7 Tips for Perfect Corporate Gifting

| November 23, 2016

7 Tips for Perfect Corporate Gifting

With the holidays just around the corner and the popularity of corporate gifting on the rise, many business owners seem to be in frantic search for ideas.

Naturally everyone wants to achieve the corporate gifting tour-de-force that would impress their business associates, score some goodwill for their brand and reputation, genuinely make people happy and still be within budget, and unless you are one of the naturally gifted few who seem to effortlessly get it right every time, you will probably know what a challenge this can be.

We try to help by putting together some simple tips that hopefully, will get you started in the right direction.

1. Keep Corporate Policies in Mind

Some companies and Governments set a cap on the value of corporate gifts. You should make sure you know what these limits are before you do anything. Consult with your legal team or do your own research first; the last thing you want is for your gift to be returned by the recipient, because they have violated company policies.

2. Determine the Budget Beforehand

It’s very easy to go over-budget on corporate gifts. It’s also very difficult to choose the right gift if you don’t have a solid budget in place to narrow down the number of options available to you. So it is very important to have the numbers down before you begin shopping – and once you do, remember to stick to these numbers!

3. Focus on the Recipient of the Gift

While corporate gifting is an excellent opportunity to shower your clients and associates with your own branded merchandise, it is ultimately a better idea to focus on the recipient and give them something that they’ll love and use regularly. This would show that your intention was to honestly please the recipient rather than to blatantly promote your brand.

4. Personalise Wherever You Can

People love receiving personalised gifts because it shows that you made an extra effort to please them. It’s not very difficult to personalise a gift and you don’t even have to consider a person’s likes and dislikes. You can attach a simple hand-written note to your gift or deliver it to the recipient personally for it to have an impact. The person who receives the gift will usually be quite flattered from the personal attention. Brownie points!

5. Quality is the Make or Break

When it comes to mass corporate gifting, it is important to try not to compromise on quality. It is probably better not to gift anything, rather than give something of poor quality and design.

A decent quality, thoughtful gift will reflect well on your business and what it represents for a short time. On the other hand a gift with a dubious enough quality might very well linger in the recipient’s memory for years and leave lasting damage on your brand.

If you feel like you may very well end up doing the latter, it is probably a better idea to avoid giving the present altogether. Instead opt for a hand written note or a card to express your well wishes.

6. Use Attractive Packaging

Opening the gift is an important part of the experience and often gives people great joy. A carefully wrapped present will show sincerity and bring a smile to your clients’ and associates’, faces. So it may be worth spending a little time and money on the packaging.

7. Try to Avoid Sweets

Chocolates, cookies and other sugary delights might seem like an easy and go-to gift idea, but for the modern health-conscious consumer, they may not be a good option. Their consumption tends to be harmful (albeit delicious) and some of your clients and associates might not be allowed to eat them due to dietary concerns like allergies and diabetes.

Corporate gifting doesn’t have to be complicated for time-consuming. If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to successfully impressing your clients and business partners.