This year marked the 20th anniversary of our annual Turkey Giveaway and Santa Photo Client Appreciation Event in Sioux Falls, SD. While we average five client events a year, this is the crown jewel—the one that fills our team’s hearts to overflowing.
Over 1,100 people came through our office, 500+ turkeys were given out, and hundreds of kids got photos with Santa (equally delighted or terrified). It was a stunning reminder that gratitude compounds. It’s also a masterclass in how to scale referrals, retention, and relationships through system-based client touchpoints.
And yes, the turkeys are frozen, but the loyalty is not—it’s red-hot.
1. 20 Years of Lessons (and One Frozen Truth Bomb)
Let’s rewind. At our very first turkey event, we handed out grocery store gift cards. Clients were grateful, but it was a total miss. There was no experience. No connection. No reason for anyone to remember us. Zero stickiness. The only thing that stuck was the realization that this was not how we wanted to build a client-for-life model…