It's that time of year again; the giving season is upon us, and if you're a business owner, it is time to order this year's corporate gifts. When deciding on what to purchase and how to present it, don't let the etiquette of gift giving take a back seat to promoting your business.
To help in this process, we have put together a few Corporate Gifting reminders to keep in mind this Holiday Season:
buy quality over quantity
This rule applies to pretty much everything, but here especially. Your clients are going to likely be inundated with gifts over the holiday season, so keep it simple. Get a high-quality crowd pleaser so that you don’t have to stress over super specific gifts. Get something well-made that will match any style and serve a purpose. Bonus points if you can shop small. Our suggestions: a festive kitchen towel, candle, or other luxury home goods like our hand-crafted dipping bowls and gourmet olive oil and/or hot pepper vinegar.
be practical
Minimal is the new black. The New Year is just around the corner, and everyone is organizing and purging. You want your gift to stick around to see 2020. Choose something that doesn’t add clutter, serves a purpose, and can be used up or repurposed. A good example is a hand soap in a beautiful dispenser or a candle like the Ranger Station Candle, which can be used as a whiskey tumbler once the candle is completely burned. Double bonus on the candles ~ the makers are domestic violence survivors, so you can feel extra good about your purchase.
don’t forget aesthetics
Keep your brand and audience in mind as you shop for holiday gifts. Think about what will complement the colors and textures of your branded collateral that will accompany the gift, like stationery and shipping materials. We focus on both practical gifts as well as gifts that are pleasing to the eye. Our hand-stitched and bound encaustic journals created by local photographer John F. McQuade make lovely gifts for special clients. Beautifully wrapped with a satin or grosgrain ribbon, these gifts can be tagged with your logo and include a hand-written note at no extra charge!
make it personal
Even if you buy all your clients the same thing, you have an opportunity to make it personal. Our recommendation is to hand pick one or two beautiful items to gift all your clients and include a handwritten note on branded stationery; the time and effort it takes is so worth the payoff for your professional relationships!
We all find ourselves busy at the holidays, but making time to send out gifts for clients shows that you really value them and the role they played in your success this year. It’s also a fun opportunity to reflect on all the people that were willing to invest in your services and allow you to do what you love.
stay on budget
Cost is a huge determining factor in what kind of gift your business presents to its clients. Spend too little and risk coming off as cheap and cheesy; spend too much and it could come across as showy. The best thing to do it set a budget of the maximum you want to spend per gift. This way during your search it will be easier to seek out well-made, unique items without breaking the bank.
enlist the help of a local gifting company
While it may seem doable to source, package, and design gift labels and cards for all of your client gifts, it is often easier to work with a company that specializes in all three. Not only will they be able to help you pick out the perfect client gift, nothing too personal, yet also not too nondescript. a gifting company will also be able to package, and design labels and cards for your gift in-house. It saves you the time and stress of doing it yourself and also avoids hidden expenditures such as printing and packaging costs down the road. A gifting company's fee will be all inclusive to sourcing, packaging and designing your businesses gifts. Small Batch Gallery + Goods provides everything from helping you choose a gift, to creating distinguished packaging that sets you apart from other businesses. Give us a call or fill out our specialty gifting inquiry form.