Client Gifting – Psychology, Importance, Do’s & Don’ts

Client Gifting – Psychology, Importance, Do’s & Don’ts

Business gifting is essentially a compliance tactic at its very core, where you can reach out to your clients, preferred vendors or prospects with tokens of appreciation with no obligations.

Not only does this convey to your clients that you care about the individual relationship, but it also highlights your business values and identity. It is also a way to let your employees know that you value the hard-work they have put into your business. Corporate-gifting has always been associated with morale-boosting, which can bring about a positive change to your work-place attitude.

Even though the best time to send a gift is usually considered to be before the start of, or during a festive or holiday season, it is always the right time to send them a token of your appreciation. This helps to create a personal connect between you and your preferred clients.

Why Is Client Gifting Important?

We all like being reminded that someone cares. While sending your clients a gift seems like a great idea morally, it also has several other benefits.

Your clients are more likely to pay attention to you when they receive gifts, it shows your business in a positive light, and can improve your image. It can also help to reinforce the partnership or link between your business stakeholders, while also increasing loyalty to your business.

The Do’s of Client Gifting

  • Check the client’s company policies- Before picking out a gift for your clients, do your research on their company policies regarding receiving corporate gifts. Some companies’ compliance departments require the gifts received by their employees to be priced at $100 or under. Any gift that is valued at more might be sent back by HR. Some companies do not allow gifting at all. So, it is important to contact HR and gift accordingly.
  • Consider your audience- To make a good impression on your clients, it is better to understand what kind of a gift will be able to help create a positive image of your business. While office stationery is the most obvious choice for corporate gifting does it show you care? Will it be used? Is it personal enough?
  • Timing is important- If you plan on sending out festive or holiday-themed gifts to your clients, it is important to plan a few months ahead so that you have enough time to order them, get them packaged and attach personalised notes to them. Also send out the gifts a little ahead of time so that your clients receive their gifts on time - consider couriers are often under the pump at that time of the year.
  • Personalise the gifts- Adding a hand-written note along with every gift shows your clients that you care about them. Besides, printed cards are impersonal and do not convey the goodwill as well as hand-written notes do. 

The Dont’s Of Client Gifting

  • Overly branding the gifts- The gifts you send your clients should be all about them, with a small reminder of who they’re from, and not the other way round. 
  • Sending the same gift to everyone- When you send everyone the same gift, the appeal of a personal touch is lost. It also doesn’t feel as special anymore, which loses sight of the whole point of gifting. 
  • Over-the-top gifting- Gifts are all about establishing a personal connect. So, while an elaborate gift sounds like a good idea, there is no guarantee whether your client would like your well-thought-out gift or not, unless it’s an epic gift...then by all means, do it!
  • Gifting personal items- While creating a personal connect with your clients is a very crucial aspect of client-gifting, sending out gifts of personal nature like jewellery (#creep) or clothes isn’t always a great idea - unless you know them well enough . Maintaining a healthy professional relationship with your clients is a must, and care should be taken so as to not overstep.
  • Don’t misspell your client’s names- Don’t be an idiot, It might seem like a very minor precaution, but it is important to spell your clients’ names right.

Let the pro’s help, email our team at The Duo enquiries@theduo.co.nz, and never give a bad gift again!