Corporate gifting is a term that gets thrown around a lot by sales, HR and operations professionals. Everyone is vaguely aware of the concept, but few people have spent significant time fleshing out the ways that corporate gifting is essential in the world of business.
Luckily, Swag.com is an expert on corporate gifting. Today we’re bringing you everything you need to know in order to use this powerful toolset to develop your business!
What is corporate gifting?
In a nutshell, corporate gifting refers to the act of sending gifts to individuals and teams within a business. There are two main types of corporate gifting, depending on who is receiving the gifts.
- Internal corporate gifting refers to gifts that are distributed within an organization, such as the yearly holiday presents given out to the entire team.
- External corporate gifting is when one organization chooses to send gifts to individuals at another organization, like when a sales person sends a small gift to a potential lead.
Importantly, for both types of corporate gifting there are a number of gifts that can be used. While we believe that custom swag and personalized, high quality products are the most powerful corporate gifts, it’s not uncommon to also give non-physical items like gift cards and experiences as well.
Why is corporate gifting important?
At the heart of corporate gifting is the idea that good business is built on real relationships between people. Offering gifts is one of the oldest and most proven techniques towards developing relationships, and demonstrating an appreciation for the connection that already exists.
Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to retaining competitive talent or winning over important clients. Corporate gifting can help go the extra step to make your point in a way that is much more difficult to ignore.
Whether your goal is to show your internal teams how much they are valued, or prove to someone within another organization that you will go above and beyond to attend to their needs, sending thoughtful gifting is an incredibly powerful tool that supplements words with action.
When is the right time for corporate gifting?
Corporate gifting can occur for a litany of reasons. Any time you are looking to deepen a connection, or establish one, there is an opportunity to use a thoughtful gift to make an impression. Here are some of the most common times that we see our clients use corporate gifting to their advantage:
- Creating a touchpoint with potential clients or customers
- Celebrating a company milestone
- Recognizing an important anniversary of an employee
- Showing established clients appreciation
- Commemorating a significant achievement
- Providing a remembrance of a company event
- End of year or end of quarter acknowledgement
Creativity is key when it comes to successful corporate gifting. These are just some of the times when gifts make sense in the business world— but some of our favorite clients are those that find new and unprecedented ways to connect with their audience.
Different types of corporate gifting
As we mentioned earlier, corporate gifting typically is usually in one of two categories: internal and external. Each type will have different considerations when it comes to picking out your items and choosing how to deliver it.
Corporate gifting for employees
Gifts for employees are used to build team morale, develop company culture and ultimately make your workplace a healthy and desirable place to be. These range from onboarding gifts that all new employees get, to holiday gifts for the entire team, to luxury gifts that celebrate a long term anniversary.
Corporate gifting for clients
Gifts for clients are used to maintain strong relationships and encourage continued business down the road. Usually gifts for clients are on the high-end side, including items like custom Airpods or speaker systems. All of these gifts should go alongside a heartfelt message of appreciation.
Corporate gifting for leads and prospects
Gifting items to leads and prospects is an out-of-the-box method for winning business that can be an absolute game changer when done right. The trick here is to know when is the right time in the sales cycle to send items, and which items will have the right impact. With our free swag giveaway feature, you can send gifts to anyone— as long as you have their email address.
Read more: Sales Gifts Ideas to Engage Leads and Prospects
How to do corporate gifting right
If you’ve decided you want to pursue corporate gifting as a strategy for your business, there’s an easy way to ensure you’re making the most of your opportunity to create a big impact. Here are some simple steps you can follow to arrive at the best possible choice for you:
Set your goals and find your audience
Decide who you’re sending to, and what you hope to achieve. Is this a one-time gift for your employees to celebrate the end of the year, or an ongoing strategy of sending small gifts to leads every time they reach a certain point in the sales cycle? Deciding these things will help you narrow your choices on what to send.
Develop a budget and timeline
Decide how much money you want to spend on this gifting initiative. It’s helpful to take your full budget, and then think about how much money per person you have to spend. Also make sure to think about when you need to have your gifts by, and give yourself plenty of time for production, customization and distribution.
Choose items
Browse our selection of the top products and items that people will actually want to keep. Think about your audience, and choose items you think will stand out from what others may have gifted in the past. For example, if winter is coming up, learn about customizing blankets, which is a smash hit for people gearing up for the cold. Don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside of the box. Or, think inside the box by choosing a selection of products to bundle together into a fully custom swag box.
Make it special
Easily add your own branding, logo and colors to the products you’ve selected. Make your gifts stand out, and most importantly, make sure that the people receiving them are reminded of the organization who brought it to them. Consider adding custom notecards or messages in with your items to make it really special.
Find a delivery method
You can order in bulk, and we’ll ship your custom gifts straight to the office for easy handout. But if you want to reach people in remote locations, or deliver gifts directly to clients who are in different places, you can use our swag distribution feature to ship items to individual addresses.
How will you use corporate gifting to make an impact on your clients, employees and partners? The strategies are endless, and with Swag.com’s mix of powerful management features and top products, we put the power to harness the value of gifting in your hands.
Want to learn more about how we can help bring your gifting vision to life? Fill out the form below, and someone from the swag team will be in touch as soon as possible!
