Run a successful gifting campaign by avoiding clichés
Building genuine connections with your clients is a difficult mission, but essential to your business' success.
The best and easiest way to show your gratitude for their contribution? A no-brainer and effective solution is sending them a gift!
A purposeful and well-thought-out gift can strengthen your relationship with them to keep your business top-of-mind. Practicing corporate gifting reaffirms your clients the extent you value them and appreciate their partnership.
Sending an impactful gift can be a daunting task, but we’re here to help you to simplify it. Follow the list for 5 corporate gifting clichés to avoid and make your next gift memorable.
- Over-promotional gifts
- Impersonal gifts
- Holiday season gifting
- Poor presentation
- Not observing religious & cultural beliefs
1. Over-promotional gifts
First thing first, identifying which group your gift recipients fall into is vital for your success in a gifting project. In this article, we're taking the "customers & partners group" as an example, to which we refer as "client". That said, you want to distinguish your clients from other groups.
Gifting them branded items like mugs or pens you would give away at trade shows or events won’t relay that message. This is not the time to shower your brand name all over your gift. Less is more when it comes to branding your gift. Consider no more than 1–2 logos on your gift. Enough to let them know it’s from your company but not feel like it’s a marketing ploy.
Gifting something outside common company swag asserts that your clients are more than just typical customers.
2. Impersonal gifts
Too often clients receive common one-liners along the lines of “thank you for your business with us” that apply to everyone along with a gift that misses the mark. You want your clients to feel unique, which translates to gifting something that conveys the feeling of importance.
Understand your clients by putting yourself in their shoes and thinking about their needs. Give something practical to their liking and add an aspect of personalization.
The small act of handwriting a card with a tailored message can go a long way in communicating your appreciation. It reveals that you took time out of your day to think about them.
There are different corporate gifting services to help take care of your gifting needs. We've nurtured a list of top 10 corporate gifting companies for you to consider. By properly selecting a gifting company that can help with delivering personal messages, you won’t have to worry about the gift being too boring, inappropriate, or impractical.
3. Holiday season gifting
Everyone starts exchanging presents when the holiday season hits. Your gift might end up being one of many and get lost in the frenzy of celebrations.
To stand out from the crowd, sending gifts outside the holidays lets your clients know you care about their business all year round.
Consider sending a gift when your company hits a milestone to thank your client for helping. Another great timing is when your client achieves something extraordinary. Demonstrate you care about their successes just as much.
4. Poor presentation
Sending a poorly wrapped or mislabeled gift may harm the relationship you have with your client. Although wrapping paper and gift decorations seem excessive to some, it highlights the amount of detail you are willing to go through to deliver a gift. Not only does a cleanly wrapped present with added embellishments look sophisticated and beautiful, but also is a physical representation of your gratitude.
Part of the experience is uncovering the gift, so think about the kind of feelings you want to invoke when your clients unwrap the gift. Reliving the sensation of wonder and amazement never gets old when it comes to gifts.
5. Not observing religious & cultural beliefs
Pay attention to your clients. Leave the right first impression by doing your research to send an appropriate gift.
A common mistake we see gift senders make is thinking every gift recipient celebrates the same holidays or observes the same traditions. An obvious example is that different cultures celebrate New Year at varying points in the year.
Acknowledge the diversity that exists within your client demographic when picking what to send. Your client will thank you for respecting their beliefs and be more inclined to maintain business relations with you.
Take it further
In this article, we covered some of the most common business gifting clichés we've seen over the years in the industry. By looking at the review system on Giftpack's platform, we were able to do some simple analysis of gifting campaigns and spot patterns in feedback from the gift recipients.
So the 5 clichés are those anyone who wants to run a successful gifting campaign must avoid, including (1) giving over-promotional gifts, (2) selecting impersonal gifts, (3) doing gifting ONLY during holiday season, (4) having poor presentation, and (5) not observing religious & beliefs.
To take it further, we've written articles on the most unwanted gifts, if you're doing employee gifting instead. And a guide on 10 Do’s and Don’ts in Chinese gifting culture, if you find it relevant.