A gift can cement relationships. Think of Lady Liberty, the statue adorning the skyline of New York City. A gift from the French in 1886, the world-renowned statue celebrates the alliance of France and the United States. The artist and men behind the 46-meter statue dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln and his struggle to abolish slavery, which tore a nation apart. It was a monumental effort that sent the right message of solidarity.
Corporate gift-giving is similar to those commemorations. Although it does not need to be as exhaustive as carving a statue, the practice of corporate gifting can definitely boost your bond. Akin to the Statue of Liberty, corporate gifts can cement business relationships. However, you’d be shooting yourself in the foot if you approach gift-giving haphazardly. Take note that every penny you spend on your corporate gifts matters. It’s definitely not a time for you to be throwing your dollars away. To be effective, corporate gifting must be approached with a plan. In short, it’s a deliberate effort with a goal in mind.
There really are no boundaries to what you can do when it comes to your corporate gifts. You can employ an eGift card, for instance. Alternatively, you can gift an experience (such as concert tickets and airfare). Whatever you do, it’s important that you know the basics and you stick to it for the best results.
Why Should You Give One?
Corporate gift-giving is no random affair. Right from the get-go, that should mean you are well aware of what it can do to people who receive your gifts. Technically, there are two kinds of corporate gifts you can give. One is the internal gifts you give to your employees. The other is the external ones you give to clients and those who support your organization.
As it turns out, some of the major advantages of corporate gifting can give you are:
- Client Development: Corporate gifts is a great way to attract new clients. Moreover, it can cement your current customers. When people go to a trade show, for instance, there’s a greater chance that they will remember those companies that gave them a corporate gift token. That gift can turn a stranger into a prospect and a prospect into a client.
- Brand Recognition: When you give corporate gifts externally, you boost your brand image. It strengthens loyalty from your patrons. Even better, it has the power to attract new customers. Of course, you’ll have to choose your gifts well. Some of the most common ones for corporate clients are key chains, table clocks, and pens. There are a lot of other good options as well. Custom doormats, for one, can work for both corporate clients and consumers. It can easily carry your brand as it’s useful and very visible.
- Employee Appreciation: Internal gifts can work to mobilize your workforce. When you give out corporate gifs to employees who’ve done well, the whole troop is inspired to do better at work. In short, it boosts morale. This can also be used to recognize board members and shareholders. Although it’s a small token, corporate gifts can send the message of appreciation to top corporate brasses.
How Do You Do It Right?
Bear in mind that, as always, you should think of maximizing your corporate gift investment. That means you should be strategic about it. To boot, you can look at possible options to expand your repertoire of gifts. The worse thing you can do is to give them randomly and without much thought. You’d be wasting your resources that way. To help you, here are key parameters you need to look into to do things right:
- Proper Timing: Timing is indeed everything. Most commonly, companies give gifts at the end of the year during the holiday season. While this habit may work for you, it can become largely predictable. Alternatively, you can schedule your gift-giving in other months of the year for maximum surprises.
- The Right Budget: Often, gift-giving can be seen in hindsight and given a minimal budget. Instead, use your corporate gifting as a powerful marketing tool. You can, for instance, give gifts to die-hard clients for their years-long loyalty to your company. In this regard, you should earmark part of your budget to corporate gifts to make them more meaningful.
- Research: Don’t put out generic gifts. That can come out as unappreciated. To make your corporate gift matter, you need to do your research. For one, some industries limit receiving gifts for certain reasons. The medical profession, government, and insurance agencies, for instance, can be limiting. Therefore, you should do extensive research on a client before giving things out.
Additionally, never give a gift to ask someone a favor. That defeats the purpose of a gift. Instead, give a gift to show you appreciate someone. If you do your corporate gifts right, you’d be reaping the rewards more to your heart’s content.
