Introduction to Corporate Gifting 

Not sure whether corporate gifting is beneficial? Worried about not understanding the rules of the business gifting world? Don’t worry, this guide will focus entirely on how to master the art of corporate gifting by giving an overview of some of the most asked questions. 

Since corporate gifting has become a necessity in today’s business world, all the businesses are hopping onto this trend. Every business runs on the loyalty of its clients and the relationship it fosters with them, and all of this can be accomplished by reminding them of your support through personalized gifts, time and again. There are several do’s & don’ts, and other factors to keep in mind when delving into the world of corporate gifting in the hope of getting an edge against your competitors.  

Here’s everything you need to know about business gift giving. 

Definition of corporate gifting

Corporate gifting is the act of giving gifts to the clients to foster and strengthen client relationships and create goodwill, encourage employees, and to applaud an office colleague, among others. Several business objectives are targeted through this simple gesture of sending a gift to your partners or customers in business.  

You can think of corporate gifts as a strategic tool for businesses to grow their clientele and retain the existing ones for a longer partnership and to ensure employee loyalty.   

Importance of corporate gifting in business relationships  

The corporate ecosystem runs on strong relationships among businesses, employees, and clients, so the significance of corporate gifting is invaluable when it comes to 

Showing Appreciation: 

Corporate gifts are the best way to show appreciation towards the clients, partners, employees, or prospective customers. A happy client is the key to growing in business and remembering to appreciate them is the way to go! 

Strengthening Relationships: 

It’s important for companies to cater to their existing clients as well by sending business gifts to them from time to time. Celebrating their milestones and achievements is what will nurture your relationship with them and make it long lasting.  

Brand Recognition: 

When you’re sending corporate gifts to existing and prospective clients, you’re instilling yourself in their minds, so that they remember you time and again. Gifting unique and personalized gifts that reflect your company’s values helps in creating brand recognition through gifts for your business.  

Staying Connected:  

Even if you’re not able to meet and greet clients in the physical world, corporate gifting is the best way to make them stay connected to you and your business. It shows your care towards the client and the invaluable position they hold as your partner in business. This in turn strengthens their loyalty towards your business.  

 Understanding the Purpose and Benefits of Corporate Gifting 

 Objectives and benefits behind corporate gifting  

As we mentioned earlier, corporate gifting serves various objectives for a business, so you can think of it as a one-stop solution. Let’s delve into the topic in more detail.  

Client Appreciation: 

Every business is dependent on healthy client relationships and to achieve that, you must learn to appreciate your clients. Corporate gifts are a gateway into the heart of your clientele to show them that you care. Like every other person, your clients also love receiving gifts, and doing so ensures a longer professional relationship with them. 

Employee Recognition: 

Loyal and dedicated employees are the backbone of a successful company. Therefore, it’s important to show acknowledgement towards their efforts time and again. This is where corporate gifts for employees come into play and allows companies to recognize their team’s hard work and applaud them for the same.  

Brand Promotion: 

Apart from being beneficial in the case of existing clients and employees, corporate gifting also works wonders in promoting your brand to prospective clients. Sending a thoughtfully curated gift their way is the perfect opportunity to ensure that your company is at the top of their mind.  

An Edge Against Competitors: 

One of the most significant objectives that unique corporate gifts serve is to give businesses an edge against their competitors. The corporate world works on cutthroat competition in every aspect, so every company requires something unique to stand out from the crowd and these corporate gifts might just do the trick.  

Corporate Gifting Etiquette 

Do’s and don'ts of corporate gifting 

There are several gifting etiquettes that one must keep in mind when indulging in the realm of corporate gifting.  

Dos of Corporate Gifting 

1. Learn about the receiver’s preferences: 

The first and foremost element of corporate gifting is to understand the preferences of the receiver. Learning about their likes and dislikes will help you assemble a gift that resonates with them. Doing this will also convey your effort and time into curating a gift that is especially for them.  

2. Create a personalized gift: 

Adding a personal touch to a corporate gift creates a sweet balance between professional and personal relationship that you share with the receiver. You could either add a handwritten note congratulating them on a recent achievement. appreciating their hard work or include a useful item for their office that will show your thoughtfulness. 

3. Find the right time for gifting: 

Finding an appropriate time is crucial when it comes to corporate gifting. Festivals, such as Diwali, Holi, or birthdays and anniversaries are the perfect occasions to gift your existing and prospective clients, employees, and other business partners a gift. This reflects your company’s intention of being a part of cultural and personal celebrations with the receiver.  

4. Show cultural and religious sensitivity: 

India’s cultural diversity is what makes it beautiful, but it’s also something to consider when giving out corporate gifts to employees or gift to premium clients. This will again allow businesses to show their thoughtfulness and ensure that you avoid offending someone unintentionally.   

5. Prioritize quality: 

Since business gifts are a way of fostering new relationships and strengthening existing ones, it’s important that your intention is conveyed in the right way to the receiver. A gift hamper will be the spokesperson for your brand, so make sure that the quality of the overall hamper and the products inside is top-notch.  

Don’ts of Corporate Gifting 

1. Avoid making the gift too promotional: 

One of the major mistakes that some businesses make is wrapping their gift in a way that appears promotional. It’s important to remember the objective of corporate gifting, which is to nurture your bond with clients, employees, and partners, instead of promoting your products or services. 

2. Opt out of gifting extravagantly: 

Gifting lavish and extravagant hampers might be construed as influencing business decisions and hoping for favoritism. So, it’s better to keep things simple, classy, and respect the ethical boundaries of the company to avoid any misunderstandings.  

3. Avoid too personal gifts: 

Maintaining a professional boundary when gifting is crucial for businesses. Giving out gifts that are too personal or intimate might make the receiver uncomfortable and might affect your business relationship with them.  

4. Don’t go against corporate gift policies: 

All company’s corporate gift policies vary, so it’s necessary for you to acquaint yourself with them before sending out gifts to them. If you fail to do so, it shows a lack of sincerity on your side, which will affect your professional relationship. So, make sure that you follow the required guidelines.  

Tips for gift presentation and timing 

Now that we’ve covered the dos and don’ts of corporate gifting, let’s move on to the next segment under gifting etiquettes, which is the key part of corporate gifting, the gift presentation and timing.  

1. Make use of high-quality packaging materials  
2. Wrap the hamper in a neat way so that it’s presentable 
3. A handwritten note goes a long way 
4. Stay updated on the important milestones related to the receivers 
5. Festive occasions are popular timings for corporate gifting 

Identifying Your Audience and Occasions 

Key stakeholders for corporate gifts  

You have the basic information about what corporate gifting is and for whom it is applicable by now, but let’s dive deep into this aspect for a better understanding.  

Clients: 

When it comes to giving unique corporate gifts, your existing clients should be one of your top-most priorities. Creating a strong and loyal relationship with your clients is the key to a good business. Meeting the expectations of your clients is the foremost strategy to establish a strong clientele and reminding them of your existence through gift hampers from time to time is what will distinguish you from your competitors.  

Employees: 

The smooth running of a business is highly dependent on its employees. Without a stable force of employees to support the company’s business, no business can achieve heights. Therefore, it’s gradually becoming a trend for companies to gift hampers to their existing as well as new employees, thanking them for their work or welcoming them to their team. Prioritizing your employees’ happiness is what will ensure a longer and successful run for your business.  

Partners: 

Appreciating the support of your partners in business is as important as icing on a cake. So, acknowledge the faith and belief that they have in your business by thinking of unique corporate gift ideas for them. Being the key shareholders in your business, you must keep them satisfied and remind them from time to time about their invaluable position in your company.  

Vendors/Suppliers: 

How can we forget the consistent aid of vendors and suppliers without whom the functioning of a business might run into trouble? These vendors are a significant part of the supply chain and maintaining a stable professional relationship with them should be a corporate business’ priority. Therefore, sending them hampers occasionally can help maintain a healthy relationship with them.  

Different occasions for corporate gifting (holidays, milestones, events) 

It’s all about the right timing! The real essence of corporate gifts is felt when they are sent at the appropriate time or occasion; that’s when they are greatly appreciated by the receiver.  

We’ve got your back when it comes to figuring out what the right time is. 

Festivals: 

There’s no better time than the festivals to send your corporate gifts to their rightful recipient. With a myriad of cultural festivals celebrated in India, including Diwali, Holi, Eid, and more, businesses will find plenty of opportunities to gift their clients, employees, and other stakeholders a thoughtfully curated hamper.  

Diwali is one of the most preferred festivals among companies so it’s better to start planning ahead for Diwali gift hampers for corporates. Gifting a hamper during these occasions allows you to celebrate the festival together in thought, if not in the physical world. 

Milestones: 

When you’re in the business of people, staying updated about the milestones your clients personally or as a company achieve is important. These are the opportunities that are perfect for celebrating their success though a corporate gift hamper, and to make them feel cared for.  

Gifting corporate hampers to your employees for achieving a milestone together as a company also expresses your gratitude towards them as a company. Motivating your employees and acknowledging their hard work on such occasions is what will distinguish you from others. 

Personal Celebrations: 

Apart from the success and milestones that your clients’ company achieves, it’s also vital to remember their personal celebrations, such as birthdays, work anniversaries, and more. This adds a personal touch to your relationship with them while maintaining a professional boundary.  

Gifting your partners, clients and other stakeholders a present during personal occasions emphasizes that you care about them, and not just their business.  

Corporate Events: 

The next opportunity for you to think of corporate gift ideas is during corporate events that either your company is hosting, or your clients’ business is. Both situations call for a specially curated gift hamper to congratulate your client or as returning gifts after the successful culmination of an event of yours. 

Appreciating the participants for their time or being one of the attendees of an event, like a seminar, conference, etc. is the perfect time to give a beautiful hamper full of useful products.  

Setting Budgets and Planning 

 Allocating budgets for corporate gifting 

When you’re delving into corporate gifting as a business strategy, you need to act practically and allocate a budget based on the clients, employees, partners, and other stakeholders you plan on gifting to.  

Making a list of recipients beforehand will help you estimate how much you can invest in the gifting aspect of the strategy. It’s important to assign a reasonable amount for the budget that won’t drain your company too much but will also benefit you. You also need to understand your target audience and whether you’ll deal with premium and high-end gift hampers or economical ones. There are additional costs for personalization and customization that you also need to take into consideration when allocating a budget for corporate gifts.  

Planning ahead for seasonal or recurring gifting occasions 

It’s always better to plan your corporate gifts ahead of time instead of waiting till the last minute as a rushed job can lead to mistakes. Also, ordering a gift hamper well in advance will give you ample time to get into the nitty-gritty aspects of personalization and to put more thought into it.  

Planning ahead for seasonal and recurring occasions beforehand will also make it hassle free at the last moment and the entire gifting process can be smooth sailing.  

Strategies for maximizing the impact of your budget 

When it comes to corporate gifting, it’s all about the right balance. If you spend too little or too outrageously, then you might cross the thin line of professional boundary.  

What’s important is that you plan a budget, and incorporate the right elements into the gift, such as personalized touches, products that have long-term usability, high quality hamper, and other such specifications that require attention to detail.  

These fine tunings will ensure that your message is conveyed in the right way to the recipient because it’s the thought that counts when gifting instead of the budget you allocated for that gift.  

Creative Corporate Gift Ideas 

Curated list of creative gift ideas for different recipient groups   

Now, let’s move on to some of our curated gift ideas that you can check out for your next corporate gifting occasion. 

1. Thank You Basket: 

Thanking your employees for giving their all to make your company reach new heights is one of the most underrated but essential things in business. This hamper is the perfect way to express your gratitude, with a forest trail candle, wooden pencil set, coffee mug, dusky cuff links, cranberry dragees, and more. Put together in a Kauna basket, tied with a satin silk ribbon and a best wishes tag enhances the look of this hamper.

  

2. Celebratory Hamper: 

Celebrating every milestone and personal achievement of your clients’ is possible through this glorious hamper. Packed with worthwhile products, like a daily planner, raspberry jam cookies, Instax mini film, Gulab kulhad, and more, you can expect this corporate gift to impress the recipient while also conveying your congratulatory wishes to them.  

 

3. Thank You Hamper: 

This hamper is perfect for thanking the executives and other stakeholders in the company for their long-term commitment to you. Including customized chocolate, leather notebook, laptop sleeve, speaker, temperature bottle, etc. in a premium leatherette trunk, with a customized printed notecard, this hamper will be a practical yet personalized gift, that’ll be greatly appreciated.  

 

Suggestions for personalized and branded gifts 

If you want a more personalized gift hamper for your stakeholders, then these might do the trick! 

1. Gratitude Galore: 

Nothing expresses your gratitude towards clients better than this hamper, packed with Jaipur planter, almond brittle, hexagonal pastel pen, healing journal, and more. The customized items include a daisy candle and personalized printed notecard, all put together in a water grass label basket with a customized name tag.  

 

2. Gratifying Hamper: 

To encourage your employees and acknowledge their hard work, gift them this premium leatherette box, filled with a mug, power bank, quinoa puffs, and Treat chocolates. Add a personalized touch with a printed notecard and a customized tag, and the satin silk ribbon adds an elegant look to it.  

 

3. Hues of Love: 

Your key shareholders deserve a hamper worth their effort, which manifests itself as this luxurious hamper, perfect for celebrating joyous moments. Apart from the Apple Cinnamon Cookies, Pumpkin Spice soy wax candle, and a flower bouquet, personalize the gift with a rose gold photo frame and a handwritten notecard. The beige basket with a red velvet ribbon and a mini wreath decor adds a vibrant touch to the whole hamper.  

 

Customization and Personalization  

Importance of customization in corporate gifting  

We can’t emphasize enough how important customizing a corporate gift is. Let’s understand why we’re saying so. 

1. The simple act of customization might be what differentiates your gift from others 
2. Generic gifts can be forgotten easily, but not customized ones 
3. Customizing corporate gifts also creates brand association  
4. When you put in the thought of personalizing a gift, it leaves a lasting impression 
5. Doing so also enhances your personal connection with the receiver 

Ways to personalize gifts to suit individual recipients or company culture  

Personalizing corporate gifts is more than just adding a handwritten note. So, let us help you out in all the ways you can add a personal touch to your gifts.  

1. Understand the tastes and preferences of the recipient 
2. Decide whether you wish to personalize the gift as per the receiver’s interests or go for classic options like a personalized message or engraving their name  
3. Don’t forget to add your brand’s logo, but keep personalization as your priority 
4. Categorize all the recipients based on their association with your business to think of a gift accordingly 

Leveraging corporate gifts for marketing and branding  

As I mentioned previously, corporate gifts serve more than one purpose as it’s not the simple act of giving someone a gift. Most of the companies come up with corporate gift ideas because it’s an excellent marketing and branding strategy for the company.  

By gifting a thoughtful hamper to clients, employees, executives, and other business partners, you’re creating a brand presence, as the gift reflects the company’s core values. Also, your brand’s image becomes a positive one in the eyes of the receiver, ultimately leading to high customer loyalty. Also, it allows you to extend an emotional connection with the recipient, creating a stronger impact on their mind.  

The greatest benefit of corporate gifting is that it can eventually generate returns over time, which will profit your company in the long run.  

 

Ready to use corporate gifting as a marketing strategy? Let The Good Road help you customize based on your budget! 

Motivating Employees Through Gifts  

Importance of employee motivation and how corporate gifts can serve as effective motivational tools  

It’s a universal truth that appreciation through gifts works wonders in motivating employees to put in more effort and show dedication. Therefore, the concept of corporate gifts for employees is widely known and followed by most companies. There are several reasons why corporate gifting works as an effective motivational tool, starting with 

Employee retention: 

Keeping your employees satisfied and appreciated will prove to be fruitful in the long run because doing so ensures their loyalty to the company. 

Good reputation: 

A company that takes care of their employees’ happiness will inculcate a positive reputation in the minds of the people, which will in turn lead to brand recognition. 

Positive workplace culture: 

Giving gifts to your employees encourages a positive workplace culture and strengthens bonds between peers and supervisors. 

Strategies for using gifts to recognize employee achievements, milestones, and contributions  

Here’s a list of strategies to recognize employee achievements, milestones, and more because it’s not always about the big wins but also the small ones. 

Employee of the Month: 

One of the major ways to acknowledge your employees’ efforts is through the strategy of appreciating one of the employees by naming them “Employee of the Month.” This leads to a healthy competition among the teams to do better.  

Team Acknowledgements: 

Another great way to appreciate the people working in your company is by acknowledging the team’s effort through a thoughtfully curated hamper for each employee or the team as a whole.

Work anniversaries: 

Gifting your employees a personalized hamper during their work anniversaries can also show your gratitude towards their consistent commitment towards the work and the company.  

Impact of Corporate Gifts on Client Retention  

Exploration of how thoughtful corporate gifts can strengthen client relationships and foster loyalty  

A thoughtful corporate gift is a strong weapon in the hands of the companies to nurture client relationships and strengthen loyalty. The simple act of personalizing a gift, remembering important dates related to the key stakeholders, and appreciating their contribution to your company’s growth is how this business of people becomes successful.  

Today’s fast paced world doesn’t offer the opportunity to meet people in the physical world for every small and big achievement. However, that doesn’t mean that staying connected with them is any less of a priority. Corporate gifts are the link to a person who you might not be able to meet with in the physical world but can let them know that you’re thinking of them. 

Conclusion  

Running a business is not an easy feat, but corporate gifts make it a lot easier to keep everyone satisfied. From clients, employees, vendors, and other stakeholders, it’s too difficult to keep yourself connected to everyone through the years.  

The art of corporate gifting requires excellent planning, whether it’s about the budget allocation, buying the right gift hamper, ensuring that the timing is appropriate, and so much more. So, consider our corporate gifting guide as the holy grail to understanding the trick to pleasing everyone while benefiting your company.  

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the rules for corporate gifting?  

Adhere to the gifting policy, find the perfect time for gifting, such as milestones, festivals, etc., and be practical about the budget. 

What are the effects of corporate gifting?  

Corporate gifting build client relationships, boosts employees’ morale, fosters loyalty, and leads to brand recognition.  

How corporate gift giving can be ethical?  

To maintain an ethical boundary, ensure that the gift reflects your professional relationship, and it’s not too extravagant or personal.  

What is the purpose of giving corporate gifts?  

The purpose of corporate gifting is client and employee retention, motivation, and appreciation for the contribution of the stakeholders. 

Does corporate gifting work?  

Yes, corporate gifting does work in the case of clients, employees, etc. if you plan it well and give a thoughtful gift within the professional boundary.  

What is the average corporate gift?  

The average corporate gift can be in the price range of 2.5 to 3k. This budget will be sufficient for a decent gift hamper.  

How important is corporate gifting?  

Corporate gifts are extremely important for the satisfaction of clients, employees, partners, and other stakeholders in the company.  

What are the occasions for corporate gifting? 

Some of the appropriate occasions for corporate gifting include festivals, personal celebrations, corporate events, and more.