I know it’s only October, but you need to get serious about planning your corporate holiday gift giving strategy. Showing your appreciation to your clients, business partners and the often forgotten employee is a MUST. Follow these tips to get the most out of showing your appreciation.
Some might argue that holiday greeting cards and corporate gifts are simply self-serving marketing campaigns camouflaged in wrapping paper and colorful envelopes. This is why you must put some serious thought into what you are giving your clients, while a logoed pen has its place for trade show give-a-ways you have to step up your game and ditch the low end promotional product mentality.
The easy way out is to order a bunch of Coffee Mugs with your logo and ship them out. But take that same Coffee Mug and drop in a gift card that you know your client would really appreciate and use. And since you have really taken the time to get to know your clients you know their likes. Joe goes to the movies every weekend, so a Coffee Mug with a Movie Gift Card is perfect. Sarah loves eating out at Buffalo Wild Wings, so a Coffee Mug with a BWW Gift Card is perfect for her. You get it now – you have to make the Corporate Gift personal to really show you care and appreciate your clients business.
Corporate Policies Vary Be Sure To Check
I remember every year like clockwork one of our biggest clients would send out a letter in mid-October detailing their corporate policy on sending gifts or incentives (as they called them) to their employees. They were not allowed at all – not even a five dollar Starbucks Gift Card. They did say that if we “vendors” felt compelled to give, that donations could be given to the list of charities at the end of the letter in their name. Most companies allow a maximum value a gift can have, I find that most are capped at $25. So do your due diligence and make sure you are allowed to send corporate gifts to your clients.
Gift Giving Is Expensive
How do you give a great gift to your 2,000 clients at $20 bucks a pop that’s $40,000? It takes some planning and basic math – if you know the yearly and life time value of a client you’ll know if they are worthy of a $5 gift or a $100 corporate gift, or no gift at all. You may need to have different gift value levels for different clients to ensure all your clients are shown some love. But know this if you don’t show them how much you appreciate their business there is a competitor out there lurking in the dark ready, willing and able to drop $40,000 on gifts to get your 2,000 clients.
Useful Corporate Gifts Are A Must
What is thought to be useful to you and I, may be of no use to the next guy or gal. For instance I love Magnetic Memo Clips, I have them all over the office and even on the refrigerator at home. Is that a great corporate gift? – well it’s useful for sure and if it was clipped to a Gift Card to my favorite coffee house, Tim Horton’s (because as your client you know I love Tim Horton’s) boom you just hit pay dirt with me and I know you appreciate my business, plus a Magnetic Memo Clip with your company logo will now be in my office or home seen every single day.
Giving corporate gifts should be a part of your marketing strategy, make it fun and get your employees involved. Do not forget to show your appreciation this holiday season to your employees, they are a huge part of your company’s success. If you follow these tips and start the process now you will not be scrambling around looking for fruitcakes at your local market leaving a really bad taste in our client’s mouths.
What Corporate Gifts have you received that you loved and what ones did you regift or trash?
[Tweet “I just learned some great Corporate Gift Giving Tips”]To Your Success!
Tim Somers
Bizarre Marketing
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