There is quite an art to corporate gift giving. It is an exceptional way of saying ‘thank-you’ to current clientele, current employees or even future patrons of your business. Maybe you would like to show appreciation for someone bringing you business or promoting your company. Whatever the reason is, it is the impact that the gift has on the recipient that is an important factor. Corporate gifts can be given at any time although the holiday season is usually a favored time. These gifts can be given to show gratitude for a continued and exceptional performance from employees or perhaps given to someone working under difficult circumstances. Any show of appreciation is usually welcomed but a token gift lifts the spirit and is tangible evidence that one is appreciated.
Family aware companies could give these gifts at times of celebration. A well thought out gift for an anniversary or retirement, project completion or birthday, gives a great impression of care and attention to detail. Gifts can sometimes be given for long service over set periods. This gives the employee an added incentive to stay with the company, and is great for team building, especially if the value of the gift increases with length of service.
Also consider the appropriateness of the gift. While whole, smoked, turkeys are an excellent gift over Thanksgiving or Christmas, how would it be construed if a ham was sent to a Jewish owned company by mistake? Also, be aware of country customs if you intend to gift on an international basis. You could do untold damage to your company’s reputation if you send inappropriate items. Background checks by alert and intelligent promotional staff should alleviate any such faux pas.
The more usual ‘office’ style gifts include desk sets, pens, key chains etc or any other office paraphernalia, with your company logo added, which is excellent advertising. Take care if sending decorative items since most offices have a ‘theme’ or color which may not suit the gift you are sending. If it is personal gifts from one executive to another, logos are best left off the item since they could appear to be a little tacky.
Presentation, too, is vitally important so that the gift does not look cheap. Beautifully presented gifts, even of small monetary value, will be appreciated much more than thoughtlessly wrapped gifts. Some gifts, like cookies and chocolates, come in well designed boxes that can be utilized once the edibles have been used up. In this case, the company logo can be presented on the cookies themselves which is a cute idea for promotional purposes.
Food baskets are always most welcome and nothing impresses more than a gourmet style basket filled with all kinds of goodies. There are ‘office party’ sets with more than twenty types of delicious food items that can be sent from one office to another. For the executive, try giving a smaller gourmet style basket for his or her own personal use. Of course, these are not restricted to office parties; they would also make great family style gifts especially during the festive season or religious holidays.
There are many and varied types of executive style ‘toys’ that could be appropriate to give. Miniature roulette or chess games, hour glasses or silver coaster sets, are just some examples of the small, distinct gifts that can be given. These can also be engraved discreetly with your company logo or initials and would look great on any executive’s desk. Try out a silver yoyo for those moments when executive minds need a little distraction!
Travel bags, made of quality leather, make excellent executive corporate gifts. Laptop computer bags, weekender cases and briefcases are always a classy gift and will be appreciated greatly by the recipient. These too can be engraved with your company logo and is a permanent reminder of who gifted this invaluable piece of luggage.
Glass is also a useful and aesthetically pleasing corporate gift. Logos are easily etched onto this medium and the overall effect is both sharp and stylish. Glass business card holders, floating candle glasses or vases, all with a personalized touch, are supremely elegant and look good in any office setting. Crystal items also look chic and graceful and come in many forms appropriate for the office or executive desk. Crystal paper weights, in many different forms and styles, ‘award’ style keepsakes plus multi-faceted crystal key chains are very modern, up-to-the-minute type of corporate gift that could fit into any ‘clean cut’ office.
Indeed, there is a huge range of gifts that would suit many corporate gifts giving programs. The list is virtually endless but one should consider the message that you want to send to your clients, customers or work force. ‘Down home’ style gifts of food and family style keepsakes may not be right for the upcoming dot com style company. Neither will sharp, stylish, well designed gifts be right for the more traditional companies. This is a golden opportunity to place your name or product right in the heart of your client’s office or work force and as such a little forethought is needed to maintain your corporate image or the image you want to project.
It may be a wise decision to purchase all your corporate gifts from one source as this will give an element of continuity, style and quality. Gift vouchers would also be a rather good idea since you will be assured that your client or employee will get exactly what they want as a gift. This, of course, takes out the guess work!
One important thing to remember when giving gifts of any kind to an organization or group is to check out their policies beforehand. Some companies will restrict the value of the gift and the occasions it can be given. After all, you don’t want to be seen as giving a ‘bribe’ or ‘sweetener’ to purloin business, especially during the bidding period. This, of course, could do more harm than good for the reputation of your company and would rather defeat the object.