In The Spotlight: The travel consultancy struggling to make an impact

Last year, we were approached by a boutique travel consultancy who were keen to elevate their gift-giving over the Christmas period. Each year, they would send their most important clients a festive hamper filled with olive oil from Umbria, wine from Mendoza and pecan nuts from Chihuahua. To them, the gift was thoughtful and on-brand, but it wasn’t making an impact. There were no thank-you emails, no sudden referrals, no Christmas cards.

While the company had put some thought into their hampers, they weren’t making an impact for so many reasons. Christmas is a busy time for us all, and the consultancy’s clients are no different. They would have been receiving so many gifts in the lead up to Christmas, their desks would have been groaning under the weight of bourbon, wine, cheese boards and candied nuts.

 It was time to gift something unusual, something surprising, something that still spoke to the consultancy’s values and ethos, but that the client would get excited about, and actually use

For them, I sourced a new-to-the-market digital translator, which translates in real-time. It was sleek, it was practical, and it was going to be used time and time again – which means the consultancy would spring to mind, every single time.

Not only was the translator a cool piece of tech, but the personalised leather case transformed it into a really personal, one-of-a-kind treasure. The translators were gift-wrapped and sent to clients with a handwritten note.

The feedback was phenomenal. Not only did the consultancy actually receive emails and cards thanking them for the thoughtful gift, but referrals from those gifted clients, referrals increased by 37%, accounting for more than £450,000 worth of business.