.
Research & Plan Your Surprise and Delight Marketing
Before you begin mailing products to customers willy-nilly, it’s important to put thought, planning, and research into your surprise and delight marketing tactics.
- Is your offering genuinely beneficial? Nobody wants to receive worthless mailers without benefit.
- Will you offer a digital or physical item, service, or discount? Emailing? Mailing?
- After being surprised and delighted, do you have a goal or action you’d like customers to take?
- When will you surprise and delight? Will you make a goal to reach out to customers yearly? Send a gift on their birthday? For the holidays? When they make their fifth purchase?
- Put yourself in the shoes of your amazing customers! Would YOU be happy to receive the item you’re planning on sending?
Once you finish drafting your initial plans, the ideas for what you can give to your customers and clients are endless.
What can you use to give to customers and clients?
Not sure what you can deliver to clients? Here are some ideas and examples!
- Send stickers! Stickers related to your brand are easy to acquire and cheap to send due to being lightweight. A sticker of your logo would be great, but a fun, ambiguous sticker related to your industry may be even better. Consider taking a visual symbol or element from your logo, turning it into a sticker, and delivering as your chosen surprise and delight item.
- Discount codes! Whether delivered via mail or email, a surprise discount code can be a great way to remind your customers to make a purchase and return to your shopping cart. They’re also free to send via email until the discount is used! A low-cost entry. Remember to include a genuine “thank you” message for your customers’ support and patronage along with your discount code. Handwritten instead of printed notes are generally favored!
- Send a valuable gift! It’s easy to send one of your products as a surprise and delight gift, but what if you sent your customer an item unrelated to your business? This could include a $5 Starbucks gift card, or movie tickets – reserved for when you want to make a big impression.
Your customers are living their fast-paced lives 24/7, so a gentle reminder about your brand’s existence can make a big difference in securing your next sale.
Always remember, however, to apply a “why” to your marketing efforts. Otherwise, you could see your returns diminish and find yourself without a measuring stick to determine your level of success.
What is surprise and delight marketing?
Surprise and delight marketing is when a brand, business or organization delivers an unexpected product, gift, discount code, thank you or experience to a current or potential customer or client. The intention with surprise and delight marketing is to build a relationship with your customers and help them return to your business instead of choosing a competitor.
