By Instant Imprints – Jacqui Antonetti, Marketing
It’s that time of the year when business owners and/or professionals in managerial roles start to think of ways to show appreciation to their customers, as well as to their 
employees for their loyalty, hard work and the value they add to their business.
A corporate gift is the most common way to show that appreciation. However, not any gift will do. What do you mean? You may ask. Well, the answer is simple: put yourself in the position of the recipient. How many times have you received a gift that you find not very relevant, useful, or appealing? What were your thoughts about that? Most importantly, what were your thoughts about the person who gave it to you. Now think of the times when you have received gifts that you really like and ask yourself the questions again.
Do you now see the value of treating corporate gifting as an art?
In the business world there’s not much difference with the personal world because, businesses are run by people! Decision makers in business are people! Therefore, we must create our business strategies keeping always in mind that we are talking to people, not to brands or corporations.
So, how do we master the art of corporate gifts?
As I mentioned before, giving away corporate gifts is not so different from giving a personal gift. The same principles apply.
- Set up a budget. My suggestion here is to set a flexible budget instead of a very tight one that won’t allow you to play around with options. What I mean by “flexible budget” is to create an expenditure range, rather than a fixed amount.
- Create a clear picture on your mind of the reaction/thoughts you would like your recipient to have upon receiving your gift. This is the starting point to begin your selection. However, we must be aware that this is still very broad and it’s heavily related to people’s personal taste and opinions.
- Perfect balance. Holding the vision of the expected reaction in mind and with the purpose to avoid the bias of personal opinions, let’s focus now on creating a perfect balance between the features the gift should have to represent thoughtfulness. Things such as functionality, relevance to what they do, perceived worth (does it represent more than it actually costs), and added value
are key features. Yes, appeal is important, but that should come after assessing all the previous features. In other words, what product is highly functional, relevant, represents more than it costs, adds value to my customers/employees, AND looks nice?
- Be creative. It is important to look at trends because it gives us a good idea of what is working for others and what is not. However, it is also important to stand out. Creativity doesn’t have to mean to create something that has never been created before. Creativity really means to find new ways to do what others are doing or finding new ways to use what has already been created. So, if you really like something that is trendy, but you still want to stand out, then think of a different way to present it, imprint it or even to use it.
- Make it representative of your brand’s values. Credibility is key in any business and one of the most effective ways to be credible is living by our business’s values. Therefore, our corporate gifts must represent our values. If one of our values is timely delivery, then we must assure that our gift is delivered towards the start of the season rather than by the end of it. Or if our business focuses on sustainability, our gift should reflect that as well.
- Have fun. Instead of making the gift selection process a “task” that needs to be completed, make it an excuse to have fun with your team. This will trigger your team’s creativity and, believe it or not, that good vibe will be imprinted in the items you’re giving away. And who doesn’t like to be around people and objects that spread a good vibe?
At Instant Imprints we provide you with a vast range of options for you to choose from and recommendations that suit all intentions and budgets.
Keep in mind that we are an owner operated business network and because of that we perfectly understand your business needs. Therefore, we will always support your business growth by helping you make it more visible, and more importantly, to make it positively visible! So, don’t hesitate to visit a center near you.
