For financial advisors, insurance agents, and service-based professionals who want gratitude that lands—not gratitude that scrolls past.
This is Post #6 of our Thanksgiving Series for Trust-Based Businesses.
New here? Start with Post #1: Thanksgiving Marketing Ideas for Your Business (That Don’t Feel Salesy or Overdone).
TL;DR
Thanksgiving isn’t about marketing; it’s about trust. Clients don’t feel appreciated through graphics, mass emails, or seasonal captions; they feel it through behavior. Real client appreciation comes from proximity, empathy, and proof: being reachable in busy seasons, tailoring your message to real situations, and showing the impact you delivered this year. This guide reframes the holidays as a chance to create genuine connection and offers practical tools (a personalized letter, a year-end guide, and a single honest social post) that reinforce clarity over performance.
The Problem: “Client Appreciation” Has Become a Performance
Every Thanksgiving, the internet fills up with the same content:
- Inspirational quotes on pastel backgrounds
- Generic “Thanksgiving” posts
- Black Friday-style “Thanksgiving Offers” for services no one should ever discount
It’s warm, it’s friendly… and it’s forgettable.
Because clients aren’t measuring your appreciation by the quality of your holiday graphics.
They’re measuring it by the quality of the relationship they experienced this year.
If the tone doesn’t match the behavior, the message doesn’t land.
If the gratitude feels staged, it doesn’t build trust.
This guide is the opposite of the typical Thanksgiving playbook.
Clichés don’t help. Templates don’t connect. Performance doesn’t build trust.
Just the behaviors that make people feel genuinely seen and supported.
What Client Appreciation Is Not
Let’s name it so we can leave it behind.
1. It’s not a Black Friday discount for complex services
Financial planning, Medicare advice, retirement strategy, estate guidance. These aren’t things people should buy on promotion.
Discounting expertise feels like discounting the relationship.
2. It’s not a sentimental post with no follow-through
“Grateful for our amazing clients!” means nothing if:
- calls go unanswered,
- reviews sit unaddressed,
- emails feel automated, or
- the last time you checked in was March.
Gratitude is not a caption. It’s a pattern.
3. It’s not a mass email pretending to be personal
Every client can tell when they’re one of 3,000 people receiving the same holiday note.
“Dear Client” is not appreciation.
It’s formatting.
What Real Client Appreciation Is
Done well, appreciation doesn’t create noise.
It creates closeness, the kind that builds belief.
Below: how each of the Five Behaviors of Real Trust shows up in a Thanksgiving context.
1. Proximity: Be Near When It Matters
Good advisors don’t appear once a year with a pretty message.
They show up in the moments when clients genuinely need clarity.
For Thanksgiving, proximity looks like:
- Mini in-person gatherings
Small breakfasts, open houses, or “coffee & clarity” drop-ins.
- Office hours
A 60-minute block during Thanksgiving week where clients can ask
“Should I be doing anything before year-end?”
- Q&A sessions
Live or virtual “Year-End Questions You Don’t Want to Google.”
Clients don’t need another email.
They need someone who still feels reachable in a busy season.
2. Empathy: Appreciate the Person, Not the Portfolio
This year was heavy for many people.
And “Happy Thanksgiving!” doesn’t land the same for everyone.
Empathy = segmenting your message by lived experience.
Examples:
- Pre-retirees:
“As you approach a milestone year, the holidays often come with big decisions.
We’ll walk through them with you—no rush, no pressure.”
- Clients facing loss or health changes:
“This season can feel complicated. If you want to pause, slow down, or
break decisions into smaller pieces, we’ll match your pace.”
- Small business owners:
“Before you sprint into Q1, let’s make sure nothing critical falls through the cracks.”
Empathy is not polishing the message.
It’s adapting it.
3. Proof: Appreciation Backed by Behavior
Nothing strengthens trust more than showing what you did for clients this year.
Instead of vague gratitude, share real outcomes:
- “We reviewed 127 retirement plans and adjusted 78 for inflation shifts.”
- “We helped X families navigate Open Enrollment with fewer surprises.”
- “We flagged and prevented Y financial risks before they became problems.”
Proof transforms:
“We appreciate you.”
into
“Here’s how we supported you.”
Real appreciation is evidence-based.
Translating This Into Marketing Pieces
Client appreciation shouldn’t be louder.
It should be truer.
Here’s a three-piece Thanksgiving toolkit that reflects proximity, empathy, and proof—without performative noise.
1. A Personalizable Thanksgiving Letter (Direct Mail)
Physical mail feels more honest than digital noise.
The letter should:
- Acknowledge the year (the real year, not the Pinterest version).
- Reflect the client’s segment (pre-retirement, caregiving, business owners, etc.).
- Name one specific thing you consistently helped them do in 2024.
- Offer a simple next step:
“If you want clarity before year-end, reply to this note or call this number.
No pressure. just support.”
This is where Plum shines:
clean layout, human tone, no fluff, and no fake personalization.
2. A “Year-End Questions You Should Be Asking” Guide (Downloadable PDF)
This guide positions you as the advisor who tells clients what they really need to know, not what the marketing calendar says you should say.
Sections include:
- “Questions to ask if you’re retiring soon”
- “Questions to ask if your health or family situation changed this year”
- “Questions to ask if you run a small business”
- “Questions to ask if you’re unsure where to start”
It’s bold, direct, and actually useful.
And most importantly:
It turns your Thanksgiving message into a tool, not a performance.
3. A Single Social Post That Doesn’t Pretend to Be Something It’s Not
Forget the pumpkins. Avoid the stock photos. And leave behind the cursive fonts that whisper “gratitude.”
One clean, Plum-style post:
“If this year stretched you thin, your marketing should do the opposite —
make decisions easier, not louder.”
This post does three things:
- Cuts through holiday noise
- Acknowledges client reality
- Reinforces the advisory role: clarity > content
Think of it as the anti-Thanksgiving post.
The one clients actually stop to read.
Final Thought
Thanksgiving isn’t a performance opportunity.
It’s a chance to reconnect with the people who trusted you enough to let you into the financial, emotional, and practical corners of their lives.
Client appreciation isn’t seasonal.
But when you do it during a season that’s full of noise, it shows people exactly who you are.
And if you want your Thanksgiving message to feel believable, not decorative, Plum can help you build the pieces that match your behavior, not just your branding.
If you want help crafting your Thanksgiving letter, guide, or social posts:
Plum can build it with you.
Want Plum to help you craft your campaign? Let’s Talk.
