Turn mistakes into wins with corporate apology gifting. We'll show you how an apology done right retains customers and boosts your reputation.
Nobody’s perfect, and neither is your business.
It might be a dinner delivered late (and cold) on an anniversary date. Or, perhaps it's an app update that introduces a whole new set of glitches.
Those kinds of mistakes cost your company more than a one-time refund and damaged customer relationships. Thanks to the power of social media and review sites, an unhappy customer can thrash your reputation with just a few taps on their smartphone.
But what if you could turn that oops into an opportunity?
At Giftly Corporate, we’ve spent the last half decade working with companies to solve this exact problem.
We’ll show you how your customer service team can elevate their retention game through the strategic use of corporate apology gifts.
Studies show keeping an existing customer is cheaper than gaining a new one. But, done right, a thoughtful response can not only win back a wronged customer, it can bolster your reputation and gain you new fans.
Sometimes, a well-executed apology can be even more effective than a seamless customer experience.
No one likes admitting they screwed up. But here’s the thing about saying “I’m sorry” in a sincere, meaningful way — it works.
Nine in 10 customers who felt valued by how a company responded to their complaint remained loyal customers, according to a 2022 Huntswood survey of 2,500-plus consumers. Four in five customers who didn’t feel the love ended up telling that company to take a hike.
Even at scale, people appreciate an honest apology. Just ask KFC. In 2018, their chicken didn’t cross the road after a supply chain snafu, which forced 800 of their 900 UK locations to close. The chicken crisis elicited 50,000 angry mentions a day on social media, according to Campaign UK coverage.
In response, the fast food giant took out a full page ad in The Sun and The Metro. They took responsibility for their mistake with a cheeky scrambling of their company name on the front of an empty bucket of chicken and apologized to their existing customer base.
The ad spread from newsprint to digital media and eventually reached one billion people. Positive customer engagement dwarfed the initial outcry and left KFC with more positive brand recognition than before the chicken shortage.
Contrite gestures aren’t a revelation in the corporate world. So why do discounts, refund offers, and other corporate apology tactics fall short when it comes to making customers feel valued?
A common corporate apology strategy is to offer a discount on a future purchase.
This makes a bold assumption: that the customer, who's just had a negative experience, will want to return. Think about it — you're effectively saying, “Sorry we let you down. Come back and give us another chance to perhaps let you down again, but for cheaper!"
The discount approach, while seemingly generous, may come across as tone-deaf, because you’re failing to address the reason you’re offering discounted or free merchandise to a disappointed customer in the first place.
When your service falls short, a refund at least addresses the monetary aspect of negative customer experiences. But this is, frankly, the bare minimum for a corporate apology to keep clients happy.
A refund doesn't communicate the sentiment of a sincere apology or show a strong desire to mend the relationship. Instead, this tactic can feel distant and impersonal. It misses a golden opportunity to elicit a positive emotional response from the customer.
It happens. A product arrives damaged or faulty. Or, it’s the wrong product entirely. Maybe a customer’s order never showed up at all.
Some brands opt to replace the product in a bid to rectify their mistake. Although this seems like a direct solution to the problem, it does not necessarily translate into a customer feeling valued or heard.
A replacement product without an accompanying gesture of goodwill may leave the customer feeling like they received a transactional solution to an emotional problem.
When it comes to saying sorry, an apology letter can add a much-needed personal touch. And yes, you should absolutely do this! But let's be clear: it falls short of actually fixing the problem, and it certainly doesn’t compensate your customer for the error.
A heartfelt letter is a great starting point, but without any tangible resolution or gesture of goodwill, it may just feel like words on a page.
We've seen how traditional apologies can fall short. Now, let's flip the script and introduce an innovative, personalized, and heartfelt way of giving gifts to say sorry.
Corporate apology gifts are the heavy hitters in your customer service strategy. They go beyond the usual, impersonal gestures that simply aim to reset the relationship to neutral. Instead, these gifts offer value above and beyond fixing the problem.
The focus here is on the word 'gift'. The perfect apology gift is something thoughtfully selected and given without expecting anything in return.
When done right, this approach can bolster your brand's image and deepen your relationship with the customer, transforming a setback into a chance for increased customer loyalty.
The only way to know if your apologies are hitting the mark is to set a goal and measure your results.
Common goals for an apology gift program include increased revenue, better brand affinity, and higher customer retention.
By combining metrics on who receives and opens your gift with customer data in your CRM, you can monitor whether your apology gifts lead to higher order volume or average order values, or whether positive sentiment increases on noted review sites or social media.
The most impactful apology gifts are those that resonate with your customer and complement your own products or services. The idea is to create a positive customer experience that counteracts your customer’s negative interaction.
With this tactic, you partner with a business that offers a product or service related to your own.
A recent anecdote from our staff illustrates this concept.
“My daughter’s crib had a piece with a bad bolt hole,” said Zachary Eisenstat, director of sales and business development. “The company immediately shipped a replacement, of course. But they also gave us a gift card to a boutique children’s toy store. I thought it was one of the most successful apology campaigns I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been singing the company’s praises ever since.”
If your customer cares about social causes, consider making a donation to a charity relevant to your business or the customer's interests.
The right gift depends on the business. As a bookstore that delivered a wrong edition, for instance, you could donate to a literacy charity in addition to replacing their book with the right copy. Now, wouldn’t that be a nicer story for your customer to tell?
Instead of a physical item or service, providing a memorable experience can serve as an effective corporate apology gift. This type of customer appreciation could be particularly meaningful if the initial error occurred in a context of delivering an experience.
Here’s one way this could work. Say a luxury hotel double-books a customer’s room. To make it up to them, they get the customer rebooked and also offer a gift card for a local experience, like a wine tasting.
The logistics of sourcing, personalizing, and sending the right gifts can be daunting, especially for busy companies. This is where Giftly can help.
We understand the importance of customer retention and brand affinity to your overall business strategy. That’s why we built our platform to help you execute your corporate apology gifts strategy without the operational headaches.
Let’s say you’re a hotelier that double booked a couple’s room. You could offer them a gift card to a local high-end restaurant along with an apology note.
Giftly makes it easy to build a template. You can select your brand colors, personalize your message, and add your logo. Then choose whether to send the gift by email, SMS, or as a PDF to deliver it personally.
Once you’ve saved the template, it’s easy to scale your apology gifting program without losing that personal touch.
The effectiveness of a corporate apology strategy is as important as its execution. You want to know if your corporate apology gifts are being received and appreciated by the client, as well as if they're influencing customer behavior the way you hoped.
Giftly's platform offers you the ability to track whether your customers actually claim your gifts. You can export all of that customer order data into a spreadsheet, then import it into your team’s CRM.
This integrated data can then show you whether you’ve had to apologize for similar errors, or made multiple apologies to the same person. It can also reveal customer behavior after you apologize.
If they place another order, adjust their online review, or give you a positive shout out on social media, it’s a great sign you’re on the right track with how you apologize to customers.
An apology is often the start of a renewed conversation with your customer. After you've sent an apology gift via Giftly, you can use our “send a thank you button” feature. This acts as an invitation for your customer to continue talking with you. This follow-up interaction can further mend the relationship and even foster a deeper connection with your customers.
The art of the apology gift is more than just expressing regret; it's a proactive, sincere endeavor that goes above and beyond to win back customer trust and loyalty.
Of course, turning a disappointing situation into a memorable moment of redemption requires thoughtful strategy, and the right partner to make it happen.
Giftly makes apology gifting a systematic, measurable, and seamless process. Don't just apologize — make amends, rebuild relationships, and strengthen your brand image.
Let's talk today about how you can start turning your oops into opportunities with Giftly Corporate.
Gifts & Rewards Perfectly Suited to Your Business. Easy to send. Awesome to receive.
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