Why it’s important to celebrate (and promote) business anniversaries

It doesn’t matter if your business is turning two, 12, 25 or 238, marking your company’s anniversary with a celebration can be a powerful sales and marketing tool .

Promoting your business anniversary can help with employee morale (recognising their hard work shows they mean more to you than just filling seats), business relationships (by acknowledging the important role your customers have played in your longevity) and raising awareness about your business.

During many business celebrations, we can tend to overlook the customers and don’t necessarily make them part of the celebration. After all, your customers are the reason your business is still in business. Making them a big part of the celebration can strengthen your business relationship, because it shows you value and view them as a partner and contributor to your success, not just an account.

The most important audience for your campaign consists of the customers who supported you through the years and who continue to patronize your business. You should not only make them aware of your celebration, you should include them in it.

So, when you’re planning your next anniversary, consider how to include your customers. Think beyond the simple ‘Thank You’ and reinforce the reasons to continue the partnership by showcasing how you have grown together.

Business longevity and growth is a testament to good management, good products and good service. But just telling your customers you are ‘doing well’ doesn’t convey your success as well as showing them. Never underestimate the power of a good ‘Where we’ve come from’ presentation.

The It's Time 50 Years Logo was a custom design Icon developed for the Direct Selling Industry to help show their history and longevity. This logo was chosen from many to win the Direct Selling Australia award in 2016 and be used across all DSA marketing in 2017. 

Whether you’ve been in business for 5,10 or 20 years, a simple slideshow of the history, and humble beginnings, of your business will leave a lasting impression.

Go outside to your garage, open the door and just stare at what lays inside. Then think about Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc… All of them started in a garage just like yours and are now global success stories. Now think about how knowing their origins impresses itself upon you when compared to where they are now.

That is how your customers and prospects feel when they see your origins side-by-side with the present

Celebrating work anniversaries shows your staff that you appreciate them as much now, as you did when they started, and the successes of the business is a shared success amongst everyone in the company. Work anniversaries are not only an ideal time to celebrate, but also to reminisce and reflect. They are perfect for remembering the fun times, sharing some laughs, and reflecting upon not just the achieved goals, but also the ones that failed because they demonstrate an ability to learn from mistakes and adapt.

HR Consultant, Sharon Lauby talks about the importance of celebrating the contribution of your employees, “Smart companies realise that their people and service set them apart. Work anniversaries are all about recognizing people and their contributions. When done right, anniversaries remind employees that the company cares about them and wants them to succeed.”

While it’s great to recognise historical milestones, and relive past moments, it is also important to look to the future and the make sure customers and employees alike will be with you on this journey.