Picking out a gift is no easy task, whether it is for a personal acquaintance or a business associate. The case is no different for customers. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of innovative customer gift ideas.
Here at Giftology, we strongly believe in the magic of corporate gifting, which can help you make great strides. Few other tactics offer as much return-on-investment if you do it right.
We’ll also be covering who you should include in your gifting strategy, the ingredients to perfecting the formula, and last but not least, the gift ideas that put you ahead of the curve.
With that said, let’s dive right into it, shall we?
Why Is Corporate Gifting Important?
Here is the thing: corporate gifting isn’t for everyone. You don’t need this practice until you grow to a certain level. It isn’t really a feasible solution for small businesses or startups.
On the flip side, if you’re a corporation or a large business, you can reach unprecedented heights and improve your brand image with a solid corporate gifting strategy.
We can say that corporate gifting is a brilliant strategy a million times, but it won’t mean much if we don’t back it up with hard-cold facts, so here they are.
Employee Retention
Loyalty is the name of the game. It’s going to come up multiple times down the line but let’s focus on how corporate gifting comes into play in terms of retaining your employees.
There are some employees that you need to keep a hold of as a business. They are simply irreplaceable. This may be due to their skill, creativity, game-changer tactics, or a multitude of reasons. Either way, you need them.
If you implement a corporate gifting strategy for these employees, they’ll appreciate working for you a whole lot more and perhaps even be motivated to work harder.
However, it’s a reasonable assumption that not all of you are looking to gift both your employees and customers.
So, how does sending gifts to customers help you encourage employee retention? For starters, you earn more (we’ll discuss how soon), so you can offer higher wages.
Lastly, you’ll get a lot more positive feedback (we’ll cover how this happens, too), improving your brand reputation. This creates a much healthier workplace environment. Everyone is motivated by positive reinforcements.
Customer Satisfaction
We’re discussing customer gift ideas for a reason. Corporate gifting is an easy way to build customer loyalty. Customers stay loyal because a gift that is practical and best-in-class creates a sense of loyalty and satisfaction.
Think about it. Who doesn’t love the idea of having a gift sent to them? There’s a reason why everyone (except the Grinch) loves Christmas. If you pull it off well enough, your customers will forget all about Santa.
Remember how we talked about positive feedback? These gifts make your clients and VIPs remember you and think of you every time they’re using your gift, which is why it’s important to ensure your gifts are practical and can be used every now and then.
Everyone loves gifts, yes, but if you want to nail down corporate gifting right, you have to meet a couple of criteria to ensure it leaves a mark on your client.
Referrals
Now, let’s get down to discussing how corporate gifting is a money-making practice. Customer loyalty naturally leads to referrals.
The best part is you don’t even have to ask for it in most cases. The customers who receive gifts naturally recommend your products to their peers.
Picture this: a company you frequently buy a product from just sent you a great gift. As we established in the last point, you’ll be happy. But you’ll also be inspired to do something.
Whenever someone asks for a recommendation for that sort of product, you are more likely to bring them up and leave positive feedback about that brand. These referrals pack quite a lot.
Not only are you bringing awareness to the product, but you’re also giving them a reason to buy the product. This is a strong referral. This is precisely what makes corporate gifting a great marketing strategy to bring you a lot of profits in the long run.
Why You Should Include Current Customers In Your Corporate Gifting Strategy
We discussed a lot about why you should practice corporate gifting, but what about the ‘how’? We can’t cover that in one article, but we can give you a basic gist and answer a frequently asked question.
Basically, you have three options: you either build a gifting strategy yourself, delegate it to a random employee, or go with a reputable fulfillment service. We know what the best option is, don’t we?
Either way, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. Are you going to send gifts just once or multiple times a year? What gifts are you going to send? And what we’ll be covering now: Who do you send gifts to?
The last question is a little tricky to answer. We think this depends on the size of your business. You need to apply the corporate gifting strategy for your VIP clients, prospects, and star employees.
Remember that once you acquire new clients, you can not leave them out. Your current customers are your biggest asset. You need to keep them happy.
Sending them gifts cements you into their minds as the best option and encourages strong loyalty.
These customers are your biggest sources of referrals in general. Imagine how much that number spikes up with gifts. That’s some great ROI if you ask us.
The 7 Key Ingredients To A Successful Corporate Gifting Strategy
You might be wondering what is the criteria for the customer gift ideas we followed? There are 7 key ingredients you need to sweep your customers off their feet with your gifts. These greatly improve your customer relationships and brand image.
Best-In-Class
We start off with something pretty simple. You need to give a high-quality gift. You can’t just give flimsy gifts and expect great rewards. You need to invest a little to make a profit.
It really shows that you care. The customer satisfaction received from a brilliant gift massively towers that received from an average or poor gift. Caveats like this make a huge difference.
Also, make sure that they last quite a while. No one truly appreciates a good that doesn’t go the distance. Some goods need to be sturdy to fit their purpose.
Practical
The reason we say your gifts should last a good while is that customers should be using the product frequently. Every time that they use the product, they will think of your brand.
The general rule of thumb is that they should be using these gifts multiple times a week (3-5 times). This is sure to cement your brand into their minds.
This just goes to show that less is more in the world of corporate gifting. An extravagant gift may wow your customers, but they won’t really remember you or your gift if they aren’t practical.
People are so obsessed with getting unique and cute products that they forget the value of a daily household item people might be using everyday.
Luxury
This is pretty straightforward. Get your customers something that they would never get for themselves.
Personalized
Nothing works better than a personalized gift. It shows that you took the time to jazz up a gift for each customer and make them feel more valued.
This personalization can be an engravement or a monogram tailored to them, such as their name or customer tag. It can also be a handcrafted good or one with a rich history or an interesting origin story.
Include Inner Circle
Including the inner circle is a massive game-changer. You gave a gift to a certain client, but is that improving the lives of people around them?
If not, you might need to reconsider your corporate gifting strategy. Think about it. Your client is having dinner with their family, and their children go on and on about that personalized ice cream scoop you’ve gifted.
You don’t need to promote yourself anymore, your clients’ inner circle is already doing that job for you.
Continuity
If you are looking to send multiple gifts a year, it is a good idea to send them in continuity. This means that the gifts should be related to each other.
Make sure the customer gift ideas you use can be sent in a consecutive sequence if you do intend to use more than one of these.
Handwritten Note
This is an absolute must. You need to send a handwritten note to show that a lot of thought went into the package. It really boosts its value.
10 Unique Customer Gift Ideas
Now that you know why corporate gifting is important, why you need to include current customers in your plan, and the key ingredients to perfecting a gift, let’s finally take a look at the best customer gift ideas out there.
Succulents
Photo by Scott Webb from Pexels
Here’s the thing. If your client is a plant lover or an environmentally conscious individual, succulents in an engraved and personalized pot can be a brilliant gift. There are so many different benefits.
Succulents help purify the air and are super easy to maintain. So, it is low maintenance AND something your clients can place on their office desk. Guess who they think of each time they look at the plant?
Coffee/Tea Blends
Coffee has become a daily part of our routines. The obsession makes sense; it tastes great and keeps you active. Coffee may not be your cup of tea, however. (Pun intended).
These blends are a great example of a luxury gift. You are unlikely to purchase fancy sets for yourself.
Subscription Services
Getting your customers a subscription to a learning platform, monthly gift box, or a streaming service might be a gift that keeps on giving, especially in the pandemic where everyone spends more time at home.
By giving your customers a thoughtful subscription service that they will use frequently, you will be in their hearts and minds on a monthly basis. You can present your customer’s a subscription to self-development platforms like SkillShare, Masterclass, Coursera, or Udemy so they can improve their cooking, photography, or level up their business.
If you’re looking for a great subscription gifting service, our team uses and recommends PK’s Gift Closet. The founder sends you high-quality gifts for your gift closet. That way you’re never caught without something to give to a VIP.
Engraved Notebook
On to something much more interesting, notebooks are a great quirky gift that is often well-received. If you can get the design right, your customers will love this simple gift.
Again, it works great for practicality. It can also be considered a luxury as most people are hesitant about splurging on a nice journal.
Books
Books are another luxury that people are hesitant to spend on. If you know your customers well enough, you can find the perfect literary pieces for them. You can also opt for Kindle for avid readers.
Luggage
Photo by Stanislav Kondratiev from Pexels
Luggage is one of those gifts that are thoughtful, practical, and can be part of a gifting continuity program. For instance, you can get your customer a carry-on bag, then follow it up with an overhead bag, and follow it up with the large piece for those longer trips.
This will allow you to surprise your customer multiple times and force them to think of you whenever they are going on a trip for business or leisure.
Spa Kit
A personalized spa kit can be a unique gift for your clients, especially if they’re fond of relaxing stuff. You can include coconut milk bath soak, soy wax scented candles, goat milk soap with sea sponge, and mini-matches.
Virtual Activities
Give the gift of a virtual experience to someone you care about! People will always be able to think back fondly on the experiences they’ve shared with their family and friends. And if you’re the one who contributed to that experience, you will be forever in their heart – giving you the advantage to win their business.
There are numerous companies that offer virtual experiences that can blow your team’s socks off. Everything from appreciation dinners to zoom trivia and more. Contact us 1 on one for recommendations.
Cutlery
Photo by Ella Olsson from Pexels
A beautifully manufactured cutlery set can make an excellent gift for your customers for a couple of reasons.
First, it is very practical. Not only will your customer use it, but everyone in the family will use it on a daily basis. Second, it is a timeless gift. A luxury cutlery set is one of those gifts that lasts a lifetime. And finally, you can personalize it. Imagine a nice engraving that shows your customer just how much you mean to them.
Personalized Flower Vase
Lastly, you can gift a personalized flower vase to your customers. It might not be practical since your clients won’t ‘use’ it every day, but if you put in the effort to make it unique, your clients will think of you every time they look at it.
Final Words
There you have it! Now you know how to give a killer gift to your customers. We hope you found this article interesting and easy to follow.
The most important thing to remember is that you need to put in hard work and time into the process. For some of you, that may not be enough. Good customer gift ideas can only get you so far.
That is why Giftology offers you a holistic gift fulfillment service where you can talk to an expert who will help you come up with a solid gifting strategy. Get to know more about us, and decide for yourself whether or not you need our help curating the perfect gift!
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