As with any aspect of business development, your client appreciation strategy must evolve over time. A plan that consists of the odd informational seminar and a holiday party is simply not going to cut it anymore.

Rather, an appreciation strategy should incorporate gestures throughout the year to show your clients that you value their trust.

“Client appreciation is really about client relationships,” says John Horwood, director of wealth management with Richardson GMP Ltd. in Toronto. “If it’s a relationship…then it’s a continuous process.”

Client appreciation strategies have shifted over the last decade, according to Sara Gilbert, founder of Strategist Business Development in Montreal. In the past, she says many advisors would host client appreciation events in the fall or the holiday season, where they would share their market outlook with clients.

But the growing popularity of comprehensive financial planning has resulted in greater emphasis on building relationships with clients. As a result, events have become more interactive and intimate, involving activities such as golfing and wine tasting.

“Once [advisors] started thinking outside of the box in terms of the themes of the events,” Gilbert says, “then people started thinking outside of the [typical] timeline.”

Not confining yourself to one specific time of year is a strategy that will work in your favour, as it provides a greater opportunity to be creative with the events you choose to share with clients. Clients who love winter sports will appreciate a day on the slopes, for instance, and those who enjoy live entertainment are likely to think highly of tickets to a summer music festival.

Spreading these events throughout the year also allows you to hold more intimate events with fewer people. This means you can focus on activities that will strengthen your relationships with your current clients and generate referrals to new prospects, both of which should be the goals of your client appreciation strategy, according to Rosemary Smyth, founder at Rosemary Smyth and Associates in Victoria.

“You’re interacting with [clients] on a deeper level instead of holding one big event where you hardly get to talk to all of them,” she says.

You may also have better attendance at activities held at alternate times of year. There is little purpose to hosting a holiday event if many of your clients are on vacation or spending the winter in warmer climates, warns Smyth.

Your client appreciation efforts are meant to show clients that you are thinking of them. If you solely concentrate on the typical occasions, such as the holiday season or birthdays, your gesture is likely to fade into the background with the other good wishes they receive.

“[That’s] expected,” says Gilbert. “How about doing something unexpected? That’s where the magic happens.”

Consider learning more about the holidays that are important to different clients. Maybe you can send cards or treats to clients on St. Patrick’s Day, Diwali or Chinese New Year.

Horwood and his team have developed a client appreciation strategy that includes educational seminars, fun activities like art tours and barbecues, personalized birthday cards and even postcards that wish clients a happy summer.

“These strategies anchor client relations,” says Horwood. “Very few clients leave us and they work very well [in generating] referrals.”

This is the first article in a three-part series on client appreciation.

Next: Choosing the right activity for your appreciation event.