Appreciating Employees and Clients with Well-Planned Corporate Gifts

Businesses use well-planned corporate gift programs to give meaningful gifts to employees, customers and leads. It’s a way to celebrate an employee’s work anniversary, say thanks for a job well done or strengthen company-wide morale. Corporate gifting to clients shows appreciation for long and lasting relationships, indicates how much their business is valued and improves the chances the relationship will continue in the future.

The best corporate gift is thoughtful and unique. Companies are stepping up from the welcomed but soon forgotten gift basket to develop corporate gift giving programs with more creativity and thoughtfulness with gifts that are remembered. The industry is forecast to grow at an annual average rate of 8% and hit $306 billion in 2024 according to a 2021 report by Coresight Research.

Why Corporate Giving Programs Matter

Large or small, businesses grow by building strong relationships, both in the office and with clients. A well-thought-out corporate gifting program makes it easy to let the people who matter know how important they are.

Companies that deploy planned employee gift programs throughout the year build a loyal and committed workforce. A recent Gallup/Workman survey found that employees at companies that recognized their contributions though giving programs were 56% less likely to look for a new job and 73% felt less burned-out from the job.

With strategic client gift programs, businesses are able to build on successful relationships and enhance their reputations with their customers. They’re also very effective for helping a business grow. According to a Knack Shops gifting report, 83% of businesses surveyed believe that business gifts generate measurable, positive ROI.

Strategies for Your Corporate Gift Giving Program

Approach developing your gift giving programs as you would most marketing plans: determine your audience, define your goal, set a budget, select gifts and devise your distribution channels. Here are five important things to take into consideration when you set out to develop your plan:

1. Don’t look at the gift you’re giving as a sales tool. It’s not about making a splashy first impression. Corporate gift giving is about making a deep lasting impression. Be tactful with your use of your company’s brand and make the message heartfelt.
2. If it feels like your gift giving program is ‘been there, done that,’ perhaps it’s time to think outside the box, or, in the case of kitted employee and client gift ideas, think inside the box with a selection of gifts you can include in unique corporate gift boxes.
3. Give personalized or branded white label products that are manufactured and personalized with your business’s name, logo and brand message.  Custom variable printing and on-demand printing allows companies to prepare and send corporate gifts for any occasion at any time.
4. Marketing.com can help you create a corporate gift storefront that allows your employees and clients to select the gift they want from a preselected variety of branded gifts. We’ll also manage gift packaging and shipping
5. Don’t forget to take shipping materials and gift weight into consideration when making your corporate gift selection. These factors play a role in determining your shipping rates and options.

Find a Gifting Program Partner

As companies recognize the value of a good corporate gifting strategy and realize the impact gift giving can make on employee morale and client retention, they’re turning for guidance from companies like Marketing.com. According to the 2021 Coresight Research report, 52% of respondents outsourced some or all of their corporate gifting needs. The percentage is likely to increase because experienced outside vendors can help alleviate challenges.

Using a full-service commercial printing or gifting service streamlines corporate gifting from concept through delivery. This includes proposals, gift design and packaging design. Most will also provide curating and fulfillment services to make your gifting program run smoothly all year long. These companies can provide guidance on issues like gifting frequency and spending. They can also keep your company aware of emerging gifting occasions, such as corporate gifting to support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs that urge diverse representation and participation in the workplace from historically underrepresented groups. 

Conclusion

In today’s remote business world, an effective corporate gifting program should be just as much a priority for marketing and enhancing a company’s reputation as a strong social, digital or print marketing program. Factors like ROI, increased productivity and business growth are important. The difference is impact. Saying thanks and recognizing the importance of employees and clients generates good will that can’t always be measured.