Want to express your appreciation to shoppers? Thoughtful leave-behind gifts will make a lasting impression with your customers
“You get a car! And you get a car! And you get a car!” Oprah Winfrey made a lasting impression on her daytime talk show audience on the day she doled out all those new vehicles. Heck, she made an impression far beyond her TV studio, as her exuberant announcement instantly turned into a meme.
We don’t expect you to shower shoppers with presents as lavish as those Oprah can give, but your customers will appreciate tokens of your gratitude for their business.
To make your own lasting impression, we suggest tucking a few considerate and useful items into a small gift bag to leave at the time of delivery. Your delivery team can present the gift bag directly to your customer or leave it on the newly setup mattress — either way, your customers will remember your thoughtfulness. If you’re e-commerce only, tuck a gift packet into the delivery box. One Sleep Savvy editor regularly orders from an e-commerce company that always includes fun, on-brand stickers, magnets, postcards and other unexpected items in every package.
But before we start the list of great gift ideas, we need to give our standard caveat: Sleep Savvy doesn’t recommend offering a pillow and other sleep accessory as “a free gift with purchase,” believing it devalues the products in the minds of consumers and reduces your opportunities for important ticket-building sales.
Now, for the fun stuff.
Here is a list of some of the best customer gifts. These treats are sure to delight:
- Chocolates or mints
- Nightlight
- Chamomile or Sleepytime tea
- A lavender-scented candle
- A small bag of cookies or brownies (with a cute note not to eat them in bed!)
- Plushie teddy bear or Serta sheep (if you’re delivering kids bedding)
- Eye mask
- Creamy hand or foot lotion
- Tiny booklight for bedtime reading
- An aromatherapy spray (lavender, vanilla, jasmine)
- Bath salts or bath bomb
- A small journal or blank book (to write down worries or to-do lists before bed)
- A handwritten thank-you note from a store manager or retail sales associate
- The practical, too
- It’s OK to use your store’s thank-you gift bag to
leave a few practical items with customers. Just make
sure there are more fun treats than paperwork. You can include: - Coupons for future mattress or sleep accessories purchases
- Copy of the mattress warranty and your return policy
- Spot cleaner for the mattress
- Extra batteries for adjustable base remotes
- Sleep tips. (The Better Sleep Council’s website at BetterSleep.org has good lists.
