For the past few years, at the start of the school year, I would do something extra for my clients. I’ll go to websites like openschoolbag.com, order for them the books that we’re going to use for the year, and get them delivered to their doorstep, at no extra charge. I told my clients that these are my gifts for them. They love it.

I could have charged for the books. As a friend commented, I am already doing my client a favor by telling them what to buy. There is no need to go the extra mile to make it free for them. “You have too much money and time, is it?” My friend chided me. “Maybe you’re not suitable to run a business. Good businessmen are calculative!”

No, I don’t have too much money or time. But I do want to make it a little easier for my clients so that they don’t have to make an extra trip to the bookstore to get the books. Sometimes, the books are out of stock, and they will have to try their luck with different stores. I have been through that. It was not fun.

Also, I figure that this little gesture, while costing me about $20-30 per student, is a worthy investment to delight them. I am not diligent in writing cards or buying hampers for my clients. Gifting them the books they need is my way to thank you and make them feel appreciated.

It’s easy to think that

-things are expensive…

-times are bad…

-I must keep as much as I can for myself…

-just following the market practice…

-clients are not going to appreciate my gestures anyway…

-eventually it’s the results that counts…

And stop doing what I am doing.

Granted, these are very valid reasons. But I think, if we are able to do something that warms the heart of our clients, even if it costs some money, even if it doesn’t get any immediate returns, it is still worth doing.