How Kantata Evolved from Gifting to Gratitude
Joined Thnks:
November 2020
Thnks Solutions:
Challenge
The Client Success team at Kantata was no stranger to corporate gifting. They used a variety of programs and processes over the years to send special items to their customers, but few really hit the mark. In 2020, they had settled into a quarterly routine of selecting five customers per manager, handwriting notes for each, and mailing them along with an order of macaroons. Their Program Manager of Client Engagement, Michelle Della Rocco, was tasked with organizing a spreadsheet of every recipient’s information and passing it along to the macaroon bakery. It was exactly the same each quarter and began to generate less excitement with both the senders and recipients. It was an honest effort, but it just didn’t work well over time. Because of this, the team began looking for a way to redesign their gifting strategy. Then, the Vice President of Client Success received a Thnks. After a great recipient experience, they looked into the Thnks platform and were impressed, especially with the ease of set up and administrative maintenance. Thnks was the perfect solution for Kantata to evolve their quarterly gifting process into an every day gratitude program.
Solution
For starters, Kantata wanted to shift their model to surprise and delight their customers. Thnks allowed them to do just that by enabling their Client Success team to send personalized gestures of appreciation on a consistent basis via email and text. The Thnks platform made it easy to show gratitude at a moment’s notice – instead of waiting for the quarterly macaroon mailing. The Client Success team has seen increased engagement, including more communication and more participation in webinars and online events.
They correlate this directly to their ability to grow relationships using Thnks. Milda Leonaviciute, a Client Success Manager at Kantata, said “I love knowing I can express gratitude to clients for anything they do. It’s the best when they respond with a note of thanks, because it increases their engagement. When I show gratitude with Thnks, it makes my clients feel like they are more than just a contract.” Compared to their previous gifting process, Milda loves that Thnks enables her to send gestures of gratitude for lots of small and unique reasons, which gives her more flexibility to make them personal and timely.
Kirsten Joel, a Senior Client Success Manager, also recognizes the benefits that small tokens of appreciation can have. “Happy clients renew,” she said, “Thanking your clients and their team for their work, and acknowledging those little moments helps me build and foster relationships. Even in times where a client may not have always been happy, Thnks helps me keep our relationship strong and that’s what encourages them to renew.” Michelle added, “The Thnks tool is so easy to use and has such a wide breadth of items to be sent. It allows our CSMs to truly personalize the experience for their clients and be intentional with what they send.“
“Thanking your clients and their team for their work, and acknowledging those little moments helps me build and foster relationships. Even in times where a client may not have always been happy, Thnks helps me keep our relationship strong and that’s what encourages them to renew.”
Kirsten Joel
Client Success Manager
Results
The transition from quarterly gifting to regular gestures of gratitude has made it much easier for Kantata’s Client Success team to connect with customers and thank them for their work. “Our old process saw about a 60% participation rate from our managers since it took a lot of time to pick out who they wanted to send something to and find their information. Now it’s so simple, over 95% of our reps send at least one Thnks each quarter, and most send more! Expressing gratitude is part of our culture,” stated Michelle.
Thnks has helped drive home Kantata’s value of putting people first. No matter if someone is connecting with a business partner, appreciating a customer’s renewal, closing a deal, celebrating a work anniversary, or even joining the Kantata team, there’s always a reason to send Thnks. What started with just the Client Success team has continued to expand to Sales and other departments. As Michelle said, “With Thnks, we’ve been able to make gratitude a part of our client’s journey through their entire lifecycle.”
When They Send
- Meeting reminders
- Renewals
- Apologies during rocky situations
- Welcoming new clients
- Appreciating webinar attendance
- Thanking clients for sharing a success story customer
How They Say Thnks
The Kantata team uses Thnks in many great ways. Milda shared that her favorite Thnks to send is a “Caramel Congratulations” coffee, because she loves to celebrate the little things with something sweet. There’s always a new reason to express gratitude. Kirsten said, “I could send a Thnks every day if I wanted to!” She shared that her favorite Thnks include dinners, coffees, and bottles of champagne to celebrate milestones, and she enjoys recognizing clients who take the time to attend Kantata webinars and trainings. A little treat to thank someone for taking the time to meet with you can go a long way to foster a strong relationship. Additionally, Kirsten shared a sweet story of sending “Coffee for the Week” to a customer who was a new parent and how it was the perfect gesture to help them get by during their first week at home with their baby. Little acts of kindness add a human element to business relationships and are always so deeply appreciated.
Thnks can also be used during tough times. For example, Milda had a client cancel on her because their mom was in the hospital. Wanting to reassure her client that it was fine to cancel the meeting, Milda quickly sent them Amazon Essentials with Thnks. The response from the client was incredibly heartwarming, telling her how much this gesture meant to them and how practical it was while they were taking care of their mom. Reflecting on this experience, Milda commented, “Thnks helps to express our empathy better than words could ever do.” It’s anecdotes like this that reveal the powerful value of sending Thnks consistently and in a timely manner.
