MODULE 3: Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Every year this special day comes along. Their family, and likely their friends, acknowledge their birthday. With Facebook reminding us all of everyone’s birthday it’s likely they will also get a lot of Happy Birthday’s from all their Facebook friends.
This all begs a somewhat obvious question…should you acknowledge their birthday, too?
The answer? A resounding YES!
it just feels good
Being acknowledged. Being remembered. Being celebrated. It just feels good.
Even if you don’t like the feeling of getting older. Or even if you don’t particularly like birthdays everyone likes to feel good.
Remembering your client’s birthday by acknowledging them and celebrating it with them is a feel good opportunity you should not pass up. They expect a happy birthday from their spouse, parents, siblings, or even their kids. But they probably don’t expect you to wish them a happy birthday.
Which is exactly why you should!
How to say happy birthday?
Before we talk about how you should wish someone a happy birthday let’s talk about what not to do.
Do NOT do it via Facebook.
Before Facebook started notifying everyone that it was my birthday getting a happy birthday on Facebook was nice. It was sincere. They remembered and went out of their way to acknowledge my birthday.
But then the birthday app within Facebook made it super-easy for anyone to be reminded of my birthday. Oh, and if you don’t want to be bothered with having to actually do something it will even create and post happy birthday for you.
But here’s the problem. People know that’s what is happening and even if someone did actually remember on their own and post a special comment it gets lost in everyone else’s Facebook posts.
So don’t use Facebook to say happy birthday!
Instead, you need to make it more personal. More direct. How?
You’ve got a variety of options to acknowledge and celebrate someone’s birthday so here you go…
- Call: Yep...call them. Simple. But it works.
- Text: Send a fun text message. Use an emoji 🎂 or Bitmoji. Send audio of you singing.
- SlyDial: Not so personal but it allows you to send a thoughtful voice message without having to call and see if they answer. (most wont)
- Email: If you email, make it personal. Include a fun image, animated gif, meme or a personal note that means something.
- Video: You can send a fun video via text message or email. It could be you or a funny birthday video from YouTube.
- Card: Find a fun birthday card (maybe even a cartoon or pop-up card) or create your own on SendOutCards.
- Note: Are you an overachiever? If so, writing a personal handwritten birthday card will certainly make an impact!
- Gift: Send a small gift. Shari's Berries or SendOutCards makes it easy!
Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously
Have fun with this and don’t take it too seriously.
It’s not about you…it’s about your client.
The more fun you have with this the more your client will remember the gesture…and that is the whole idea.
Be goofy on your video. Send a fun animated gif. Sing a silly song.
The crazy and funnier it is the more of an impact you are likely to make.
Anniversary dates can be a bit more difficult to come by than birthdays. But if they completed their You’re Important to Me sheet or form, you should have it!
With a little persistence in asking or some recon work online you can likely find the anniversary date of your clients.
And won’t they be appreciative when you wish them a happy anniversary!?
The Third Wheel
You might feel like the third wheel by getting in the middle of their anniversary celebration.
Get over it!
Hardly anyone acknowledges or celebrates anniversaries which will show your client you care, you remembered and they matter.
But…it is important that you acknowledge an anniversary with respect and appreciation. Not the funny or trivial way we celebrated their birthday.
Happy Anniversary
What do people want on their anniversary?
Well, if they are in love with their partner they normally want time alone…privacy.
How do you wish them a happy anniversary while respecting their privacy?
Give them something they can enjoy together…maybe something like this…
Chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries make a great anniversary gift.
Shari’s Berries offers discount coupons to those on their mailing and email list.
When you visit the site for the first time you will likely be given an offer to sign up for a coupon. If you plan to send out gifts like these regularly it could be beneficial to sign up so you can save this time and in the future, too!
Life is full of opportunities for you to acknowledge and show people you care.
And when you do, they will take notice!
What's New in your world?
Would you like a little help on some ideas of life events you might want to look for? Here you go:
- Engagement
- Wedding
- Divorce
- Birth
- Death
- Sickness
- Accident
- Kid’s Birthday
- Graduation
- New Job
- New Pet
- Death of a Pet
- Moving (hopefully not without your help..but even so, check in – you never know what’s going on)
- New Car
- Vacation
If that isn’t enough to get your mind thinking about the life events you can acknowledge simply spend two minutes scrolling through your Facebook feed. You will find (with a new lens) a ton of things you could acknowledge in the life of your clients.
Facebook is an amazing tool for you when it comes to finding life events you can acknowledge.
But I’m sure you have a lot of connections on Facebook that are not just your past clients.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to see just your past clients so you can look for these events?
You can! With Facebook Lists!
now what?!
Alright, one of your clients shared something you want to acknowledge. And now you’re wondering…now what?!
Sure, you could make a comment or like the Facebook posts. But that’s what everyone does.
You don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. You want to stand out.
High-Tech to High-Touch
Family Vacation
Take the photo from Facebook, have it printed and framed and then mail it to them. Shutterfly makes it easy!
Kids birthdays
Send a fun gift to the kids via mail (or drop it off). Maybe something like Crayon Rocks?
New Pet
You could send puppy treats, chew toy, cat toy, or a gift card to a pet store. Stand out from the Pack and use PupJoy.
miscarriage
This will be a very difficult time for your client and can be hard to show your sympathy. When we encountered this situation we decided to buy a star in their memory.
Death
Acknowledge their loss with a sympathy card, bouquet of flowers or a donation.
But it's a Relationship
Life events are personal. Which is why you should make the gift personal. Put your own touch on it through the gift itself or through the note you include.
You may not be the most relational or emotional person and that’s ok. Don’t worry so much about how you feel and instead consider how your client is feeling (good or bad) and then be genuine in what you send. If you don’t feel right sending something, then don’t. Another option would be to seek out the advice of someone who is more relational (spouse, assistant, etc.).
Or maybe you are relational and thinking this is all too structured for a real & genuine relationship.
Maybe so, but here’s the deal…if you wouldn’t have done something without the system in place to do it, then the system will help you develop your relationships.
Don’t get caught up in the fact that you are building systems around your relationships. The critical piece here is that you are building deeper, more meaningful relationships and if a system is what keeps you on track…well, then so be it!
TAKE ACTION!
- Create your system or set reminders to acknowledge your clients’ birthdays.
- Create your system or set reminders to acknowledge your clients’ anniversaries.
- Create Facebook list(s) and begin checking them for 10 minutes each day to look for opportunities to acknowledge life events.
Estimated Investment
- 2 - 6 hours
- $0