How to Select a Corporate Gift
Corporate gifts, also known as business gifts, are those gifts given out by a boss or corporation to employees for a holiday or a company anniversary, to demonstrate appreciation for all of the hard work that the employees have done over the preceding year or years. Corporate gifts are also given out to valued clients to let them know that their business is appreciated. Above all, a corporate gift is given to show appreciation for the recipient, so it should never be shoddy or cheap.
Corporate gifts can be a wonderful addition to any business program, but a poorly thought out or shoddily made gift can also be an insult to the recipient. One common mistake is for corporations to confuse promotional gifts or giveaways with business gifts. A promotional giveaway is something inexpensive such as a pen, key chain, laser pointer, or even duffel bag or backpack, which is imprinted with a company’s name and logo and is intended to be given out as a part of an advertising program. These gifts, due to their inexpensive and mass produced nature, are essentially never suitable for giving as a corporate gift. This is not to say that a corporate gift cannot have the company’s name or logo on it; indeed, most of them do. The essential point is that a promotional giveaway is created in batches of thousands, at costs of pennies per unit, and is intended for exactly that purpose: to be given away. For an employee, customer, or client to receive such an item as a gift is tantamount to being told that their contribution is worthless.
One of the easiest ways to determine whether a business gift is a good choice is to think about whether it would make a good present for a family member. A good corporate gift should be a thoughtful token of appreciation for the recipient, and should ideally also be something that he or she can put to use as well. In short, if a corporate gift looks too shoddy or generic to be given as a gift to a family member, then it should not be given out as a corporate gift.
Some other items which are frowned upon as corporate gifts are many of those items which were as common as corporate gifts in the eighties – any tacky sculptures, executive desk sets, or paperweights which look like they could have been picked up at a local dollar store should be avoided. Above all, the object is not to get to most bang for the buck or to find the most glamorous item in any corporate gift catalog, but to choose an gift which will convey appreciation and thought for the recipient.
There are many locations on the Internet which offer huge selections of business gifts to the corporate customer. It is important to do some comparison shopping when selecting a vendor for business gifts, as these sites vary widely in product selection and quality, as well as the individual gift company’s customer service abilities.
Some helpful things to look for are Web sites which will send free samples or allow a company to purchase a small sampler pack to determine the quality of the products, or failing that, companies which allow for unacceptable products to be returned. If a company cannot meet either of these simple requirements, then it is a good idea to keep looking; after all, there is no reason to purchase a large shipment of products from a company that cannot guarantee or demonstrate the quality of their goods. Other helpful attributes are companies which allow more than one product type to be selected in a bulk order, or which have low ‘bulk order’ minimum thresholds. This allows companies to select a wider range of products to give out as corporate gifts, and therefore to ensure that there is a gift available which will please any recipient.
The giving of corporate gifts and business gifts has essentially the same incentive behind it that any other type of gift giving does: to build a stronger relationship. A company that gives a nice corporate gift to a customer who has done a lot of business with them is in essence telling the customer that they are more than just a source of profit, that the company is glad to have the customer’s business and appreciates them as a person. Similarly, by giving a business gift to an employee (especially during the holiday time when so many employees are overworked and stressed out) the company is reminding the employee that there could be no success without his or her contribution, and that contribution is noticed and appreciated.
Typically, most people associate corporate gifts with large companies, and assume that all of the gifts handed out are generic trinkets. More and more today, that paradigm is changing. Small companies are just as likely to give out gifts to valued employees, customers, clients and even some departments within a larger corporation give out their own gifts.
Corporate gifts should not be considered as a part of a company’s general incentive program, in the sense that an employee who sells a certain number of units will get a business gift or an employee who meets a certain criteria will get a business gift. For the most part, business or corporate gifts should be held apart, so that they can be seen to be ‘a cut above the rest’. A good corporate gift should always send a message of caring and appreciation to the recipient, whether it is an employee, a customer, or a client. If an employee can choose their special gift out of a catalog a couple of times a month, then it quickly becomes clear that the ‘special’ gift is nothing more than a consolation prize. Worse, if an employee feels that he or she has gotten a nice gift for a special occasion such as a lengthy service anniversary, and then discovers that another employee received the exact same gift for being the employee of the month or meeting a standard sales quota, then the original employee is going to feel very cheated and disappointed. By keeping corporate gifts as part of a separate, unique program which is intended to show special recognition for a client or employee, the corporation ensures that the gifts will be appreciated in the spirit in which they are intended.
While it is generally considered tacky to give out a promotional giveaway as a business gift, there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving away business gifts as part of an overall marketing strategy. The important thing to remember in these instances is that nothing should be done to devalue the importance of the gift for its intended recipients: customers, employees, and clients. A good way to manage this is to include the name of the company on the gift, if it can be tastefully done (for example, a small inscription on a wall clock could include a note of thanks for a customer’s business and the company’s logo) can make a large impact. This can serve to remind the recipient not only of who the gift is from, but can also make an impression on people who see the item and have not had previous relations with the company. The overall impression the gift should always send is of a company which truly cares about the people it works with and works for.