Recently I was working with a client. And they asked me how I decided on the elements of their custom Connection Plan. Psst: If you are wondering what a Connection Plan is, please reach out. I’d be happy to tell you! (Hint: Client/Customer/Employee recognition is a key component.)

Plans and Processes

For starters, I’m a plans and processes kind of gal. P & Ps, as I’ve discovered over 25+ years in marketing, are so very important as they:

• Keep a team on track toward a goal,
• Successors can see what has been done in the past, whether meeting or missing goals.

Keeping track of what you did, the order you did them, and goals (i.e. KPIs) behind them creates a quantifiable way to gauge success for future team members. Documentation is key to evolution and company growth.

Strategic Timing

Second, managing connections and utilizing just the right timing for thanking and appreciating clients, customers, members, and employees, was a challenging puzzle I love to tackle. My five core questions are:

• Do I want to find create momentum in a downtime or leverage an upturn in revenue?
• What is the budget?
• What is the latest fad or trend to jump on? (Pop sockets anyone?!)
• Is there something that is utilitarian in nature that people will remember us for a long time to come?
• What does our communication look like currently? Are thank yous strategically included in it?

Connection Plans

A Connection Plan combines these two elements and strategically targets thanking and engaging your company’s most important people with just the right tempo.

Ultimately, thanking people in a way that excites and engages them is the best way to connect them to your brand.

The Favorable Connection Plan helps clients. Approaching this methodically ensures you connect and not miss any person who spends their money and/or time with you. In my opinion, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do for your company.

Until next time,