For businesses of all sizes in all industries, choosing what kinds of gifts to give clients and how to get those gifts to the them are tasks that come with the holiday season. While it might seem like just another box to check, this process shouldn’t be taken lightly: the right gift can strengthen the bond between you and your clients, and the wrong one can send a less-than-impressive message.
Make sure your investment into gift-giving pays off by learning what kinds of items to send and how best to send them for a positive impression.
Tips for Choosing the Right Gifts
Keep it Professional
This is probably the first rule of giving client gifts because if you keep the gift professional, you’ll avoid many potential pitfalls. While much well-meaning advice advocates for a gift that’s somewhat personal, it can easily be misinterpreted to mean something that’s too personal–like jewelry, clothes, or perfume. Instead, replace the word “personal” with “relevant,” which will put the focus on finding something that would interest the client and put you in much safer gifting territory.
But if you’re worried, err on the side of caution and give a classic gift like:
- Engraved Pens
- Travel Mugs
- An Edible Arrangement
- Universal Device Chargers
These gifts are also easily customizable if you’re ordering them in bulk for many clients.
Budget Wisely
The trick here is to spend enough, but not too much. Spending too little says you’re company is cheap, but spending too much can give off the feeling that you’re trying to buy loyalty.
A safe number is $50 per client, but a small business can spend as little as $25. Remember, it’s not really the price tag that matters so much, but the quality of the gift and time you put into picking it.
Avoid Faux-Pas
The last thing you want to do when you take the time to send what you think is a thoughtful gift is to find out that it’s an item the receiver can’t enjoy for whatever reason. Be particularly careful of gifting items like:
- Alcohol – Be sure the receiver drinks.
- Food – Customize for receivers who are vegans and vegetarians, have allergies, only eat kosher, etc.
- Perishable Items – If the client is away on vacation and isn’t able to pick them up in time, they could go to waste.
- Gag gifts or cards – They could be funny to you, but not to them.
The key here is really knowing your client’s preferences and what they would truly enjoy or find useful.
Go With a Classic If You’re Stuck
If you really can’t think of anything, try one of these stand-bys that isn’t cheap or cheesy:
- Thoughtful, quality gift basket
- Relevant book
- Relevant magazine subscription
- Charity donation
- Sports or theater tickets
As always, your client’s taste is the top determining factor when considering any of these items. When you’ve made your decision, the next step is to make sure they arrive safe, sound, and on time.
Tips for Shipping the Gifts
Avoid the Rush
The best way you can avoid the stress of a rush is to plan your holiday shipping early, and just as important, ship a day or two earlier than you might otherwise need to during the holiday season.
With so many people sending gifts to each other all over (and out of) the country in late December, careful planning now will ensure that whatever you send will arrive in time before people start leaving their offices for end-of-the-year time off.
Track Your Packages
For extra peace of mind, take advantage of tracking services. From online services, text message notifications, and email updates, you can check on where your package is in the shipping process, and know when it will arrive, and get confirmation that your gift made it to its destination.
In addition to services provided by USPS and other courier delivery companies, third party websites and applications can help you verify the location of your shipment.
Try Expedited Shipping
If you’re in a rush, expedited shipping is the way to go. Choosing the right provider for this service ahead of time and providing them with all the information about your shipment such as level of urgency, cargo vitals, and the logistics of pickup and delivery can all make the process go much smoother and faster than doing these things at the last minute.
By spending some time and putting some thought into choosing the right gifts and shipping them in best way possible, you’ll make a positive impression on clients that will remind them of how much you value them. Taking these steps now will also keep this task as stress-free as possible while ensuring that your clients receive holiday gifts they truly appreciate.
If you’re ready to start planning the logistics of your holiday gift shipments, we can help! Give us a call at 214-373-1999 or fill out an online form today.