On the surface, Harry and David may seem like great corporate gifts to send.
They have a trusted brand, well known in the food gifting industry.
But you will not receive the impact you expected if you give a Harry and David corporate gift. Chances are, you’ll waste a lot of money on your marketing campaign.
Benefits of Corporate Gifting
Before I share the reasons why Harry and David would make bad corporate gifts, I want to share the reason why you’ll want to send a corporate gift in the first place.
Helps You Build Relationships
A strategic corporate gift will help you build and solidify relationships with people who are going to move the needle in your business.
For instance, they may be prospective clients who are going to sign million-dollar annual contracts, or they are star employees who you want to make sure know how much they mean to you.
But this can only work IF the gift is used.
For instance, if your recipient is allergic to a particular type of food, then they may not be able to enjoy a Harry and David product.
High ROR
We don’t use the term ROI as much as we use ROR, Return on Relationship.
Here’s why.
An solid ROI requires a return as quickly as possible. If you put $1 into a marketing campaign, you need to see $3 right away.
With a ROR, we are looking to build relationships over time. When we put $1 into a relationship campaign, we are going to see hundreds of dollars paid out over the course of years!
The 7 Keys to a Great Corporate Gift
1. Practical
Make sure your gift is beneficial to the recipient. A gift that can be used daily (or at least 3-5 times a week) is unquestionably more valuable than a fancy item that practically has no use.
2. Personalized
To stand out from the crowd, create some personalization in your gift. This can be done with an origin story for the gift, or giving it some sort of personalized branding.
3. Best-in-class
You absolutely can not compromise the quality in any way. So, try getting a product of the highest quality within your budget. Longevity should be your topmost priority in this case. You want to make sure their grandchildren are able to use the gift.
4. Luxury
To find an appropriate gift for customers, browse their social accounts to determine their interests and hobbies. Perhaps get them something they wouldn’t buy for themselves but would appreciate a lot if given to them.
5. Handwritten Notes
Don’t underestimate the value of personalizing your message by hand-delivering it or penning a handwritten note clarifying your intentions. Notes are always a way to add a special touch to anything.
6. Including Inner Circle
Another point to remember when you’re giving a gift is how you can make it useful for the recipient’s family.
We can’t tell you how many client’s have come to us and said “my wife is your biggest sales advocate. She absolutely loves the gift that you sent us!”
7. Create Continuity
Try to create a theme or pattern with your gifts. In this way, you can make sure that the customers are looking forward to getting your gift. Multiple gifts can snowball an emotional impact on the customers.
3 Reason’s why Harry and David Corporate Gifts are a Bad Idea
One of our commandments is: “Thou Shalt Never Give Food as a Corporate Gift”.
Not Practical
Harry and David gifts are not practical. Remember, we define practicality as a gift that is used 3 to 5 times per week.
Once the food is consumed, then it is gone.
Buying a gift that will be used 3 to 5 times per week is critical in strategic gift giving. You are trying to win over the hearts and minds of your recipient.
So a person who uses your gift 3 to 5 times per week is going to either consciously or unconsciously think of you EVERY time they use it.
They will never forget you and the relationship you have with them.
Compare that to food. Once it’s gone, do you really think they’ll remember who sent them that Harry and David gift a year from now? Most likely not.
Not Best in Class
The quality of Harry and David food is probably really good.
But we define best in class as something that can be passed down from generation to generation.
Can you see your grandkids or great-grandkids using this git?
Yes, it’s a high bar.
But food is both a perishable and consumable product. The Harry and David gift won’t last past a week or so.
Can Exclude Inner Circle
And finally, you want your gift to be as inclusive as possible. You want their wife/husband to be able to use it. Or you want their assistant to use it.
I can’t tell you how many clients have come to us and said “My husband/wife loves the gift you got us. That’s the reason why we’re working with you.”
But with a Harry and David gift, you risk excluding members of the inner circle.
Imagine you send a beautiful cheese board to the office, and the person’s assistant hates cheese.
Are they going to remember you the next time you call and put you through to their boss?
Probably not.
Final Words
Unfortunately, Harry and David can seem like great corporate gifts, but after further analysis I hope that you can see that you wouldn’t want to waste your money.
But if you’re looking for a fulfillment service that has ALL that and more, get in touch with us, and we’ll help you craft a gifting service that caters to your business needs.
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